Rethinking Stewardship to Create Better Donor Experiences (or why the current model is broken and how to fix it)

Did you know that on average, nonprofits lose more than 60% of their donors each and every year? And an average 80% of first-time donors don’t make a second gift? And the number of donors has shrunk by 20% over the last 20 years and is continuing on a downward trajectory? Houston, we have a problem. Clearly the way we think about stewardship of our donors is not working. This donor churn we’re seeing in the sector creates unnecessary work for fundraisers and is not cost effective for nonprofits, especially those with limited capacity. The commercial world spends billions to understand how to drive loyalty and strives to reach 90% customer retention. Why are we so far off as a sector? This session will break down how we need to redefine stewardship from just sending thank you notes to more of a “donor experience” mindset that inspires and welcomes supporters in a radically different way to keep donors longer. Join Barbara O’Reilly and Nicholas Kristock as they break down how we need to redefine our internal culture and thinking about stewardship and how that applies to donor journeys. Bring a pen and paper, you’re going to need it. You will learn the step-by-step practical playbook to creating donor journeys for your organization. Whether you are looking to refine your donor experience or looking for the first steps to take in creating one, this session will give you valuable and real-life takeaways to begin implementing IMMEDIATELY following the session. The end result will be higher donor retention equals more money raised. Objectives: Understand giving trends that are forcing fundraisers to think differently and could cause a crisis in the sector if not addressed. Redefine stewardship from acknowledgement letters to a holistic design around experience with an organization. Identify ways to adapt current stewardship strategies to a new approach that centers donor retention and experience.