PRO-ACTIVE STEWARDSHIPYour next (and bigger) gift depends on it!By Cindy Mewhinney, CFRE

June 13, 2012

Niagara Fundraiser’s Network Roundtable Sessions

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Click icon to add picture It’s personal…

People give to people (true)…it is the human connection (e.g. how we feel) about the experience giving that makes us want to give again and give more.

Fast fact:

The decision to give again is made at the time you thank the donor for their most recent gift.

Activity:

Reflect on your most memorable giving experience. What made it great?

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

-Maya Angelou

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Short term goal focus

Often high staff-turnover, not conducive to relationship building

Silo environment, “my donors” approach

Management/board values that relationships take time

It’s everyone’s role, and everyone plays a part

Idea-sharing/ collaborative

Non-supportive Environment

Supportive Environment

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE…

Reactionary Stewardship vs. Proactive Stewardship

“Moves” vs. “Touchpoints”

“Transactional Gift” vs. “Giving Experience”

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Click icon to add picture Reminder – it’s not always about the size of the gift that matters.

Remember your longtime loyal donors and volunteers have immense wealth capacity through estate-giving, too.

Good stewardship will often lead to transformational gifts at some point of the donors’ lifecycle.

Our goal in fundraising is to make every donor feel like a philanthropist!

-Penelope Burke

GREAT STEWARDSHIP; THE BASICS

Is it timely & accurate? Tax receipts, thank you calls, handwritten cards, follow up Do an internal check up Get organized > don’t accept “but we can’t

because…”

Is it thoughtful? Handwritten notes, who makes the thank you call, do your donors know you care? (proof)

Is it consistent? Regular checkpoints, cultivating an environment where stewardship is valued, staff-volunteer buy-in

WHERE TO START?

Ask yourself: How well do you know your donors? estimate as a starting point > we all can improve

Segment your donors > code in your database Length of giving By level of involvement, e.g. Volunteers By gift level Those who have left gifts in their wills

What are the best parts of your current stewardship activities? Your Wish list?

Thank you letters Receipts (timely) Thank you phone calls Tours / Virtual Tours Events Stewardship events (no ask, no fee) Communications (newsletters, e-newsletters) Donor Visits (NO ask – just relationship-building) Youtube/videos

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Click icon to add picture According to Penelope Burke,

Thank you call within 48 hours (e.g. think “segmenting”)

Tax receipt processed within 48 hours.

This IS the new standard. Online giving tools with instant receipting has created a new level of expectation for information accuracy and speed of issuing a receipt.

93% of donors will give again if they were thanked promptly and in a personal way for their gift and followed up later with a meaningful report on the program they had funded. 64% would give a larger gift and 74% would continue to give indefinitely.

-Cygnus Applied Research Inc. (Penelope Burke)

*from Cygnus Applied Research Inc.

FROM GOOD TO GREAT!

Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Dig into segments of your donor base, where

donors are in the “Zone of Indifference”

Zone of

Indifference

Satisfaction

Dissatisfaction Try and spend more time out of ‘your’ comfort zone with donors you don’t know

The ‘sweet spot’ = easier to spend time

here

IT’S IN THE DETAILS:

Spelling of their name correctly Respecting their Recognition Preferences…

Addressee Preferences Handwritten matters! Live stamps, too. Listen carefully! Donors leave clues

constantly… What matters to them (re: your org & other

interests) What will they be celebrating in their life?

Milestones? Best/worst experiences with other charities

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Excerpt from KCI Philanthropic Trends Quarterly (spring 2012):

Ask less…steward more. Creating an optimal donor experience It may seem provocative to encourage charities to ask less, especially considering

that the most commonly cited reason for not making a charitable gift is “nobody asked”. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” didn’t become a maxim by accident. And yet, it’s important to balance this with the myriad evidence that tells us that oversolicitation is one of the most commonly cited reasons for ceasing to give to a charity.

In survey after survey, donors cite being asked for a gift too often as one of the top reasons they stop their support. Coupled with the fact that in general, we are solicited more and more often (on the street, at the checkout counter), Canadians are starting to suffer not only from donor fatigue but from “ask fatigue” as well. In a recent Ipsos Reid survey (conducted November 2011 with a nationally representative sample of 1,027 Canadians), 62% of respondents indeicated that their preferred frequendcy of solicitation was “once a year or less often”.

In attempting to find the right balance, it’s helpful to think in terms of creating an optimal donor experience. In an effort to build customer loyalty, our for profit colleagues devote a great deal of time and attention to thinking about what they want their customer experience to be. As fundraisers, we have the opportunity to do the same with our donors. With the goal of building donor loyalty and maybe even creating a “donor for life” what do we want our donor experience to be?

The donor experience is a way to differentiate your organization and deliver a repeatable, positive experience that results in stronger relationships and retained donors.

ADD-ONS

Discovery Questions; relational & opportunity (handout)

Great reads: Thank you! by Penelope Burke Donor Centered Fundraising – by Penelope Burke Start With Why - by Simon Sinek Developing Major Gifts - by Laura Fredricks 3D Philanthropy – by Fraser Green