For nonprofit fundraisers, stewarding donors and building strong relationships is key to success. As discussed by two nonprofit leaders, Ali Evans and Jane Smith, stewardship requires ongoing effort and communication to keep donors engaged with your mission.
Evans works for an agricultural research institute and has shifted her focus to stewarding existing donors due to the challenges of the pandemic.
She notes that “during the end of the year mailing or end of the year appeal, we’re all remote, we weren’t approved, because we’re at a 50 percent capacity is allowed in our building.”
To overcome this, Evans has implemented a personal letter writing campaign to her donors to stay in touch. She acknowledges that “it’s almost and it’s so like I said before, I come from this is my first gig as a full time fundraiser and we’ve always said, you’re donor centered.” For Evans, this means understanding that her older donors prefer direct mail and phone calls over digital communication.
Smith works for an organization serving people with disabilities and shares similar struggles in engaging donors during COVID-19. However, Smith has taken an innovative approach by helping her donors register for and schedule vaccine appointments.
She recognizes that “this would be going too far. I know in a normal world this would be going too far. But you have to help them because you want them to be safe. I mean, oh my gosh. I need their money. Yeah. But you want them to be alive. You know, we don’t want people to be sick.”
This act of goodwill helps cement her donors’ relationship to the organization.
In summary, stewarding donors requires time, care, and meeting them where they are—whether through letters, phone calls, helping schedule vaccines, or small acts of goodwill. While digital communications have their place, nonprofit fundraisers must remember that in-person connections and relationships are the foundation for building lasting donor support. With creative, donor-centered strategies, nonprofits can overcome the current challenges of fundraising and come out the other side with devoted supporters.
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