by Brooke Jenkins, Partner
Gratitude is more than a feeling – it’s a way of living and leading, a culture that echoes a team’s approach to the people they serve. I am reminded of this when I ask the co-founder of one of our current clients, How are you? Frankie Roberts of Leading Into New Communities (LINC), which helps people in Wilmington, NC, transition from incarceration to successful community life, always responds, Thankful.
As Thanksgiving approaches, gratitude and stewardship naturally come to mind. True stewardship is about care – taking care of the people and resources that make our missions possible. It’s not a once-a-year practice or a thankful response when someone gives a gift. It’s a way of being and operating every day of the year.
Cultivating gratitude requires more than good intentions – it needs a plan. Here are tips for planning year-round stewardship:
- Make gratitude strategic. Incorporate stewardship goals into your strategic and fundraising plans, ensuring there are dedicated moments of appreciation built into your annual calendar.
- Build stewardship into your organizational culture. Build acts of gratitude into staff meetings, board agendas, and committee meetings, in addition to your donor communications.
- Shine a light on your people. Include volunteers and staff in public recognition. They work alongside donors in making your impact possible.
- Engage volunteer leaders as stewards. Encourage board and development committee members to host small gatherings where they can personally thank donors and you can share stories of impact made possible by donor support. Give volunteers opportunities throughout the year to send personal thank-yous or make calls to key donors and volunteers.
- Treat donors as true partners. Call supporters outside your appeal periods and not only after they make donations. Ask how they’re doing, what inspired their giving, and what ideas they have for strengthening your work. Share data, stories, and talking points that keep them informed and involved and help them be ambassadors for your mission.
Stewardship, at its heart, is an ongoing practice of gratitude that nurtures lasting relationships and builds the trust that sustains nonprofit missions year after year. If your organization could use help mapping out a year-round stewardship plan, moss+ross would be honored to help.