Note: This post – the third in a three-part series – is by Train Your Board partner Laurel McCombs. Thanks, Laurel!

I’m excited to share the latest installment on how you can engage your supporters in authentic and meaningful ways. 

Since my last post, the 2023 Giving USA results were released. The data demonstrates what we’ve been seeing for years: fewer and fewer individuals making philanthropic gifts to nonprofits. 

In the first two posts, I shared ideas about how you can actively address these trends by building trust and deepening engagement. Today, let’s discuss how you can better retain your donors by demonstrating how their gifts impact the success of your organization and your mission.

Stewardship matters

Stewardship is not a new idea. No doubt you’ve attended workshops and read articles outlining why donor retention is core to success and how stewardship is the key to retention. I’ve had countless conversations with organizations that know they should be doing more and better stewardship but continue to put it near the bottom of their priority list. Why?

Today is the day to change your priorities. Donor acquisition is both hard and expensive. Nonprofits invest so many resources to recruit new supporters, yet we continue to be confronted by new donor retention rates that hover around 20%. Yikes!

Strong, meaningful stewardship is not a “nice to have”, it’s a “must do.” However, not all stewardship is created equally. Simply checking it off your to-do list may not solve your donor retention challenges.

Going beyond thank you

I’m just going to say it: I’m sick of gratitude. 

Don’t get me wrong. You need to say thank you. You need to express to your donors how much you appreciate their support. But that can’t be the extent of your stewardship strategy. 

Anyone can say thank you, but not everyone can share the specific impact of your organization. Donors don’t need to be constantly told how grateful you are. Instead, they need to know that their investment in your work is a good one … and it’s an investment they should continue to make.

An impact-driven approach to stewardship

Adopting an impact-driven stewardship approach will help ensure that your donors feel appreciated AND understand the ways in which their support creates change. Here are a few things to consider.

1. Don’t just share what you’re doing. Share what’s different because you did it.

Activities are great. Many donors want to know what you’re up to, but doing something doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve affected change. Connect the dots so your supporters understand how the things you do are achieving the impact you all want to see.

2. Demonstrate impact in compelling, compassionate ways. While impact is typically measured through data and metrics, strive to share those numbers in ways that drive emotion and connection. By telling outcome stories, you can make statistics personal and real.

3. Don’t forget about trust and engagement. Impact-driven stewardship is your chance to wrap all three core elements into one package. Stewardship provides the opportunity to be transparent, sharing stories of success, but also of “failing forward.” Being open with supporters about your challenges not only builds trust but demonstrates resilience and commitment to your work.

Stewardship provides incredible opportunities for engagement, building on your donors’ enthusiasm and deepening their commitment. 

Every strategy should strive to have think, feel, and do components. While one-way communications with donors can be an efficient approach to share impact – and can help supporters to think about your work and feel its impact – how are you encouraging folks to do something?

“Nice” is insufficient

My primary advice to just about every organization: focus more on impact-driven stewardship. 

I’ve been active in the nonprofit sector for more than twenty years and I’m tired of our work being seen as “nice.” Nice is insufficient.

We create change – big change – to address the most critical challenges facing our communities around the world. Our work isn’t “nice,” it’s essential. 

You have an opportunity to help your supporters understand and respond accordingly. You control your own narrative. Stop being grateful and start showing folks why you’re essential.