Quite the Pair: Gift Officers and Donor Engagement Innovate Through Collaboration-Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this video, Brooke Sahls from Yale's central stewardship team moderates a discussion focused on enhancing donor engagement through collaboration between gift officers and stewardship professionals. Presenters from MIT and Miami University share their case studies and strategies.<br /><br />From MIT, Corey Spentek, the Senior Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship, and Nicole Baker, a Principal Giving Officer, describe their approach with a donor who prefers privacy. They emphasize the strategic use of a comprehensive annual impact report to maintain donor engagement, highlighting the personal and broad impact of the donor's contributions. The presentation outlines the collaborative effort required to manage complex gifts and stewardship plans, involving multiple stakeholders and creative, personalized touches that keep the donor connected and inspired.<br /><br />On the other hand, Gracie Herbert and Carrie Powell from Miami University detail their stewardship strategies, focusing on creating consistent donor experiences. Gracie discusses the tiered approach to stewardship, which categorizes donors by the expected impact of targeted engagements on future giving. Carrie elaborates on two specific cases where effective stewardship helped secure substantial gifts and repair previously strained donor relationships. Their methodology includes using both traditional and digital initiatives to facilitate donor relationships, improving the likelihood of securing future gifts.<br /><br />Both institutions highlight the importance of data-driven, personalized stewardship plans, cross-functional team collaboration, and understanding donor preferences to build enduring, impactful relationships with benefactors. The session ends with a Q&A session, addressing inquiries about implementing such strategies in other fundraising environments.

Keywords

donor engagement

stewardship

gift officers

collaboration

MIT

Miami University

impact report

personalized stewardship

data-driven strategies

fundraising