I Love You So Much, I Could Squish You! Utilizing Stewardship to Create Joyful Donors Leslie M. Brady, MSW Director of Development MUSC College of Health Professions | SCANPO Webinar - September 2, 2015 |

Thank You SCANPO… for “gifting” me my first rodeo!

 A Special Acknowledgement  Expectations  Your Questions  Additional Resources  A Little About Me

A Little About Me

Donor Retention (also known as Donor Love) It is the single most important thing your organization can do to ensure your impact is felt for generations to come! - Dr. Adrian Sargeant

Numbers Don’t Lie!  First-year donor retention rates down  Three of four new donors leave in first year  Costs seven times more to retain new donor!

Why? Major challenges lie, as always, in the nonprofit culture itself – in its willingness or resistance to change entrenched ways of thinking, acing, and organizing. -Blackbaud, npEXPERTS, Chapter 1, by Roger Craver

Let’s Fall in Love  Thank you Phone Calls  Love Notes and Letters  Strategic Stewardship

Stewardship Phone Calls

Question for Webinar Participants: How many of you are making thank you calls to donors?

A Killer Strategy to Increase Donations by 39%!  Organize board members to make thank you calls  After several tries, leave a message  NOT about another gift, stewardship only  Adventurous board member? They can ask why he/she chose to make the gift

Research Findings Penelope Burke, Donor Centered Fundraising  Found that after board phone calls, donors gave 39% more the next time solicited  After 14 months, those called were giving 42% more

Reality Check  Next Best Thing  Stand Out in the Crowd  Engage in Conversations

Dial the Donor  Get Prepared  Tuesday & Thursdays are Best  Check Time Zones  Make the Call – What do I say?  Answering Machine – Not so Fast!

Love Notes & Letters

Resist the Temptation, Please!  To begin your stewardship letters with “Thank You” or “On behalf of…”  Start using “YOU” and “YOUR”

You are a superhero! You are amazing! You and your gift raised the bar! You are incredible! You made it happen!

Donor-Centered Letters Gail Perry, Fired Up Fundraising  Your gift will create….  Your gift will be used for…  You clearly believe in…  We are thrilled that you have joined us.  Thank you for partnering…  Your participation means so much….

DO’s Gail Perry, Fired Up Fundraising Be really, really prompt Get the donors name right and personalize Have a high-ranking person sign the letter Show some emotion, positive and upbeat, charming Send several thank yous from different people Mention how the gift will be used Sign it with a real signature Include contact name in case donor has questions Handwrite and use perfect grammar and punctuation

DON’TS Gail Perry, Fired Up Fundraising XDon’t start with “On behalf of” or “Dear Friend” XDon’t ask for another gift XDon’t keep selling XDon’t misspell their name XDon’t go on and on, be concise and ditch the verbosity XDon’t be formal or lofty XDon’t be vague about how the money will be used XDon’t sign it yourself unless you the at the top

Strategic Stewardship

Making Magic  Take the time you need - with your team - to strategize about your donors  Without distraction and during a special meeting time - behind closed doors  Create the most meaningful stewardship experience your time and resources allow

Steps You Can Take Today  Drip feed donors  Connect with donors, often  Be personal by sharing specific interests (segment)  Develop like a good friendship (use the word “you”)  Have different people connect with your donors  Always communicate what their money is doing  Tell your story

| Go forth and create more joyful donors! Thank You