When you hear the word stewardship, what comes to mind? For many, it is likely some form of thank you for a gift. At the very least, that looks like some kind of acknowledgment and record for tax purposes. Some may go further with handwritten notes or phone calls to say thank you to certain donors.
Don’t get us wrong, these modes of thanking are a MUST and necessary for any effective fundraising. But stewardship is not just a thank you. Equally important is showing donors the impact of their gift.
A recent study by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy that examined donor trends, and specifically the decline in households giving to charity, shows donors feel organizations fall short when demonstrating the impact gifts have.
Link to study (lots of other great insights) here.
It is important to note here that you should not assume donors receive and examine every communication you send them. They don’t read every letter word for word or engage with every social media post. While you may feel you are demonstrating impact to donors, they are telling us we are not doing enough, and they want more information on impact to increase their engagement.
For this reason, it is important to create a plan that illustrates impact across multiple channels and throughout the year. It is also important to note that impact means different things for different donors. For some, it may mean the number of people who participated in your program or other statistics (think infographics). For others, it may be an in-depth story about a single beneficiary of your organization. Be sure to communicate both. Here are methods you can use to show impact to donors:
Donor acknowledgments and thank yous - Use underlines, bullets, and graphics to draw attention.
Newsletters/magazines - Consider more in-depth profiles of beneficiaries and programs supported by donors.
Social media - Articles from newsletters or magazines can be highlighted through social media. Video, even short updates on new programs are buildings, can be especially effective here.
Annual reports – These tend to be a bit more formal, conveying more statistics. Consider multimedia annual reports that incorporate short videos.
Events – While articles and videos can convey impact, there is no substitute for hearing a firsthand account of an organization’s impact.
Personalized donor communications – Major gift donors will likely have higher expectations for how impact is communicated. For some donors, this may be an in-person meeting or a more formal report. A personalized video is also a great tool. For capital campaigns, consider sending a donor a quick video shot from your phone showing construction progress.
By incorporating illustrations of impact into all these channels, you will increase the chance donors receive information on the impact of their gifts. And of course, always remember to put the donor at the center of your communications. Instead of “we accomplished x,y,z…”, say “Your support provided x,y,z.” Make the donor, not the organization, the hero.