Create Stewardship Strategies With Intent! Use the 6 C's of Intentional Stewardship Planning to Reduce Donor Attrition and Avert Potential Crisis

Wednesday, September 17
10:45 - 11:45 AM

What do you do after discovering a major donor is unhappy? With so much competition for charitable donations, it’s critical - for you and your organization - to get things right.
If it was possible to turn back the clock do you think there were things you could have known - with great certainty - that would have helped you avoid the crisis?  Sharing hard fought stories and referencing master fundraising tactics, CFREs Joe Henschel and Kara Tersen will present the 6-Cs of intentional stewardship planning.  Intentional stewardship planning will give you the tools to be proactive, deal with mishaps and raise more money.

Audience Expertise Level: Midlevel (2-5 years), Experienced (5+ years)
Shop Size: Suitable for any size shop


Joe Henschel

Joe Henschel, BA, CFRE, has been a professional fundraiser for ten years. He has worked on a variety of initiatives, including three $100 million+ capital campaigns (two of them in post-secondary education and one in music), large events and grassroots appeals. Joe has direct experience in all aspects of the major gift donor cycle (three years
focusing directly in donor stewardship) and has successfully built and nurtured relationships, through good and tough times.

Joe’s primary interest in philanthropy comes from meeting people that don’t yet understand how they can make a meaningful difference, then skillfully taking them along a journey until they not only can see their potential but get excited to give to it! Joe also values learning, sharing and continually improving - both personally and professionally. Joe’s BA is from the University of Alberta and is accredited by CFRE.

Currently, Joe is an Associate Director, Development, at Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. Outside of work, Joe is an active community volunteer and very proud father of a three year old girl. Joe is passionate about the outdoors; he enjoys day trips to Banff and making each day special for his wife and daughter.


Kara Tersen

Kara Tersen, CFRE, is Director, Philanthropy with the Alberta College of Art + Design in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While she has a deep love of photography, she wouldn’t ever describe herself as an artist, so finding herself at this post-secondary institution was a move designed to stretch and push past her comfort zone. Having spent the previous eight years at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, moving from Development Coordinator, then Manager - Major Gifts, to Director, Development and Communications for the Alberta regional office, she, like many fundraisers, discovered she was pretty good at this. Prior to fundraising Kara worked in marketing, communications, public relations, computer support, computer software training, human resources, employee benefits, and several years working with a political party and then with a Member of Parliament. This winding path has allowed her to develop a wide range of skills. Once she entered the world of fundraising, she quickly realized that building, maintaining and repairing relationships with donors was more than just a good thing to do, but actually resulted in long-term relationships and larger gifts for the organization. She also firmly believes that clearly demonstrating the impact of a donor’s gift is a powerful aspect of the donor relationship. Kara became a CFRE in 2012 and has a BA in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She shares her heart and home with a 10-year old rescue dog, Ginger.