The practice of donor stewardship usually includes a variety of steps or phases that aim to move the donor from their most recent gift to a next gift sometime in the future. Steps like the ones below are commonplace: Formal and timely gift acknowledgement and receipting; Personalized gratitude and thanking the donor for the gift;…
Category: Constituency Service
A Higher Education ‘Feel Good’ Story With a Moral
Recently, I read a news story about a woman who posted on social media about potentially missing out on a substantial scholarship offer from Maryville College in Tennessee. If you have yet to read the story, the basics are that student was going to need significant financial assistance to go the traditional 4-year college route. …
“Yes” and “No” Are Overrated
“I’m writing to let you know that we will make the gift of $50,000.” “Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to give this year.” The first quote represents the wonderful news that the donor will give. Yes! This is a fantastic message to receive and we rejoice in receiving it. The second quote, on…
2 Types of Meetings
Collaborative Meetings. These meetings are designed to brainstorm together, to collectively create, to “bounce ideas off of each other.” The purpose of these meetings is to involve others in the idea formation process. Responsive Meetings. These meetings are designed to react to a proposal, to refine an idea, to improve a plan. The purpose of…
More and Less
Everyone expects “more.” Each year, our annual fund goal increases. Our new campaign will be the biggest ever. The goal for the number of donors next year will be more than this year’s goal. Getting to “more,” though, often means focusing on less. If our annual fund goal is increasing, who are the small subset…
Strolling vs. Scrolling
Humans are built to walk. Our walking ability not only provides us with the mobility to enjoy and govern our physical world in ways most other species can not, it also is a great form of exercise. Simply walking consistently produces a host of wonderful benefits including reducing body fat, enhancing memory, strengthening bones, lowering…
7 Degrees of Generosity
Here is a Human Generosity Scale I’ve been considering for some time. It’s still in a draft form, but I thought I’d share this version: The model posits that there are 2 types of people who are unwilling to give – the Consciously Ungenerous and the Unconsciously Ungenerous. The difference is that the Consciously Ungenerous…
Should Giving Be Easier?
A mere 25 years ago there wasn’t widespread adoption of email or internet technologies. Texting from mobile devices didn’t become popular until the early 2000s and smart mobile phones weren’t ubiquitous until later that decade. Email, the internet, texting, mobile devices. . . We have experienced tremendous technological advances over the last 25 years. And, as…
Just Go Play
My son plays high school basketball. During the fall of 2020, his freshman year, his high school made the difficult decision to cancel most of their season due to the pandemic. Because he would be missing a full year of his high school career, my son went to his coach and asked what drills he…
Feeling Questions
People feel the intent of the question, regardless of the word choice or content. “Can you help me understand the numbers?” can be an authentic, even humble question. Or, it can be a passive-aggressive bomb. “Were you invited to the meeting?” can be a question that elevates one’s sense of value. Or, it can be…