Pay Now or Pay Later

Being relatively new to Robin E. Williams Incorporated, I just had my first opportunity to attend a Association of Donor Relations Professionals event, the Southeast Donor Relations Conference. As someone new to donor relations, too, it was a great way to gain further insight into organizations that we counsel. I was very  impressed with the  creative stretching of resources and the willingness to share experience for the benefit of the whole group. Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Donor Recognition Programs, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Troy Winterrowd | Tags: ADRP, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Capital Campaign, Fundraising, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off

Social Media Demystified – Lynne Wester Does It Again!

Lynne Wester, the donor relations dynamo behind donorrelationsguru.com, was a hit again at this year′s Southeast Donor Relations Conference in Raleigh. For those of you who don’t (yet) know her, Lynne is a force to be reckoned with and a personality not to be forgotten.  She is a leader among the Association of Donor Relations Professionals’ network of dynamic, forward-thinking “stars”, and a frequent speaker.  This is not the first time I have seen her presentation on social media, yet as always, she was on top of the newest of the new and casual and confident in her mastery of the technology. Continue reading »

Filed under Donor Communications, Social Media | Tags: ADRP, Best Practitioner, Communications, consultant, Creative, Donor Relations, new media, online giving | Comments Off

All the things (and friends) I didn’t get to see in San Francisco

So, earlier this month, I had the great fortune to travel to San Francisco with my good friends Robin and Harv to present at my favorite annual conference, ADRP International.  Except for the hour of the presentation, I doubt you saw me there, and I regret that I was able to see so few of you!  Sadly, I spent the majority of my time on the floor in my hotel room, immobilized by a bad back!  Yet, this trip will remain one of the most memorable of my life, for so many reasons. Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Donor Recognition Programs, Social Media, Think Before You Thank, multimedia donor recognition | Tags: ADRP, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Interactive Displays, new media, Social Media, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off

Association of Donor Relations Professionals International Conference in San Francisco!

This year’s annual conference was kicked off with the announcement of a new logo and tagline, ADRP:  Your Connection to Inspired Stewardship

This new emphasis on stewardship demonstrates the organization’s dedication to expanding the donor relations professional’s role in all activities, including donor cultivation and stewardship.  It seems so obvious, yet it has been a challenging concept for many organization’s to integrate.  Metrics of the past put a higher value on the development officer as the revenue generator.  Yet savvy advancement teams now include donor relations and stewardship staff and welcome opportunities to expand the influence that these “relationship managers” bring to the cycle of giving.

And as this role evolves, the awareness that donor recognition is an integral part of the cycle is expanding, too.  Once thought of as the obligatory plaque or listing made in response to a gift, donor recognition is now coming to be understood as a dynamic means of motivating new giving and providing meaningful stewardship activities for existing donors.

Filed under Stewardship | Tags: ADRP, Stewardship, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off

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

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 »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: ADRP, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Communications, Development, Donor Recognition, Fundraising, Naming Opportunities, online giving, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off