4 Stewardship Strategies to Strengthen Donor Relationships

4 Stewardship Strategies to Strengthen Donor Relationships

Julia Claire Campbell Email, Fundraising, Nonprofits

Whether your nonprofit is celebrating the conclusion of a successful capital campaign, its highest year-end giving total to date, or great turnout and engagement at a fundraising event, your donors are critical to your achievements. More than that, their generosity empowers you to do more for your community and cause. Naturally, they deserve your organization’s gratitude for their contributions!

However, you also need to thank your donors strategically. Supporters want to feel like valued, integral members of your nonprofit’s community—not just ATMs with legs. To this end, your organization’s appreciation efforts should be part of a larger stewardship plan that strives to build individual, lasting relationships with each of your donors.

In this guide, we’ll review four donor stewardship strategies to help your nonprofit go beyond simply thanking donors and win their long-term loyalty. Let’s dive in!

1. Match the Thank-You to the Gift Size

All of your donors are essential to your nonprofit’s fundraising success and deserve your appreciation, whether they give $20 or $200,000. But when supporters go above and beyond in their contributions to your organization, you should also go above and beyond in thanking them.

As Winspire’s donor stewardship guide explains, “When choosing recognition methods…the size of your nonprofit’s thank-you should match the size of the donor’s gift.” To that end, here are some ideas for thanking donors who give at various levels:

  • Small gift donors: Thank-you email, automated text message for mobile contributions, end-of-year mass mailing thanking all donors who made small gifts in the past year
  • Mid-level donors: Handwritten thank-you note, phone call from one of your nonprofit’s leaders, small gift (gift card, branded merchandise, etc.)
  • Major donors: Annual report mention, invitation to a donor appreciation event, inclusion on a donor wall or other public-facing display of recognition

Even if you plan to recognize a donor more elaborately later on, always email or call them within 24 hours of receiving their initial gift to confirm that you got it and are grateful for it. Additionally, some major donors may prefer to remain anonymous rather than being appreciated publicly, so honor their wishes and thank them privately.

2. Send Regular Follow-Up Messages

After you initially thank a donor, you’ll need to strike a delicate balance with your subsequent follow-ups. While it’s important to keep your nonprofit top of mind so supporters stay involved, sending too many messages or asking for more money too soon can lead to donor fatigue and attrition.

One middle-ground strategy that is particularly useful for following up with first-time donors is creating a welcome email series. When a new supporter gives, set up your online donation page to automatically send one or two emails per week in this order:

  • Email #1: Thank-you note and donation receipt for tax deductions
  • Email #2: Overview of your nonprofit’s mission, current initiatives and programs, and recent impacts
  • Email #3: Update on how their donation is making a difference for your mission
  • Email #4: Upcoming opportunities to get involved in ways besides donating—volunteering, attending events, participating in advocacy efforts, etc.
  • Email #5: Encouragement to make another gift and to keep up with your nonprofit through recurring communications like your monthly newsletter or social media

With repeat supporters or major donors, use what you’ve learned about them through your past interactions to tailor your messages to their preferences. For example, if a supporter who won a prize at your last silent auction makes another contribution after the event, the subject line of one of your follow-up emails might read, “[Donor Name], mark your calendar for this year’s silent auction!” Since you know they probably enjoyed this event in the past, personally inviting them back is likely a good strategy for keeping them engaged.

3. Offer Special Perks to Loyal Donors

No matter how many times a donor gives, they deserve appreciation for every contribution so they know your nonprofit sees and values their dedication. However, getting the same kinds of recognition over and over can begin to feel stale for supporters.

To switch up your stewardship strategy for repeat donors, consider offering them unique benefits as a direct result of their loyalty, such as:

  • Early-bird fundraising event registration that comes with a special gift bag or at a reduced rate
  • Discounted raffle tickets or the opportunity to enter a separate raffle with a unique prize just for longtime supporters
  • First looks or presale access when your nonprofit releases new branded merchandise
  • Exclusive newsletters so they can more easily keep up with everything going on at your organization

You could also create giving societies for different types of loyal contributors, such as a monthly donation, annual membership, or planned giving program. Besides making it easier to distribute the above perks to donors who meet specific criteria, giving societies provide the additional benefit of community, which makes supporters feel even more connected to your nonprofit over time.

4. Collect Data on Your Efforts

According to NPOInfo, data collection is essential for building strong supporter relationships, since “with the right data, your nonprofit can personalize interactions with donors [and] increase engagement.” The stewardship aspect of the relationship-building process is no exception. By collecting data on your efforts, you can identify strengths and weaknesses in your strategy and hone it going forward.

Some key stewardship-related metrics to track include:

  • Email open and click-through rates
  • Number of donors taking advantage of your special perks
  • Society membership numbers
  • Donor retention rates year-over-year or campaign-to-campaign

In addition to this quantitative information, you should also collect qualitative data on supporters’ satisfaction with your efforts. Sending out surveys, conducting interviews, and reading public reviews or social media comments about your stewardship activities can all provide valuable, firsthand insights into how donors feel about them and how you could improve.

Once you decide how you’ll implement these strategies at your nonprofit, sit down with your team to draft an action plan, sometimes known as a stewardship matrix. This plan will guide all stewardship efforts across departments and help you stick to your plan over time. However, you should treat it as a living document and be prepared to pivot as you collect data and feedback on your program for the best results.