Out with the Old (Decade), In with the New

Suzanne Bellanger
Stewardship Marketing Manager
Brown University

The start of a new year always feels like a good time to take a step back, reassess where we are, and make some decisions about where we want to be in the coming year. As we say goodbye to an entire decade, I feel like my list is a bit longer than usual—and a bit more ambitious. Why not head into the new decade with the best intentions, the utmost confidence in our abilities, and a renewed commitment to fostering change, supporting our mission, and enhancing our work environment? In that spirit, I’m sharing 11 ideas that might help us (and you) do just that:

1. Audit Your Current Process(es)
   Now is a great time to recognize the areas where your team is excelling and to admit that there are things you can improve. Do more of what’s working well by adopting an “appreciative inquiry” approach that focuses on identifying processes that generate success, rather than trying to fix the ones that are broken. When all of your team's energy is focused on putting Band-Aids on the under-performing programs or reworking inefficient processes, there's little time left to celebrate the wins and expand on them. As you plan 2020 programming, take a deep dive into your most successful 2019 campaign or program. Identify why it worked so well and use elements of the project plan that made it successful as your guide.
   
   

   Obviously, you have to recognize when things go awry and put measures in place to make sure you don't repeat a mistake, but those measures should be modeled after what's working—not just a knee-jerk reaction to what isn't. Take a positive approach to problem solving by focusing on what your team is doing right. That's where you'll find the sustainable solutions that bring you to the next level.

2. Invest in a New Technology
   These are exciting times. Emerging technologies and tools are readily available to help us do our jobs better. For example, last year we introduced Hustle as a fundraising, cultivation, and recognition tool. It’s been enthusiastically embraced by our donors—so much so that it became critical to our multi-channel marketing and stewardship efforts. In 2020 we hope to adopt ThankView to provide more variety and enhanced personalization in our communication efforts.
   
   
3. Revamp Your Acknowledgement Letters
   The acknowledgement letter is the workhorse of your stewardship program—and the one thing that’s easy to set and forget. Why not take this opportunity to refresh the language or introduce a new element that leads to a more personal interaction? Even small tweaks can make a big difference. Adding a business card is a nice touch, or closing the letter with a brief impact story. Or try tying the thank you letters directly to the appeal the gift was generated from by referencing it in the opening sentence. This shows your donors you’re paying attention.
   
   
4. Make Thank You Calls
   Even if you have a call center or telecommunications team that manages your thank you calls, it’s valuable to spend a day or two on the phones yourself. Speaking directly with donors helps you stay connected and reaffirms your commitment to providing a best-in-class experience for them. And you can hear first-hand how donors are reacting to the script that you most likely drafted. Do their voices reflect appreciation? Annoyance? Indifference? It’s one thing to receive feedback from callers, but hearing first-hand can really inform you about how the calls are being received. Then you can determine how much weight to give to your calling program as part of your overall mix.
   
   
5. Hold Quarterly Brainstorming Sessions
   The best ideas are sometimes the ones you and your team come across organically in conversation. Give yourselves the opportunity to explore new ideas by scheduling unstructured gab sessions based on a loose agenda or informal mind mapping exercise. And don’t limit your sessions to internal team members or departments; seek out peers at similar organizations who might want to trade ideas in an informal setting where creativity can bloom. At the very least, it’s an opportunity to cultivate new professional relationships and converse with current colleagues about new topics, which could help forge deeper connections. At best, your next greatest idea could be hatched!
   
   
6. Cross Train
   It goes without saying that the more multi-functional each member of your staff is, the more prepared you’ll be when there’s a shortfall of resources-driven by vacations, departures, illness and the like. My team is set up so that each channel is headed by an expert who drives the strategy and execution for efforts in that channel. It works well—except when it doesn’t. It’s a reality in our line of work that turnover is high. We’re not immune to it here at my organization. We’ve had some resource shifts lately that left us scrambling to execute our multi-channel programs as planned. We’ve recently started holding informal working lunch sessions where we take turns sharing details of our work, allowing other team members to jump in at a moment’s notice. It’s also been great from a personal development perspective as we’ve all widened the scope of our knowledge and expanded our skill sets. 
   
   
7. Celebrate Your Team Heroes
   As donor relations and stewardship professionals, it’s our job to make sure people are adequately acknowledged for the contribution they’re making to our mission and cause. Our donors are the lifeblood of our organization, but we would be nowhere without the people who acquire and cultivate those relationships. Small gestures go a long way. Why not spend the first five minutes of your weekly team meeting giving shout-outs to teammates who’ve really shined (or who just need a little boost to keep them going)?
   
   
8. Network
   I find immense value in learning what’s happening at other institutions and how my peers are tackling issues and utilizing resources to provide stellar programming and donor experiences. While every great idea might not be a perfect fit for our alumni, donors, and friends, I’ve found that most of them can at least spark ideas that will work. Participating in forums, conferences, and regional events, subscribing to listservs and taking advantage of the ADRP network are all fantastic ways to access information that could help you better steward your donors. This coming year, make a concerted effort to reach out beyond your own circle and connect with a new peer—even if it’s just via email.
   
   
9. Engage in a Day of Service
   There’s no better way to combat team burnout after a busy end-of-calendar-year season and malaise resulting from a relentlessly frustrating and negative news cycle than to take action. When you engage in a day of service with your team, it generates goodwill and camaraderie that can translate into enhanced productivity and a happier work environment. We’ve got one planned for January so we can reconnect after our winter break and face the second part of our fundraising year with enthusiasm and a renewed commitment to making a difference in our community and our world.
   
   
10. Clean Out Your Filing Cabinet
    If your sample files are anything like ours, you still have pieces from 1995. Let’s get real—do you really need those? We know we don’t; we haven’t opened some of those files in years! We’re planning to spend at least one day before the end of the year going through our dusty files, reminiscing a little and purging a lot. We’re going to shred anything dated more than three years ago and all things that no longer work within our recently refreshed brand guidelines. Purging is cathartic and practical. It gives you room to store samples that might actually spark some modern ideas and be of value to current donors. Head into the new decade without any unnecessary baggage or clutter.
    
    
11. Let Go a Little
    Stop trying to do it all and remember that sometimes, less is more (as long as you try to do it better). For example, I had originally planned to offer 20 ideas for this article, but every time I sat down to write, something pulled me away. I was a bit paralyzed by the scope of the task. I knew if I didn’t scale back, I’d never finish. So here you have it: 11 ideas that I actually had time to put some thought into. One or two of them might help you start off the year with new tools—or, at the very least, a positive mindset and renewed resolve to make some changes that will benefit you and your donors immeasurably.

Thanks for reading. Best wishes for a happy and productive New Year!