Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: Miami University

Title of entry: Individualized Stewardship Strategies

About this entry: Every donor is unique, and that is why Miami University’s Office of Stewardship and Donor Relations is structured to prioritize individualized stewardship strategies in our approach to two high-priority donor segments. Our priority segments are Personalized Stewardship, with donors who have cumulative gifts or commitments of $1 million or more, and Active Stewardship, with donors who have cumulative commitments of $50,000 or more, are unmanaged, and are likely to give another gift of $50,000. The goal of these strategies is to take an individualized approach of engaging with donors in order to increase engagement, strengthen relationships, and lay the groundwork for future gifts. Our individualized stewardship program is carried out in close partnership with our development team.

The goal of our individualized stewardship program is to identify opportunities to personalize donors’ experiences. These experiences cannot be summed up as one activity, as they are uniquely based on the donor and circumstances. Some examples of custom touches are specialized impact reports, personalized follow up from a recent visit, or celebrating a special event, anniversary, or birthday. We strive to create moments of surprise and delight for our donors when they least expect it so they can relive their memories on “the most beautiful campus that ever there was.”

In the 2022 calendar year, 221 individualized stewardship touches were executed by two staff members in partnership with 21 development officers. Through these strategies, our development officers have experienced increased communications with donors, producing greater engagement and realizing significant gifts.