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Donor interaction best practices

Feb 23 2022
Henri Nouwen and Nathan Ball, right, kitchen at L'Arche Trosly-Breuil.

The Courage to Fundraise with Nathan Ball

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to debut our new podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The…

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Jun 17 2021

Track these important capital campaign metrics to find success

By Steier Tips

For many, only one metric points to capital campaign success – total funds raised. And that is clearly an important metric. But that doesn’t tell the whole story of capital campaign success. True success comes from maximizing your fundraising efforts and inspiring support from your entire community. Here are three important capital campaign metrics to track to ensure a successful capital campaign: Number of personal visits At the Steier Group, our fundraising approach has always focused on personal visits. That’s because our experience has shown personal visits to be the most fruitful fundraising tool. The personal touch of talking about…

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Apr 15 2021

Customized donor recognition is key to maintaining relationships

By Steier Tips

Donor recognition and expressing gratitude for gifts received are important development responsibilities for every nonprofit organization. Acknowledging a donor’s generosity begins with the understanding that receiving a gift is the difficult part. Thanking them, it would seem, should be the enjoyable part. Then why do so many nonprofit organizations skip it – or fail to take time to properly thank their donors? Unfortunately, it is because they have already moved on to seeking that next gift. That is a mistake. There are different ways an organization can recognize donors for their generosity. The first is group recognition. Most organizations do…

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Dec 21 2020

Five ways to steward your donors from a safe social distance

By Steier Tips

Each Thanksgiving, millions of Americans share what they’re thankful for. Perhaps your family even went around the dinner table (or Zoom call) and individually expressed gratitude. During this holiday season, nonprofit organizations should be doing the same: expressing gratitude. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a more important time to steward your donors. Though millions of Americans remain out of work and millions more have experienced reductions in pay, donors have stepped up to support charitable causes. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that charitable giving increased by 7.5% during the first half of 2020 when compared to…

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Jul 17 2020

Now’s a great time to conduct a census

By Steier Tips

Remember when you cancelled your landline or got a new email address? Did you call this change into your parish office? Did you alert your church administrator? Likely no. Parishes and congregations are finding out during COVID-19 that membership rosters are ready for a refresh. It may be time to conduct a census. The outcome will be a roster that contains current email addresses, mailing addresses and cell phone numbers for your supporters. You also may discover that some constituents have moved away – and didn’t leave a forwarding address. The result will be a more accurate database. Is it…

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Jun 03 2020

Live forum: Eliminating the Envelope

By Steier Tips

Religious organizations – when faced with plummeting financial support from their members because of COVID-19 – flocked to provide a platform for online giving. What often took parishes and congregations months to convert turned into a transition of days by necessity, Jared Fritz, Pushpay’s marketing manager, told forum participants that focused on “Eliminating the Envelope.” The forum was hosted by the Steier Group. Fritz shared statistics with participants that reinforced the value of providing donors with a platform for online giving: 74% of churches offer some type of online giving. Less than 15 percent donate by using checks. More than…

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May 13 2020

Live forum: Our return to worship

By Steier Tips

Parishioners applauded when St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Valley, Nebraska, reopened for Mass recently. “They were so happy to be at Mass,” reported Fr. Lloyd Gnirk. They also cheered at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Omaha, Nebraska, added Debbie Marcil, pastoral associate. Fr. Gnirk’s and Marcil’s comments were part of a panel discussion hosted by the Steier Group that centered on the topic: “Welcome Home … Our Return to Worship.” Panelists reported that parishioners were excited to be back at Mass – but the numbers of attendees weren’t what they expected. Fr. TJ Dolce, pastor at St….

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May 06 2020

Don’t be afraid to ask major donors for support – they want to help

By Uncategorized

Worried about asking donors for support?  Does the current climate make you hesitant to reach out to supporters for financial support, even though you know your organization needs it? Are you worried that your organization has fallen behind other nonprofits on your donors’ priority list? If these are questions you are having a difficult time answering, consider heeding the advice shared recently in a Steier Group forum. Experts from across the country joined in a video conference to discuss issues facing the fundraising industry. Foundation representatives, business owners and philanthropists agree you cannot allow worldly concerns to stop you from asking…

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Apr 27 2020

Live forum: What are major donors thinking during the COVID-19 crisis?

By Uncategorized

Major donors are the lifeblood of many nonprofit organizations. Will the pandemic and its economic fallout change their focus or level of support? Is it appropriate to ask them for support right now? The Steier Group assembled a panel of major philanthropists and foundation leaders to answer your questions. Watch the discussion here: Ask. Be thoughtful in your request, but ask. This is not the time to stop asking for support, especially when your organization is serving those impacted by COVID-19. And it is not the time to stop asking when your organization is struggling to survive this crisis. This…

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Apr 22 2020

Giving Tuesday Email Templates

By Steier Tips

GivingTuesday, a worldwide day of giving is on Dec. 1, 2020. Now is the time to inform your donors and supporters about this important day of giving and unity. The Steier Group has compiled Giving Tuesday Email Templates for you to use while implementing your communication plan for the big day. Save the Date for Giving Tuesday Email Template Subject line: Save the Date! Preview text: Join us on Dec. 1 for GivingTuesday, a worldwide day of giving and unity. Purpose: Announce your Giving Tuesday campaign to your donor base. Let them know why the day is important and share…

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