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

Donor Recognition Audits: Why? How?

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 »

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University of South Carolina Library Dedication

I am excited to share this video showcasing our recently completed recognition for Senator Hollings at the University of South Carolina’s Ernest F. Hollings Special Collection Library. Under a tight deadline, we supervised installation the week before Vice President Joe Biden dedicated the library. Applying REWI principles that follow recently developed and instituted Standards & Guidelines for the University of South Carolina, the new plaques acknowledge and recognize supporters to the university. Continue reading »

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Southeast Donor Relations Conference Was Excellent, Yet Again!

Last week Robin and I had to divide and conquer.  I went to the Southeast Donor Relations Conference in Charlotte sponsored by the Association of Donor Relations Professionals while she attended the Georgia Association of Development Professionals annual meeting in St. Simons.  She got the beach . . . but I got the brains (which is all right by me)!  This group is smart and fun-loving.  As is the case every year, they are raising the bar for what donor relations means as a distinct and necessary part of their organizations. Continue reading »

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GADP Conference in St. Simons Island: THIS WEEK!

“Somebody’s gotta do it. And I made sure it was me!”

This week, I have the distinct pleasure of attending a conference for hospital fundraisers here in my home state. I’ve been attending, in fact, since 1994, and it’ll be a doubly-good place to work this week.

The location, of course, is superior at The King and Prince Hotel, but most importantly it is attended each year by the most collegial and talented hospital fundraisers I’ve known and worked with. Continue reading »

Filed under Robin E. Williams, Social Media, Stewardship | Tags: Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Communications, Donor Recognition, GADP, Healthcare Philanthropy, Interactive Displays, Stewardship, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off