A Call for Truly Successful Online Donor Recognition

October 11th, 2010

Fundraising organizations are actively seeking effective means for communicating with donors through online tools. More importantly, donors expect the most efficient and timely means of communication.  Web-based technologies have the potential to create a new paradigm where donors co-create an engaging online experience that strengthens existing donor relationships and facilitates greater giving. Continue reading »

Inaugural Event: TheThanksTank.com™ Roundtable Scheduled for Thursday, September 30th

September 27th, 2010

TheThanksTank.com is building momentum as a forum for celebrating the benefits of thoughtful donor recognition decision-making.  It is a ready-resource for the best of our “thinking about thanking” and an opportunity for response and comment from the non-profit community. Continue reading »

College of Charleston Cato-Simons Display Christened!

August 13th, 2010

I was so pleased to have been part of a “christening” immediately following our successful installation of the College of Charleston Cato-Simons display. Among those in attendance were the Dean for the School, Valerie Morris, EVP of Business Affairs, Steve Osborne, Director of Operations, Kathryn Norton and EVP of Institutional Advancement, George Watt, who gave a toast to mark the occasion.   The Cato-Simons display marks the juncture of the new Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts and the existing Simon Center for the Arts and follows an initial installation of donor recognition plaques in January 2010  for the grand opening of the Center. Continue reading »

Experiential Stewardship: The “Must Know” Guidelines for Top Tier Donors

August 10th, 2010

Robin Good recently posted a series of questions on the ADRP Listserv, basically asking this: what are you doing for your top tier donors, and have you standardized those activities in any way?  In further conversation with her, I was impressed with her application of a seldom-used term, experiential stewardship, to the work involved in donor relations.  In a nutshell, she used it to refer to the all-important act of providing meaningful experiences for your donors, ones that go beyond the routine checklist of stewardship activities. Continue reading »

Donor Recognition Audits: Why? How?

August 5th, 2010

Sometimes, it’s the simple things that one does that turn out to have the most lasting impact.  Such is the case with a Donor Recognition Audit.  Inherent in our consulting philosophy is the belief that one must know what recognition efforts have been made over time and record each new example for future reference.  To that end, a Recognition Audit is the first of our recommended Best Practices for Donor Recognition™.  Recently, we are receiving more auditing inquiries and seeing frequent discussion about methods and service providers online. Continue reading »