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Your donors are entrusted to your care. You have invested in bringing them on board and connecting them to your organization. Now it’s your responsibility to guide them through the journey and show them why what they are doing matters—and why they should keep doing it. They are relying on you to show them the way.

It also makes good business sense to do so. The difference between the donor who gives a few times then vanishes and the donor who gives to you for decades isn’t all that big. Sometimes it just comes down to a few key moments where having that hand to guide you or voice to explain the impact you’re creating can make all the difference. Make sure you don’t miss out on those moments.

Focus on these four keys to make your stewardship program a success:

  1. Establish business rules around your stewardship strategy – Make sure you have staff dedicated to stewardship. Dig into an area of your data you can really use as a stewardship starting point, and determine the metrics you will use to measure success. Most importantly, make sure everyone in your organization is aligned in commitment to your stewardship program.
  2. Step back and consider the ideal donor experience – Use journey mapping to plot the course you want your donors to take. Think about what connects donors to your mission and what motivates them to act. Lay out the key interactions your donors will have with your organization and design an experience that will fulfill their needs.
  3. Stand out with immersive digital experiences – Use the digital space to capture the native voice of your donors, leverage meaningful connections to your brand, and take the opportunity to learn more about your donors interests and passions by getting them involved.
  4. Place a close focus on relationships to drive retention – Remember, retention is all about building strong relationships with donors who feel important and committed. Place a key focus on donors in the critical first three years of their relationship with your organization to drive loyalty and long-term success.

One Small Step Toward Stewardship, One Giant Leap for Your Organization

Successful stewardship is something you can start working toward today. You don’t need to do it all right away. You can start small. The key is simply making stewardship a priority and taking some form of action to get the ball rolling. Just one small step toward more strategic stewardship will pay off for your organization and your donors in a big way.

Learn more about the steps you can take toward developing a more effective stewardship program. Download our resource “Demystifying the Donor Journey” now.