Stewardship is a Team Sport:
A Playbook
Shane Jacobson
Vice President for Development
and Alumni Relations
Grinnell College
[email protected]
@GrinnellAlumVP
Today’s Conversation
 Frame the “playbook”
 Remind ourselves of the roles cultivation
and solicitation play in setting the stage for
effective stewardship
 Discuss stewardship’s core components
 Engage with one another
 “Systems approach”
 Individual case study
Today’s Conversation
 My experience (successes and failures) tell
me that I’ve learned enough to be dangerous
 I also don’t have all the answers
 Some ideas will sounds great, others will not
 Our institutional history, culture, and
demographics are all important nuances to
understand. But best practice is also best
practice.
 What is your goal today? What role do you
play in achieving that goal?
Frame the “playbook”
Stewardship is to fundraising
as ________________ is to ________________?
Create your “playbook”
The Generative Curve
Opportunity-framing
Strategy
Opportunity
for
Generative
Work
Sourced: Bill Ryan, Ryan Consulting
Operational,
Tactics,
Execution
Time
Frame the “playbook”
What questions could you ask
early in the generative curve
when building or enhancing
individual and system-wide
stewardship?
Frame the “playbook”
 How should solicitations inform our best
practice stewardship model(s)?
 How can more staff in our organization
learn from successful and failed
stewardship activities?
 Which stewardship outcomes will connect to
the priorities of our next campaign (even if
the priorities are only just emerging at this
point)?
Why does this matter?
 For every 100 donors gained in 2014, 103
were lost through attrition. That is a NET
LOSS of 3%!
 Every $100 gained in 2014 was offset by
$95 through gift attrition! This nets out to a
sad 5% gain.
Source: AFP 2015 Fundraising Effectiveness Report
Why does this matter?
 The donor retention rate was 43 percent in
2014 (Median). That is, only 43 percent of
2013 donors made repeat gifts to nonprofits
in 2014.
 The gift retention rate was 47 percent in
2014 (Median). That is, only 47 percent of
2013 dollars raised were raised again by
nonprofits in 2014.
Source: AFP 2015 Fundraising Effectiveness Report
Why does this matter?
At all levels, stewardship is our
best form of cultivation!
Then by extension this
phenomenon becomes a
significant lifeline to sustain
giving, raise aspirations towards
bigger gifts, and set the building
blocks for the next campaign!
Source: All fundraisers, everywhere!
From framing to cultivation
and solicitations…
What does great cultivation
look like?
 Capacity + Inclination + Readiness = ASK
 Qualify and build trust
 Recognize motivations and behaviors
 Engage campus stakeholders
 Build a shared vision
 Create urgency
 Explore gift ranges, impact, and timing
 Understand objections
What does great solicitation
look like?
 Capacity + Inclination + Readiness = ASK
 Hopefully a seamless transition
 No surprises – clear intent
 Capacity and liquidity
 Define the finish line
 Ask!
Are you setting the stage for
effective stewardship?
 Have you asked how the donor(s) would
expect to learn about the impact of their
philanthropy?
 Have you developed a shared
understanding of how exactly gifts will be
spent?
 Have the donors become familiar with those
who will spend their precious resources?
 Have you left room for unplanned
opportunities?
From the basics to core
components of stewardship…
The obvious:
 Acknowledgement
 Recognition
 Accountability
 Access
 Celebrations
My Five “Plays”
 1.) Stewardship plans must be integrated
with cultivation and solicitation plans.
 Create a dedicated portion of your strategy
documents to build draft and then
penultimate stewardship strategies.
 Leverage your technology to house these
plans.
 Use the mechanics of the gift closure
process to trigger immediate stewardship
plan confirmation and intentional
stewardship activities.
My Five “Plays”
 2.) As often as possible, create stewardship plans
that broaden and deepen donor’s relationships
with people.
 Establish direct contact between fund
administrators and donors. This requires
preparation and trust internally!
 Prepare campus partners so they understand if
they are the quarterback, goalie, power forward,
or scrum-half.
 Use technology, language, and imagery to your
advantage
 Use students! Use students! Use students!
My Five “Plays”
 3.) Use your data and systems to your
advantage.
 Establish proactive working relationships with
finance and budget officers. Were they aware
of the solicitation? Do they appreciate their
roles going forward?
 Are stewardship staff equipped with early
warning systems?
 Do you track donor’s areas of interest and can
you produce individualized communication in
a mass communication approach?
My Five “Plays”
 4.) Understand the strongest elements of your
stewardship platform and funnel activity into
those areas. Set expectations from the
beginning!
 Stewardship reports
 Impact statements
 Video messaging
 Presidential phone calls
 Volunteerism
 Donors as extensions of our staff
 Engagement with campus and board leadership
My Five “Plays”
 5.) Let your campus’ distinctiveness (or
“quirkiness”) shine through
 Community days of service
 New student orientation
 Student newspaper
 Interesting club or organization
 Introduction to new faculty, staff, or administration
 Less scripted…less formal…among the goals,
“fun” can be near the top
Now it is a team sport
Break into 2-person groups
Focus on your stewardship “system’s” strengths.
Answer the question: What is working really,
really well within your system’s stewardship
program and could be applied more effectively or
broadly to current or prospective leadership-level
donors?
You have ten minutes.
If there is time, a few groups will report out…
Now it is a team sport
Break into 2-person groups
Focus on a specific donor who is in the
cultivation or solicitation phase.
Answer the question: Starting tomorrow, what
can you do to set the stage for a more impactful
post-gift closure stewardship experience?
You have ten minutes.
If there is time, a few groups will report out…
Now it is a team sport
Answer the question: What is working really,
really well within your system’s stewardship
program and could be applied more effectively or
broadly to current or prospective leadership-level
donors?
Answer the question: Starting tomorrow, what
can you do to set the stage for a more impactful
post-gift closure stewardship experience?
Thank you
Did you achieve your goal?
Closing questions or comments?
Session evaluations will be emailed.
Shane Jacobson
[email protected]
@GrinnellAlumVP