As we think about the things we are watching in 2025, deepening our relationships with donors and funding partners keeps coming up in our conversations. As organizations are navigating a changing philanthropic and political environment, staying close to our donors and keeping them informed is critical. Instead of solely chasing new donors, retaining our existing donors should be a critical focus for 2025.
Because it always feels like you could use more time, here are five practical suggestions for you to strengthen your stewardship practices:
1. Engage Your Board: Ask them to spend the last 30 minutes of a spring board meeting writing thank you notes or postcards. And then sometime this summer, invite your board to a special thank-a-thon session.
2. Use Technology In Your Hand: Grab a 30-40 second video of programming, lightly edit it to make sure nothing out of the ordinary or unnecessary is in the film, and send it to a group of donors. This doesn’t have to be professionally produced!
3. Use Technology In Your Hand Part 2: Texting works. But don't overwhelm your donors. They want to see a text from you "from time to time," but not as frequently as their kids asking for money.
4. Activate Social Media: We know that various generations are using all of the social media platforms. Facebook hits Boomers and Gen X; Instagram speaks to Gen X and some older Millennials; SnapChat and TikTok are the primary tools for younger Millennials and Gen Z. Here's the catch, make sure you can sustain whatever you do. Social media algorithms constantly change and require diligence to make sure your messages stay relevant and top of mind.
5. Make Some Phone Calls: How much time are we spending scrolling our own social media or LinkedIn pages? What if we took just 60 minutes of that time each week and dedicated it to making phone calls to donors. Chances are you will get a lot of voicemails, but it is nice to hear a friendly voice, and research shows a voice message is just as effective (if not more) as catching the person live on the call.
There are so many other things that you can do too. If you work with young students, use their artwork or projects on the back of acknowledgement letters. If you are in the performing arts world, record 45 seconds of a rehearsal and ask the performers or a single performer to simply say "thank you for making this happen." Our museum friends could highlight a few interesting facts about a piece of art or object that might not be regularly seen. Or consider a series of profiles of some loyal or generous donors.
Ultimately, deepening our relationships with donors is going to be critical this year and well into the future. Let us know if you'd like to have a conversation specific to your organization!
Cape Fletcher Associates
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