In the world of philanthropy, the concept of stewardship is nothing new. As the final phase in the continuum of identifying, cultivating, engaging, and finally nurturing mutually beneficial long-term relationships with donors, stewardship has long been recognized as an essential element of any successful fundraising program. As the competition for philanthropic support intensifies, our donors’ expectations for acknowledgment and accountability have become increasingly sophisticated. But the challenges don’t end there. When the economy throws a curve ball, fundraising professionals must be ready to respond. We wanted to know how advancement programs were responding to their donors in the current economic climate. We spoke to both advancement officers and consultants in order to get a well-rounded view on how to proceed when the ground is shifting underfoot. This is what we learned.
WG: An economic downturn can be a tricky time for fundraisers and donors alike. Have you modified your solicitation strategies in response to the current economy? If so, how?
Without exception, fundraising professionals are maintaining open communication with their donors, but the conversations have modified out of consideration for donors’ need to be cautious. David Scott, Senior Associate Director of Donor Relations at University of Illinois at Chicago proffers, “Creativity and flexibility are key.” For example, he states that UIC donors who are not able to commit to “lump sum” gifts may be amenable to making smaller contributions over time. Group gifts have been well received, i.e., donors banding together to make a single, sizeable gift. UIC has also seen increased activity in planned gifts and gifts in-kind.
Some Advancement professionals are looking to identify what resonates with donors without asking for gifts outright. Keeping donors informed and interested, inviting them to events, awards programs, and other non-giving activities helps maintain or build long-term relationships that donors will remember after the economy has improved.
Lori Sweeney, Director of Development, Neurosciences, OHSU Foundation, Oregon Health & Science University, is used to cultivating long-term relationships with her donors. To stay in touch, she delivers the annual donor relations report in person and uses the visit as an opportunity to have conversations about estate planning and endowment gifts. She is up front about saying, “We want to stay in touch with you until the economy turns around.” She claims that “people are no less philanthropic, but are just being more cautious. Nobody has said ‘I won’t be able to do that ever.’”
Merrilyn Lewis, Director of Donor Services at Smith College, reports that, “We continue to have gift conversations. Our objective is to identify what resonates with donors and prospective donors about Smith without talking money. “
WG: What are your best strategies for maintaining strong relationships with donors when they have suspended their giving due to personal circumstances?
Michelle Ashby, President /CEO of Tipping Point Media suggests the best approach is to “treat your donors as if they are a best friend; know as much as you can about them, understand why they have chosen to give to your organization, and ask how they would like to connect with you.” Lori Sweeney adds, “It’s important to keep the relationship authentic. Identifying what a particular donor needs is key.” Lisa Swanson, a consultant in fund-raising communications and strategic planning, states “Current economic conditions make it easier to justify a longer-term approach. This is prime time to spend building internal communication networks, collaborating with staff members who manage systemic stewardship programs, and conveying regular information to donors about what’s going on in the programs that they care about.”
David Scott agrees. In his words: “Make sure that donors continue to feel connected to and informed about your organization; keep them “on the inside” about the aspects of your organization that they have supported and that spark their passion. Make sure those donors know that they are appreciated and vital because of what they have done for the organization, and that their previous support continues to make a difference.”
WG: What, specifically, are you doing to lay the groundwork now for when the economy improves?
David Scott and Lisa Swanson stress the importance of making good use of “down time” for internal and external assessment. David Scott: “We’re concentrating on more fully developing our culture of donor-centered fundraising. We want to be sure that we’re doing everything we can to keep our current donors engaged and informed, and we want to be in the best possible position to welcome new and lapsed donors when giving resumes.” Lisa Swanson: “This is an opportunity for fund-raising organizations to thoroughly review all policies, procedures and actual performance in all the areas providing structural support to gift officers. Identify barriers to future growth, set an agenda for process improvement, and use this time to reorganize and reallocate resources as necessary.”
Michelle Ashby lays out some specifics:
• Survey your donors – conduct an online and mailed survey to better understand why your donors give to you. Find your Net Promoters.
• Follow up with focus groups that segment your donor base into different audiences. Gauge the different levels of interest in how active your donors want to be within your organization.
• CLEAN UP YOUR DATABASE – time to “de-dupe” addresses, names and take off donors who have not given in 3 or more years. This will save you money and time.
• Take time to understand your donors’ preferred form of communication - some donors want things mailed to them, others prefer email. Send clear, concise, customized messages to fewer donors for a better return. Do they use social media? Would they be willing to blog for your cause?
WG: Do you feel you are doing enough to inform your donors of how funds are being used? How do you know if the information you provide is effective?
Lori Sweeney prefers the one-on-one approach to communication, stating “One on one really sets the stage.” She continues, “Having things in the plan that are just pure stewardship is really important; keeping in touch; setting up appointments. We reiterate what is important and what the impact is for OHSU. I always relate 1-2 stories that are about impact. “
“I do some sort of stewardship with everybody. We mechanize this some; for special gifts and major gifts we create a plan. It’s all very personal. I sometimes brainstorm ideas with the donor! You can learn a lot by suggesting different things. I really query them: “what are the things that are most meaningful to you about this gift?”
David Scott: “I’ve been involved with stewardship and donor relations with four different universities, and each felt challenged in this area. Keeping donors informed about how their funds are being used often requires strong communication between advancement and other areas of the institution, and many times those links have not been made or are difficult to maintain. I think most colleges and universities do a good job of letting donors know the impact of support for scholarships and bricks-and-mortar projects. It gets harder when it comes to support for programs, research, recruitment, student life, etc. I view this as a potential silver lining in the current economic dark cloud. Strengthening internal stewardship and reporting links to provide the best possible information for and accountability to donors is essential for good donor relations. These are ideal activities to prepare for a time when happy days are here again."
Smith College has recently created a new position: Director of Alumni Communications. Merrilyn Lewis expects better internal communication to result.
WG: Donors sometimes feel barraged with institutional communications, and yet communication is necessary. How do you determine what is appropriate vs. what is too much? Is there a rule of thumb?
David Scott believes it comes down to the “nature and quality” of the communication, and believes that direct, personal, and informative communication is welcome. He also advises us to “heed the warning signs” of unwarranted communication:
• Are you struggling to come up with or [to] have something to say?
• Are you sending a generic message to a group of people?
• Are you sending a message solely because it’s scheduled on your calendar today?
• Is your message going out because a colleague brought in a piece he or she received
and asked, “Why don’t we do something like this?”
• Are you sending out a message to test your new technology or tracking system?
Lisa Swanson is pragmatic. “We need to think more about the donor’s need for communication and less about our own. It’s simple to say, but hard to adopt the appropriate internal disciplines. We must first give up the idea that we are in control, then deploy communication channels that always function in both directions, and act on the information that comes back to us. “
WG: Describe some of the more creative approaches to stewardship at your institution.
Lori Sweeney at Oregon Health & Science University Foundation loves this aspect of her job. “I feel that philanthropy should be fun.” On one occasion, the Foundation staff created a series of posters featuring humorous photographs of the multiple sclerosis research teams with the tagline: “60 People. 10 Teams. 1 Goal: cure MS.” These were displayed for the donor – the head of a major advertising agency – when he arrived for a scientific presentation at which he and his daughter were given a standing ovation. The objective: [showing a donor that] “we recognize what is important to you.” For $1000 donors, they’ve hired a local theater troupe to perform vignettes from three Shakespearean plays that tied into specific areas of brain research. Then there was the pajama party and bathrobe competition in which 60 or more donors donned customized bathrobes and paraded through the halls of a new dorm they helped build before spending the night.
Not all of Lori’s stewardship efforts are quite so elaborate, but she underscores that “It’s wise to do more broad based things…we’re just experimenting.”
At Smith College, Merrilyn Lewis describes an accelerated cultivation program called the President’s Council that engages alumna from the 70-80’s. “We have four regional groups: two on the East Coast, one in the mid-West, and one in the West. We’re adding an international group. The President, Carol Christ, who enjoys hearing what Smith alumnae have to say, travels to meet for a dinner and conversation. [It’s been] very successful. This spring the focus was: what is Smith going to do about the economic situation? An additional outcome: alumna feel connected to each other.
WG: What are the top three things most donors expect in return for their support?
David Scott:
1. Information: donors need to know that you’ve received and properly accounted for their support; and they need to know what you’ve accomplished because of it.
2. Cooperation: work with donors to report and resolve any issues that may be associated with or arise because of a gift.
3. Prudence: be as wise and responsible, open and honest with a donor’s good will as you would want them to be with yours.
Lori Sweeney: “The reality is, when people are making a choice, to be really grateful for that is what people appreciate. I ask, ‘do you feel well informed about your gift?’ That starts the process. One donor wants to meet with us quarterly. So we do that. Donors appreciate access to me, or our doctors. [We provide] information about their investment, which is personalized to them. It might just be one page about how the money was spent. It really depends on how much time the donor has.”
Michelle Ashby: Treat a donor as a person, not a wallet. Give donors good, concise information about what the organization is doing for the community it serves. Invite your donors to get involved in events, volunteering, your social networks, etc.
WG: What resources for professional networking and continued learning do you utilize?
Our interviewees responded:
Join LinkedIn and connect with other non-profit organizations, your board members and volunteers. These connections typically spread more positive good will about your organization via word-of-mouth than most non-profit media budgets can afford.
Embrace new media – try one social platform at a time, take it slow and remember: There’s so much information coming at you every day, it’s easy to feel like a dog drinking water from a fire hydrant.
ADRP member. Attend annual conference 2 years. Try to take part in regional workshops. CASE. Locally: Women in Philanthropy. Webinars, 4-6 x per year.
I have really found the webinars helpful, either in the group setting or at my desk. I am more willing to take the time to do these sorts of learning experiences. I also do a lot of 1:1 mentoring…meeting for lunch, presenting to a small group at another organization, walking with one or two other professionals to problem-solve, etc. I find these most helpful for me to think through why I do what I do and also I think it is helpful to those with whom I meet, because it is more personalized to their organization and we brainstorm from their perspective.
WG: Please feel free to add any comments or pearls of wisdom on this topic that would be helpful to Advancement staff looking for guidance or inspiration.
Merrilyn Lewis encourages anybody to “take any opportunity that’s offered. Always be willing to take on any task, work with others, be open to new experiences.”
