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Stewardship involves offering opportunities to give, personally thanking donors, updating them on the impact of their gifts and keeping them involved. Generally, this can be accomplished in an OFFER, THANK, SHOW, CONNECT cycle. This ongoing view of MTD leads to a strong and stable support base and only takes about 1-2 hours a week. 


OFFER
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title OFFER
opportunities for a donor to make an impact through giving. 

An offer to give can include: 

The structure of the OFFER can include a general letter with a personal note sent to about 20 key people. Call to ask if they had a chance to read your letter and if the Lord is leading them toward involvement in this need. Plan to follow-up. The Game Plan for End Of Year Giving gives a well-tested roadmap for any special giving opportunity, not just year-end giving.


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THANK
titleTHANK your donor for their gift.

No financial ask. 

When people respond to an opportunity to make an impact through giving, the next step is to thank them. Donors give to multiple causes. An average donor will see 10-20 thank you's a year and promptly forget them all. You want to be the thanks they can't forget.

The general standard is a hand-written thank-you card and a phone call. (Other ideas HERE.) A welcome packet sent to a new donor or a small gift for a particularly impactful gift can go a long way! 

Develop the art of flattery in your thanks. Don't be shy about it! Tell your donor often, loud and clear, in the big type, just how great they are (because they are!). 

Do not include a financial ask or additional giving opportunity in your thanking process. 


 their SHOW how
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titleSHOW
SHOW how their gift made an impact. 

No financial ask. 

Your donors need to know they made a difference. When you report back to me what kinds of good things happened, due to my help and the help of others. "Did giving matter? What did philanthropy achieve?" Remember, the first gift is usually a testing gift; they want to discover what their ROI (Return on Investment) will be. This is why it's crucial to share the impact their gift made. 

Donor-centered reporting - If I'm your donor, I've already decided what YOU do matters. Now I need you to reinforce why what I DO matters (i.e. giving to your cause). Tell me a story of one changed life - make it personal and heartfelt and real - and remind me how I played a part in that person's transformation. These crucial reminders never get old - they tell me that I (the donor) matter and I'm making an impact in the world through my giving. For example: You-centered reporting sounds something like, "We had an outreach last week and three people accepted Christ." A donor-centered way of reporting this would sound something like, "I just had to call and tell you the impact you're having. Because of your faithfulness to invest in Kingdom work, three people came to Christ last week! Let me tell you what happened...  

No financial ask.The ethos behind SHOW is to show how their donor dollars are making a difference by sharing a story of something that's making an impact in the Kingdom.

Do not include a financial ask or additional giving opportunity. 

Ways to SHOW the impact of a gift: 

  • Progress on things that are foundational to the church plant; such as Application/ recruitment

  • A recent ministry story -even a time when MTD has become ministry.

  • Because of your generosity and faithfulness to the Lord, we were able to.... 


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CONNECT
titleCONNECT personally with your donor. 

No financial ask. 

Better spiritual condition as a result of interacting with and giving to the ministry.

People give to people, not to organizations, mission statements or strategies. So, connect with them as a person. 


Personal connections can include: 

  • Phone call or text.
  • Prayer, either live, on a voicemail or written out.
  • call or text to pray/care for the donor
  • Additional resources for long-term discipleship and development of your larger-capacity donors can be found at Generous Giving. They provide both resources and events that foster joyful generosity. 




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titleWhat happens when you connect with your donors.

Compassion International wondered what would happen with donor retention if they simply called donors, thanked them for their involvement and prayed with them. That’s it. No ask. Just connection and ministering to the people who empowered them.

Retention shot through the roof. Donors even increased their giving.... with no ask!

When Good News Jail & Prison Ministry heard of the project, they decided to duplicate it. At the time, 50% of their donors were leaving after their first year of giving and another 46% left after 2 years. They launched a project to increase retention by connecting with their donors. The goal was for their donors to be in a better spiritual condition as a result of interacting with and giving to the ministry. So, they got on the phone, thanking and praying with current donors. Welcome packets were sent to new donors and two weeks later, the missionary would give the new donor a personal phone call. After just ONE year of focusing on maintaining a relationship with donors apart from asking for funds, the ministry went from a 50% retention rate, to a 90% retention rate! 

A few things they learned:

  • Nurturing donors once a month by phone increases retention; specifically if you avoid talking about money.
  • It takes two months for the donor to figure out you’re not calling to ask for money.
  • Support development happens through real, active relationships.
  • A regular giver (monthly, quarterly, annually) is more valuable and has a higher retention rate than the annual donor you have to ask each year.
  • One of the best indications of donor retention is the number of things they give to, not necessarily the amount. *Another stat says if a donor gives to three or more ministries, their retention rate for all increases. 
  • The most loyal donors are those who not only gave, but have been involved in the ministry in other ways. So, invite them to get involved in other ways!


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