With all of the balls that non-profit staff are expected to juggle, it is often necessary to operationalize what may at first appear to be simple tasks. I am suggesting that you consider operationalizing the task of saying thank you to your donors. With campaigns running all year and development staff chasing lapsed donors and focusing the latter half of the year on pledge collections and last minute major gifts, donor stewardship often falls to the side.

“What gets measured gets done.”

I learned this valuable lesson from my time with Jack Lund, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York. To assure that donors are thanked and educated throughout the year, we’ve developed a “Stewardship Matrix” which helps to keep donor stewardship on the calendar year round. The frequency and level of thanks and recognition is directly proportional to the level of donor giving.

When we track and measure something as basic as saying thank you, we assure that even when we are running in many directions, our donors know that they are important to us and that we are appreciate their support. Take a look at our sample Stewardship Matrix. I challenge you to adapt it for your organization!