Before you can ask for a major gift, you need to focus on gratitude.
Stop thinking of your donors as ATM machines and really focus on them as people. Think about what they do for your organization. They don’t simply give money. They save lives. They feed the hungry and house the homeless. They educate children. They help cure diseases.
Donors are so much more than simply donors. Until you start treating them that way, they’ll have no real incentive to give you a penny more.
Stewardship 101
Stewardship is often talked about as the last step in fundraising. It’s the thank you after a gift is made. However, you should think about stewardship long before you ask for a gift.
How will you thank your donors so that they understand the impact they’ve made on your organization?
How can you thank your donors so they want to give again and again and again?
Sadly, I’ve come across too many organizations where donors aren’t thanked at all. Staff and board members feel it’s not necessary, and then wonder why they struggle with fundraising! Do you think you would give a second time to an organization that didn’t appreciate your first gift?
Action Item of the Week #1 — Create a Stewardship Plan
This week, determine who, when, and how you will follow up with your donors. Will all donors be treated equally or will you have a different plan for different donors? How will you follow up with and thank major donors?
A good rule of thumb is that a donor should be thanked in multiple ways by multiple people, as well as told how their donation was used (follow up), before being asked for another gift.
Who: Who will thank your donors? Your staff? Board members?
When: How soon after the gift is made will they receive their first thank you? Their second? When will they receive an update on how the gift was used and the impact it made?
How: In addition to a tax receipt (basics), will they get a handwritten card or note? Will they get a thank you call? Will they be listed in your next newsletter or annual report? What about on your website?
Follow Up: Let donors know how their contribution made a difference. How were their funds used? What impact did they have on the mission or cause?
The table below provides some ideas for how you can answer many of these questions.
A Sample Stewardship Plan
| Donors | Tax Receipt Thank You Letter | Hand Written Note by Exec. Director | Phone Call by Board Member | Follow-Up in 6-8 Months |
| $100 or Less | Within 1 Week | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $101 – $500 | Within 1 Week | Within 2 Weeks | Within 2 Weeks | Letter or Email |
| $501 – $1,999 | Within 1 Week | Within 1 Week | Within 1 Week | Letter with Note |
| $2,000 or More | Within 1 Week | Within 1 Week | Within 2 Days | In Person |
Your plan should be simple enough that you can follow it on a regular and ongoing basis, and at the same time substantial enough to truly steward your donors.
Be sure to include an in-person follow-up meeting for all major donors.
Ultimately, you will want to have at least three meetings per year with your major donors.
- The initial, cultivation meeting.
- The ask meeting.
- The follow-up meeting.
The follow-up meeting comes last, after the donation has been made. I am mentioning it here so that you know to prepare for it and expect it.
Now, let’s move on to your task for next week.
Action Item of the Week #2 — Create Stewardship Materials
How old and stale are your stewardship materials (if you even have any)? Take a little time to write a new thank you letter. And if you plan on having board members make thank you calls, draft a few talking points for them.
Writing Thank You Letters
The base of your thank you letter can stay the same for most donors, but you will want to write a few personalized paragraphs that can be swapped in and out for different donors.
For example, you should use distinct language for:
- first-time donors
- repeat donors
- major donors
- board members
- other volunteers
Make certain that donors feel like they’re receiving personal letters, written just for them. Remember, you’re not simply thanking them for a wad of cash, but for helping fulfill your mission. What difference did their contribution make? Will more children be vaccinated, thanks to them?
Utilizing Board Members and the Executive Director
If your board members will be making thank you calls to donors, draft some talking points for them to use during their calls. What difference did their donation really make? These calls are a great opportunity to let the donor know.
Should they leave messages? (Yes!)
Should they leave a return number? What number? Theirs or the number of the organization? Think it through.
If you expect the executive director to write personal notes, write a sample draft note. Provide the stationery and details about the donor.
Recap: Create Your Stewardship Plan and Materials
Once you’re ready to steward, you’re one step closer to asking for Major Gifts! So focus on this week’s action items and get a simple plan together, followed by revitalizing (or creating) your thank you letters and other materials next week.
This should only take you two hours per week, as promised! Spend two hours this week on the stewardship plan, and two hours next week on thank you letters and other materials.
If you’ve committed to taking the Major Gifts Challenge, it’s time to share! Every time you comment, you further solidify your commitment to the challenge. With that in mind, provide a comment below about who, when, and how you will follow up with your donors.
This post is part of Amy’s Major Gifts Challenge. Read the entire series to learn how to solicit major gifts by spending just a few hours each month.
New Eyes’ basic donor acknowledgement process is solid. A formal thank you signed by the ED goes out within 1-3 days of receipt of donation. Almost every one gets a personal note. Major gift givers receive a personal note from a board member. It’s the follow up that comes next that we need to work on.
Great, Susan! You’re on your way. The secondary follow-up, when you tell donors how their money was used, is critical as well. Take this opportunity to add that important step to your already successful process. With major donors, you will want to follow-up in person.
Our fall Jogathon and 5K Mud Run fundraiser received a few Sponsorship gifts over $500. We are now getting ready to install the Technology that the funds were raised for. I am going to send a follow-up note now about the upcoming install and will send a classroom picture with another note in a few weeks after the Interactive Boards are in the classrooms and being used by our students.
Angela – Yes, that’s exactly the right idea. Make certain that the photo of the classroom includes smiling students. Remember – it’s not about the technology per se, but who benefits from it. Your note should not simply talk about the technology, but who will benefit and why. Think in terms of outcomes. What will students be able to do now that they couldn’t do before?
I work for an order of religious sisters and our funds are used to support young women entering the order and retired sisters who have given a lifetime of service to the people of God. We have Raiser’s Edge and we thank all people promptly. The head of the order adds a personal note. For any gift over $250 I make a personal call. Our board members, alas, will not help with this. The remaining item is the follow up letting donors know how their gifts were used. I guess I cold talk about the young women entering and the older sisters whose comfot and quality of life that donors’ gifts help secure?
Thank you so much.
Murray Grove has a strong track record of thanking its donors, creatively and promptly. However, we need to follow a broader pattern. I commit to training board members in their calls to major donors, to develop relationships with them. And we had never thought of post-donation visits to our largest donors; that will be scheduled this year.
Hooray, Carol! Let me know how it works.
Thank you Amy for your advice. At CONTACT We Care, I am both the ED and main fundraiser. Your two hours a week really helps me. I know a major gift for us is $1,000. Before your blog, every donor got a thank you letter within a week, signed by the ED and with a handwritten note from the ED. The board also called every donor at the beginning of the year to thank them for their support in the last year.
Based on your advice, I have customized my thank you letters for board members, major givers, repeat givers, first time givers, listeners who give and other volunteers who give. I’ve also started sending my board members weekly lists of all the donors in case they know someone they want to thank. At the next board meeting I will also talk to them about rotating thank you’s to donors who give $500 or more – by telephone or e-mail – whatever the major donor prefers. I will follow up major donors with a personal visit too.
You also got me thinking about my “welcome packets” for new donors. And the offer for all donors other than listeners to come tour our facilities and interact with our listeners. In addition, I made the offer to all the donors to visit our website for updates (which I keep current) and to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.
Amy – you’ve gotten ne excited about adding to my workload!
I work with two non-profits, one literacy based and the other is in animal welfare. Both send out thank you letters, but the animal welfare agency seems to send out more personalized notes written and signed by a board member.Sometimes the president will send out and sign thank you notes to donors. The other non-profit sends out typed letters signed by the executive director , with a hand written comment. This board does not get involved in the writing of TYNs.
Hi Genevieve,
As long as both are getting notes out – and personalized in some way, it seems good to me!
We’re reworking our TY process now. Previously, we sent thank-you once a month with receipts. We’re beginning to do them weekly now, and one board member has stepped up to write personal TY cards each week. We already did some phone calls, but without a formal plan many were falling through the cracks with some people getting several thank-you’s and others getting too few. The sample plan here is very helpful to us. Our online donation system uses a third party that sends out receipts, and we have to improve our system to get personal thanks out from us to those donors. We are plugging the holes in our system!
Kay – it sounds like you’re on the right track! Keep up the good work.
Stewardship is one of my favorite parts of the fundraising process! For our major donors, they receive a personalized thank you/receipt from me, a personalized thank you from our ED, and a followup letter including details about how their gift was used, and including photos when appropriate. The followup letter is handwritten.
Many of our supporters live in our facility, so I try to get with them to have lunch or a cup of coffee, or just stop to chat when I see them – using that time to get to know them and thank them for their support.
When I started in my position in January I rewrote all of our receipting letters and thank you letters, and I typically personalized them when I am able.
Go Amanda!
Here is our plan!
Donor Stewardship Plan
Donors Tax Receipt Thank You Letter Hand Written Note by Development Director Hand Written Note by Executive Director Phone Call by Board Member Follow-Up in 6-8 Months
$100 or Less Within 1 Week N/A N/A N/A N/A
$101 – $500 Within 1 Week Within 2 Weeks N/A N/A Letter or Email
$501 – $1,500 Within 1 Week N/A Within 2 Weeks Within 1 Week Letter with Note
$1,500 or More Within 1 Week N/A Within 1 Week Within 2 Days In Person
We get thank you notes out pretty quickly and our President signs and puts a short note on each. In addition, with larger donors, they get a thank you call. I sort and distribute their contact info to senior staff who know them or are their solicitors. Our President sends me the comments from each call and I put it in their RE Actions. Some people will get an email thank you too if that is their preference.
For the most part, we treat all donors, not just major donors, the same. Everyone receives an acknowledgment letter with a handwritten addition to it. Everyone also receives a phone call thanking them, from either the E.D. or a board member. In addition, though, major donors are sent a small gift (in the three years we’ve been doing it, it’s been a signed book authored by a board member, a DVD of a grant-supported documentary, and a signed book related to our mission authored by frequent collaborators of our organization) along with a handwritten note. We also invite major donors to attend specific program events throughout the year. We also invite them to attend our annual fundraiser for free, and for the first time this year, to a special reception just for them at a local museum, featuring an exhibit that received grant funding from us. And, for some, we do invite to coffee/lunch throughout the year.
Aaron,
I love the gifts and it sounds like you’re doing a great job. As you grow your list of supporters, you may need to scale back on the hand written letters and/or calls, but as long as you can handle them for everyone, great!
Our acknowledgement process was centralized at NatureBridge, but in SoCal we took this task on ourselves so that we could thank donors more quickly and have “wet” signatures on the acknowledgement rather than a stock signature. In addition, we do handwritten thank you notes and calls. I like the idea of crafting different thank you letters for different types of donors, however (first time, repeat, etc.), and think this is an area for improvement.
Dharma Rain gets a tax receipt letter out fairly soon, but its still sporadic. For this capital campaign, that we’re kicking off in June, we will be also sending a separate handmade gift for donations over $20, along with an attached letter and note. Board phone calls will happen following specific milestones, linking the gift to the milestone, within 6 months of the gift.
Sounds good. Be careful sending gifts – that they don’t cost too much or take up too much time. The cost of the envelope and stamp alone are too much to send anything to $20 donors. Maybe consider sending small, inexpensive gifts to donors of $50 or more or even $100 or more. Of course, that being said, I don’t even know what the gift is… maybe something sent by email, or a drawing?
We currently get thank you notes out pretty quickly, however, more attention needs to be paid to tailoring the notes for the type of donor (i.e. first time donor, repeat, major, etc.). We also need improvement in the area of follow up in the 6 to 8 months following the gift. I will definitely work on rewriting the letters with the different types of donors in mind.
Great, Christina! Let me know how it goes.
I LOVE to thank donors! And, I love the idea of having a well-thought out plan. I think we presently have a good plan: we use etapestry donor management system which allows us to set up letters which we update each month with a new story. We have not yet created separate letters for different types of donors (first time, particular interest, etc). Even with a small staff, we pride ourselves in getting an acknowledgement letter out almost the same day the donation is received, and each month, the letter changes.
I will first spend time reviewing our presnt plan for calling/thanking donors in other ways, and writing it out so I can involve board members/staff who are willing to make calls and visits. I also plan to write down all that we are presently doing…evaluate, and see where we need to improve, omit, or adjust. Our present plan includes calls, letters, annual report, acknowledgement letters, hand-written notes, and visits when possible. Yet, there isn’t a clear system of who, what, when and how.
Next, I’ll consider customizing the donor letters, and will consider how we can say thank-you more through quarterly newsletters so it is seen as a Thanks, and not just a report.
We have a very small staff (4 people) and we all pitch in for every aspect of running our organization. For me this means everyone signs our thank you letters for all donors over $50. (Four real signatures with little personal notes). In six months this has already made a positive difference.
Hoping to get my board energized– they are traditionally presented with the list of donors from the previous month at each board meeting and recently confessed that only one of the fourteen was sending notes and making calls. From now on, I’m providing stationary and assigning names.
Hi Emily,
Sounds like you’re doing a great job. As your organization grows, it won’t be practical for all staff members to sign thank you letters, but until that day comes, keep doing a great job!
I am a program developer which could include any facet of research, proposal writing, invitation letters, advisory committee coordinating, simple grant writing and any/all types of resource development; including social capital.
My concern is that I work for a municipality and it is such a fine line to determine which donors (foundations, corporations) can support us, beyond federal, state, county and/or governmental entities. I’ve been successful with many corporations, but could use the support of an interest pool of municipality workers.
what I am doing is putting a handwritten sticky note on the tax letter. I am also calling new donors to thank them. I have not planned the personal visits outside of one major donor. Thanks for the insights on this!
Sounds like you’re on the right track!
On Task #1
This is taking some time to puzzle through, just to make sure we’re covering all bases. Are the timelines realistic for program staff and Council members?
Our major gift threshold is $4000, and we have 30 families at and above this level, and another 40 families in the $2500-$3995 wings. We can raise the money IFF we can get the rest of the pieces moving and working. It is a shift of mindset and viewpoint for staff and Councils to do this much “thanking”.
This will be something new to ask our donor tracking software for.
For anyone in the $0-1000 gift: tax letter w/i a week and ask around to see who knows this person, maybe that person could write a sticky note (thanks Padre).
For $1000-2000, letter, pastor note w/i the month, phone call w/i 2 wks, 3 month follow-on by letter/email
For $2000-3000, letter, pastor note w/i 2 wks, phone call w/i 1 wk, 3 mo follow-on by note
For $3000-4000, letter, pastor note w/i 1 wk, phone call w/i 4 days, 3 mo follow-on in person
For $4000+, letter, pastor note w/i 3 days, phone call w/i 2 days, 2 mo follow-on in person.
Phone calls will be rotated through Pastoral Council, Finance committee, and program staff. Once we can identify the program area(s) most affected by the gift, that program staff will also assist in thank you process.
Besides the initial/cultivation mtg, the ask mtg, and the thank you/follow-on mtg, is there room for an “advice” meeting? Or is that part of the agenda of one of the others?
We are deferring consideration of publication of names and gifts by seeking the advice of Councils and the donors themselves.
What am I not planning for yet?
I should state, the gift levels are cumulative over the previous 12 months.
If your cultivation plan is too complicated, you won’t be able to follow it. Consider having 4 categories to start and work your way up. Do one thing for donors under $1000 and other things for donors over $1,000. It can’t be cumulative, because you will thank them each time they may a gift – unless it is part of a monthly giving program, in which case you might thank them after they make the pledge and then at the end (unless they are giving online and the monthly thank you is automatically generated). Hope that makes sense.
As for asking advice – that should be constant – that’s part of keeping them engaged. But it’s certainly part of your cultivation meeting.
Amy,
Thanks.
At least for the moment, ALL our giving is in a non-pledged, monthly mailed (well, weekly in Mass collection plate) format or approach. The person may give in a single or several gifts in various ways over the year. We also count ALL giving to various parish projects.
Why the 12 month cumulative? I’m not sure why.
It does keep the consistent givers closer to the top of the list.
As the year (and the list) ebbs and flows (and as I engage more deeply with people on the list and farther down the list), I notice the changes.
I don’t have to start over at $0 each year.
I don’t have to synch up with either the calendar or fiscal year.
It feels easier for some reason. Having thought of it this way, I’m having trouble unthinking it.
But maybe it does need some re-think.
On Task #2 Creating New Stewardship (Thanksgiving/Cultivation) materials.
This is in process.
New letter for first-time givers: DONE
New letters for repeat as they give (variable each month by program staff and others): Almost done, to be generated each month.
Major Givers will get these materials, AND the 3-4 yearly visits.
Pastoral Council/Finance Committee/Staff (past and present): hmmmm
Volunteers: Annual Feel Good Party event, regular blessings during Mass as ministry is highlighted.
As consultations proceed, we’ll be able to segment donors by interest.
This article was so so helpful! I just started with my organization and am kind of a novice to donor cultivation and am working on developing a stewardship plan with our CDO right now. That stewardship plan table is going to help me layout my responsibilities in a way that makes sense.
Right now I’m following up with any donor who gave $200-$500 last year to say thank you (because they probably haven’t heard from a real human being in a long while) and possibly engage in more giving, but I feel like if they haven’t been properly cultivated yet, asking for more money isn’t really appropriate as a first touch point-thoughts?
Thank you!
That’s right, Mel. Say thank you (and mean it) without asking for more money. If you can, find out why they started to give to your organization and why they continue to give. Find out what they like most, and least, about your organization… always good conversation starters.
Every donation of £100 and above receives a personal thank you (hand written salutation and signature). £10,000 (there haven’t been many) will receive a letter from our CEO.
Geraldine – The larger gifts should receive a phone call from your CEO or board member, in addition to the personal thank you.
I’m grateful for your guidance Amy. After reading this article I see the “holes” in my plan. I never made it real by giving it a name – Stewardship. Much stress would occur after receiving a donation of any size because a week or two later I would suddenly realize ( usually as I was falling asleep for the night), I had not sent out a receipt. Thank you for helping me develop my fundraising muscles!
The YWCA is essentially “rebuilding” its planned giving and individual giving program. However, we’ve made it a priority that all donors receive their tax receipt thank you letter within 1 week. Now that we consider our major donors $500+, the Executive Director will write a personal message on each of those thank you letters. As for gifts $1,000+, the Executive Director or a board member will write a handwritten thank you note (alongside the thank you tax receipt letter).
This is very timely because I’m trying to revamp our current thank you note. I don’t think it is personal enough. I do write a little note on every thank you note but I’m still not sure if donors get how grateful I am for them. So I want to write a letter that helps them totally understand that is what I mean.
One of my big pushes is to have board members call and thank donors. They don’t do that at the moment…they don’t do much for development so I think that would be an easy start.
Do you have any advise on writing letters for major donors ($500+) that give multiple times? The organization I work for already has a letter that we send for major donors, but they get the same letter every time they donate.
Hello! I have just started going through this program and am greatly appreciating the advice.
For our organization, we have major donors located all over the United States. How do you recommend handling a request for an in-person meeting if the flight would likely not be worth the trip to see just one person? Is this something we should remove from our major gifts plan for major donors who are located farther than a couple hour drive, and just make sure we are making time for regular phone calls?
For reference, a major donor for us is anyone over $10,000.
Thank you for all of this amazing information – very helpful as we continue to develop our major gifts program!
I would say that if you’re asking for $10,000, then spending up to $1,000 or even $1,500 on the trip is well worth the expense. However, if you have donors all over the place, do keep in touch by phone and video chat. Also, make sure they know that you would love to visit with them if they ever travel to your area.
Amy, this is so helpful, thank you. Do you have a site you can direct me to for samples of your favorite customized thank you letter text for the unique demographic buckets of donors you mentioned in your article? There are so many different ways to approach the letter content and I am interested in your perspective of what approach works best.