Donor Stewardship Demystified

The power of individuals donors in bringing about social change is immense. The non-profits can create long lasting individual partnerships to sustain their programmes till the time they are needed.

Often, you would have heard people saying that Donor Stewardship is a way of keeping donors for ever and ever excited about your cause. Quiet true, but have you ever wondered what does Donor Stewardship actually mean?

Well the words are plain English and each one of us can explain it in our own way. Gordon Mitchie and his team from Relationship Marketing, UK asked several practitioners around the world the question.

The results are out. A comprehensive report that lucidly explains the concept.

Gordon has identified at least three distinct types of stewardship in this report- passive stewardship, active stewardship and proactive stewardship.

Passive stewardship is pretty much customer or donor care – making sure letters are address correctly and donors are thanked on time, that sort of thing – and is very DM-oriented.

With active stewardship, fundraisers begin an interactive, personal relationship with donors.

Proactive stewardship is very much like traditional major donor fundraising (detailed research on donor and one to one cultivation).

The full copy of the report is available at www.relationshipmarketing.org.uk


PS: Just in case this link does not work or you want to know more about Stewardship, please write to gordon@relationshipmarketing.org.uk

Should non-profits work with corporates?

Well the non-profits who partner with corporates, often have this question crossing their minds. Obviously, this thought never crosses the ones like GreenPeace who do not partner as a philosophy.Therefore, my first statement and what follows below is more for non-profits who do partner with corporates.

There are many reasons for questioning the rationale of corporate partnerships. Some of the ones that I have heard include:

- inability to understand the developmental nuances
- expectation to see results as of yesterday
- donor and donee kind of relationship rather than partnership
- wanting too many reports and visits
- the need to publicise it immensely
- corporate or CSR objective driven programming than need based

All the above are valid to some extent. But does that mean we stop working with corporations?

Well obviously not. And this not for the resources they bring in. This is also not for the leverage they could provide. Even not for the well meaning employee group power they bring.

I feel the biggest reason to partner is, to sensitise corporations on the above issues. I think a better mutual appreciation results from sitting and discussing these on the same side of the table.

End word: Yes and yes let us partner with corporations!

The Urban Generosity

This survey is getting difficult to search on the web, although it is just a week old on CNN-IBN.

It provides an interesting peek into the Indian generosity.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/state-of-the-nation-indians-get-money-mantras-right/71262-7.html?from=rssfeed

A good indicator that the new age Indian is greatly inclined to answer ISR- Individual Social Responsibility. Although, the survey is about the urban Indian population but even that is also a big chunk, given we are a billion plus nation.

Please tell me if I am ethical?

(This article has originally appeared at MSN India website)

Have you thought about this question, once or often? If yes then what follows may make sense to you.

I hear people saying that they are socially responsible. They support community causes, volunteer and campaign for them. My question to them often is "Are you ethical ?" Since being ethical is an integral part of being socially responsible.

Now the question of being ethical can be baffling. I am sure it baffles you. It certainly baffles me.

The reason is that the word Ethics in itself is so flexible. Infact Ethics is your ethics like myMSN page.

Ethics is your belief about what you think is right or wrong? Right or wrong is further dependent on your personal experience, education, family and religious backgrounds.

Then how do I know I am ethical?
The key here is to demonstrate Integrity to your beliefs. If you do that then you are ethical.

An honest answer (and not a survey-monkey response) to 4 key questions may help you in knowing that:

1. Do you make decisions based on what is good for greatest number of people?

2. Do you promote individual self-interest as long as it does not harm others?

3. Do you make decisions with a belief that everyone has a fundamental right that should be respected and protected?

4. Do you make decisions that treat everyone fairly and consistently?

The debate on ethics can be intense whenever done. What the above does is provide a simplified check-list for people who want to be ethical and hence socially responsible.

Do You Know Your Social Responsibility?

(This article originally appeared at MSN India website)

Increasingly, Individual Social Responsibility, ISR for short, is finding takers like CSR, the much talked about corporate variant.

An Internet search will show several people talking about ISR. But how does one practice ISR? In other words what do you do to fulfill your Social Responsibility.
Is it only about donating to a cause of social importance? Yes it is partly, but not fully. ISR also means your contribution as an activist, campaigner, volunteer in taking up and supporting causes outside your personal sphere.
If you are doing the above you are fulfilling your social responsibility to an extent. Wait there is more.
Here comes the most difficult part. Are you ethical, honest and display integrity in all your actions that affect the community?
True, there is no perfect human being, but the challenge is to be as Socially Responsible one can. Believe me it is infectious. Small efforts can become Everestine.