Stewardship is the act of building relationships with your supporters and motivating them to continue donating into the future, thus creating sustainable growth for your nonprofit. And it’s certainly true that it’s cheaper to retain a donor than it is to bring in a new one!
In short, donor stewardship is vital to your organization.
Stewardship is filled with multiple activities that align with each stage of the donor journey. From email receipts to phone calls to handwritten thank-you notes – and beyond – each activity is just as important as the last. Learn more about donor stewardship and how you can apply it within your nonprofit in this blog.
But it can be difficult to keep track of each activity as well as when it should be completed and who is responsible for every task. To make things easier, create a Stewardship Plan for your organization!
First, download the Sample Stewardship Plan above. Use it first as inspiration for the stewardship activities you will include in your own plan – list out all of the different audiences you’ll need to reach, as well as the tactics you will use to steward those specific audiences.
Next, continue using the Sample Stewardship Plan as a guide for scheduling these tactics and activities. Be sure to determine the timeframe each activity must be completed in, the target audience, the action itself, a description of the action, and the staff member(s) responsible for getting it done.
Then, all you need to do is implement your plan! Don’t forget to revisit it from time to time to make adjustments as necessary.
Looking for more donor stewardship guidance? Download this Donor Stewardship Checklist to make sure you have all of the pieces of the stewardship puzzle in place.
And learn more about donor stewardship, retention, and acknowledgment in Episode 67 of The Nonprofit Podcast, Donor Acquisition vs. Retention – The Surprising Truth, and this Donor Retention + Acknowledgements webinar.
