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Every nonprofit organization builds its success on well-defined strategies. But what happens when those strategies, once so promising, start to show cracks? Knowing when to adjust the strategies in your strategic plan and when to give your strategy time to play out can be a critical turning point for the leadership of your organization. How can you tell if something is amiss?

Personal stewardship is key to retaining donors, especially major gifts donors. But what about other donors? ALL donors deserve shows of gratitude and a report on how their gift is changing lives.

While personalized stewardship would be a terrific way to retain donors at all levels, it is not realistic in fast-paced world of nonprofits. So how can we make thoughtful and intentional stewardship possible for donors at every giving amount?

Creating a systematic approach to stewardship could be the answer.

Two summers ago, when I was an Executive Director at a nonprofit in Portland, OR, I agreed to participate in a weeklong cycling event where we would ride over 350 miles, climb nearly 20,000 feet and camp out in various small towns over the course of the week.

Congratulations! The gift agreement is signed, and the joyful donor has made a bequest in their will. As a result, they have become a member of your legacy giving society. They are looking forward to your annual dinner and receiving the regular newsletter. But is that all there is for the next, ten, fifteen, or twenty years?

Everyone agrees that stewardship is important, but too often it drops to the bottom of the priority list for busy nonprofit professionals. Here are five overlooked ways to say thanks all year long.

Nonprofit leaders are often unable to get their board and staff more actively involved in fundraising. For as long as I can remember this has been a popular topic for round table discussions, webinars, conference sessions and more. Suggested solutions often include establishing “give and get” requirements; better/more training; team competitions; clearer expectations; offering rewards and incentives; and more.

Looking through my bookshelf, I came across The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I was gifted this book in my first few months as a fundraiser when a mentor of mine slid it across a coffee table in my direction with a credulous smile and told me there’s one contingency (you’ll have to read on your own to find out!) if I decided to follow its teachings.

My partner Dana has an unusual obsession with Mount Washington. The 6,148-foot New Hampshire peak holds the world record of the highest wind speed ever recorded on land: 231 mph back in 1934.

“Just apply for this grant and you’ll get the money!”

If you are a development leader, you’ve most certainly heard this from a colleague or board member. However, seasoned development leaders know these words are not as simple as they sound. The process of obtaining grants can be complex, time consuming, and highly competitive.

This is where an important member of the development team comes into play-the grant professional.

In a blog post from last year, I encouraged fundraisers to break the “rule” that all board members be required to fundraise (you can find that post here). The basic premise being that we should strategically recruit certain board members to actively ask donors for contributions and lean into the fact that other volunteers are on our boards for other skill sets. One of the many follow up questions I received was naturally, “So how do I keep board members engaged in philanthropy if they don’t ask others for money?”