8 Tips to Master Donor Stewardship and Build Lasting Relationships with Funders

Ready to elevate your fundraising game and forge unbreakable bonds with your funders?

This article will explore eight tips to bring your funder stewardship to the next level. We will cover how to:

• Navigate relationships with funders
• Understand program officer dynamics
• Enhance grant-seeking strategies through effective communication

Ready to get started? Let’s jump in.

Your approach to funder stewardship should be driven by your nonprofit’s mission and goals. This will help you pursue opportunities that you are a good fit for, conserving your resources to maximize your chances of landing funding.

Your approach to funder stewardship should be driven by your nonprofit’s mission and goals. This will help you pursue opportunities that you are a good fit for, conserving your resources to maximize your chances of landing funding.‍

‍Grant Advisor put together a series of questions you should answer as you map out your steps toward effective stewardship:

• What are my organization’s goals and needs?
• How does grant-seeking help us meet our goals?
• What’s our team’s capacity to take on the work?
• Who will be involved in helping make this work happen (development, leadership, marketing, communications, etc.)?

The answers to these questions should guide your outreach and help you align your fundraising activities with your organizational objectives. By grounding these stewardship efforts in your nonprofit’s strategic plan, it will be easier to establish credibility and trust with funders.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America does a great job of keeping their mission at the heart of all they do. They stand for mentoring, fostering relationships to help empower the next generation.

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They seek relationships with partners, foundations, donors, and other funders who align with this work, never deviating from what drives them.

Stewardship is all about fostering positive relationships with your funders. The stronger your relationships are, the more likely future funding is—which starts with knowing who is who at an organization.

When it comes to building these relationships, the most common role that you’ll find yourself interacting with is the Program Officer from a foundation.

However, that’s not the only foundation role you should be prepared to work with. That same Grant Advisor article does a great job of outlining other common foundation roles, their major duties, and stewardship tactics for each, including:

• Communications Professionals
• Executive Directors
• Board Members

Understanding who is in these roles, what their responsibilities are, and how they can help bring resources to your organization is essential for building lasting funder relationships. Don’t just assume that the same stewardship tactics that work for a Program Officer will also work for an Executive Director.

Many funders offer clear guidance on how to contact them. This includes their application cycle, if they’re open to new grantees, and more.
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When you’re exploring new funders, it’s critical that you adhere to their protocols and guidelines, especially when it comes to communication.

For example, the Walmart Foundation has an entire FAQ page dedicated to its Spark Good Local Grants, answering common questions like how to contact them, eligibility requirements, and more.

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Once you’ve found a foundation you would like to explore a relationship with, consider the following steps:

• Do your research: Browse their website for information or look on Instrumentl to see if they have grant opportunities available or accept unsolicited proposals.
• Follow their protocol: If they do, contact them as directed.
• Make connections: Ask mutual connections within your network (board members, donors, staff members, etc.) to introduce you to someone at the foundation. This will help you learn more about opportunities and get involved organically.

If they aren’t accepting proposals, you can subscribe for updates. Stay up to date on changes within the organization and monitor their funding cycles to stay informed of potential opportunities.

Even if you think you’d be a perfect fit, do not directly solicit funding from them until their funding cycle is open.

Stewardship is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, it’s critical that you tailor your communication styles and engagement strategies based on who you are interacting with from a foundation.
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How you approach an old friend is much different than how you would talk to a stranger you just met. You want to apply that same thinking when connecting with potential funders.

Allen Smart, founder of Philanthropy woRx, an organization that helps drive alignment between foundations and community organizations, does a great job of outlining different Program Officer archetypes and how to best engage with each:

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Regardless of the type of Program Officer you interact with, you should always make sure to prioritize active listening and mutual problem-solving when engaging with them.

Funders are more than just a check, so you want to make sure that you cultivate relationships with them that are mutually meaningful.
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As you look to positively interact with funders, come from a place rooted in knowledge about them. Focus on genuine dialogue instead of transactional exchanges.

When engaging with funders, make sure that you know the answers to these questions—and leverage that information to make meaningful connections.

• What is their mission? What do they hope to accomplish through their work?
• What motivates them? What are their interests and connections to your nonprofit?
• What is their organizational structure, and how do you interact with their team?
• What information is on their website?
• What does their annual report tell you about their organization, their funding priorities, grantees, and more?
• What is their social media presence?
• What is their preferred method of communication?

Your fundraising engagement tactics should prioritize quality over quantity. Make sure that your funders feel valued and a part of your organization’s success every time you interact with them.

All supporters are not created equally, and while you are appreciative of every dollar that is contributed, you should also make sure to prioritize and invest in long-term partnerships.

What are some advantages of cultivating enduring relationships?

• Small grants can become big ones over time, especially as a funder’s budget grows.
• Long-term partners can help connect you with others in their network who may be good-fit funders for you.
• Funders that you have established relationships with can offer more than just monetary support, such as mentorship, access to resources, and more.

As you look to maintain strong connections over time, prioritize regular, personalized communication. Keep these partners updated on your mission and share with them about new initiatives that they could be a part of.

Funders want to know it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

When you’re transparent about the opportunities and challenges that you face, it fosters a sense of trust. Rachel Grusin, Project Coordinator at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego does a great job of explaining why:
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“Even when things don't go according to plan, being transparent about setbacks can help build trust. Show your funders that you value their input. Ask for their feedback on your programs or strategic direction—they might have valuable insights you still need to consider. This can show them that you see them as partners, not just funding sources.”

This open and honest two-way communication really helps strengthen your relationships with funders. As Rachel says, it can also provide them with the opportunity to be an active part of the solution.

It can be tempting to share misleading reports, spinning them to highlight only the positives; however, it will not serve you well in the long term. Funders may think you no longer need their support, or they will stop supporting you once they discover the truth.

Authenticity is how you’ll encourage strong stewardship practices, garnering life-long supporters instead of just one-off or short-term donors.

Two of the most powerful words in any language are thank you—but only when you really, truly mean them.
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It’s critical that you express gratitude toward your funders so they feel appreciated for the support they provide.

While simple thank you notes are great, you can also consider:

• Inviting funders to interact with your programs to see the impact of their contributions firsthand.
• Creating engaging appreciation videos that help showcase the work made possible by them.
• Sharing impact data on your social media pages and tagging them.
• Inviting them to special networking events or speaking engagements.
• Sending a picture of someone who has been impacted by their support (with their permission) and sharing that person’s story.

In the end, you want to be consistent and intentional in how you express your appreciation for your funder’s support.

Funder stewardship takes work. Continued engagement in your organization doesn’t just happen, so it’s critical that you take steps to cultivate these relationships.

Throughout the article, we’ve shared eight tips to help you master funder stewardship, including:

• Learning more about the funder and their communication preferences.
• Creating a plan and tailoring your communications to best execute it.
• Being transparent about your opportunities and challenges, engaging in meaningful conversations instead of transactional ones.
• Sharing gratitude and prioritizing long-term relationships.

Funder stewardship is a long game. It’s all about patience and consistency, keeping track of how their contributions have been put to work, and sharing the impact in real-time. Instrumentl can help you explore new funders, track funding opportunities, and collaborate on your end-to-end grant management needs. Sign up today to receive a free, 14-day trial.