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Imagine this: It's mid-November, your inbox is overflowing, your year-end campaign is ramping up, and somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you should be thinking more intentionally about thanking your donors. But between grant deadlines, board meetings, and program demands, "meaningful donor stewardship" feels like another item on an already long to-do list.

I get it. And here's what I've learned from working with nonprofit leaders who've cracked this code: the organizations that make their donors feel genuinely appreciated aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest development teams or the fanciest CRM systems. They're the ones who've figured out how to scale gratitude and authenticity and they're doing it in ways that might surprise you.

Have you ever experienced the excitement of securing that first donation from a supporter, only to feel the connection slowly fade away? It’s a common frustration among nonprofit leaders—like trying to hold water in your hands; no matter how tightly you grasp, it slips through your fingers.

This isn’t just a feeling. It’s backed by data. The 2025 Virtuous Benchmark Report reveals that the average gross donor retention rate across nonprofits sits at just 50.4%. That means nearly half of donors disappear each year. First-time donors? The numbers are even bleaker—up to 70% never give again.

As fundraisers or nonprofit leaders, we express gratitude in a million ways. We appreciate the volunteers and donors who show up to events or support our cause. We are grateful to the corporations and the people within the companies who sponsor our events and the supporters who remember our organizations in their wills. We honor the small gifts that are so heartfelt and the big gifts that represent transformation.

The pool of donor-advised fund (DAF) assets is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2026. It often flows through channels that can conceal the actual donors behind the gifts. While this can be a challenge, it also represents an enormous opportunity for leaders who know how to make the invisible visible.

A couple years ago, I decided to sign up for my first ever beginner triathlon. Even though I didn’t have a training schedule, I did have an irrational sense of optimism – what else could I possibly need?  Without a plan, I showed up on race day to the start line without goggles and one sock. Unprepared but still optimistic. I can manage a short swim, bike ride, and 5k because I had done those exercises in some form before – how hard could it be?

Needless to say, I found myself struggling to make it through. By the run, I was exhausted and would shamelessly run when there were cheerleaders and spectators and would walk when no one was watching.

I finished, but it was messy.

That experience taught me something important: passion and optimism are great, but without a focused plan and intentional execution, you’ll spend more energy scrambling than succeeding.

The same is true in fundraising…especially at year-end.

Fall marks a season of renewed energy for many nonprofit boards. As members return from summer breaks and settle back into meeting rhythms, there's a natural momentum building toward year-end. This is the perfect time to tackle those important governance priorities that may have been on the back burner—turning the final quarter into your board's most productive and impactful months of the year.

Year-end fundraising is like football season. The game isn’t won in the last two minutes—it’s decided by the plays you’ve been running since the first quarter. If you wait until December to get serious, you’re basically showing up at halftime and hoping for a miracle comeback. Spoiler: that’s not a winning strategy.

People sometimes avoid getting into the mud.

In many fundraising teams, donor stewardship follows a predictable script: a $250 donor gets a thank-you note and an annual report, a $500 donor also receives a quarterly newsletter and so on. While this approach acknowledges generosity, it also keeps donors in a holding pattern—focused on their last contribution rather than future possibilities.

What if stewardship wasn’t just about recognition and acknowledgement? By aligning stewardship with moves management, we can create a dynamic, forward-facing strategy that deepens engagement and drives transformational giving.

Summer’s erratic schedules—donors on vacation, staff taking time off, board members and volunteers unavailable—can disrupt traditional fundraising efforts. But this quieter season offers a powerful opportunity for fundraising leaders, whether they manage teams or work as individual contributors, to reset their approach by leaning into authentic, one-on-one connections. By focusing on building genuine relationships with colleagues, donors, volunteers, and board members, leaders can foster trust, inspire collaboration, and fuel long-term success in ways no strategy or tactic can match. Here’s how to use summer’s lull to cultivate meaningful connections that transform your leadership and organization.