I recently had the pleasure of hosting a roundtable discussion at a regional CASE event in Montréal. The title was “new challenges and opportunities in donor relations”, which essentially meant that the conversation could go in a number of different directions.

I must confess that I was worried that nobody would sign up for my session as, in looking over the registration list, I saw that I appeared to be the only donor relations professional in attendance. There were also several other great talks happening at the same time. I had visions of sneaking out of the room quietly before anyone noticed how horribly unpopular I was. It turns out, I needn’t have worried.

Around the table were three communications professionals, someone from a private college with a brand new foundation, another from a small not-for-profit, an alumni relations professional and a decentralized fundraiser from a large organization. How amazing is it that all of these people from varied backgrounds and with primary responsibilities outside of the field were interested in talking about stewardship!

As we discussed stewardship communications, tailoring strategies to each shop’s resources and realities, and stewardship as an engagement tool (and vice-versa), what became clear was the group’s recognition of stewardship’s place in a strategic advancement operation. This theme permeated several discussions that I shared at the day’s event and it was heartening to hear so many people thinking about how they could [further] integrate strategic donor relations into their roles and responsibilities.

My first boss and mentor in donor relations told me often that stewardship takes a village, and it is absolutely true. The responsibility for stewarding an organization’s donors does not reside exclusively with those with “donor relations” in their titles. It is a shared responsibility and one that is best accomplished through collaboration and strategy building between advancement departments and across our organizations. We are in a really great place in our profession when this message is not one that needs to be pushed out but rather that it is recognized and embraced. We may not be completely there yet, but if the diversity at this roundtable discussion was any indication, we are getting much closer.

If you have come across this post and are not a donor relations professional, I encourage you to reach out to one today. We are strategically-minded, mission-driven, and donor-centered individuals with a passion for what we do. I am willing to bet that if you sit down with the person charged with donor relations at your organization (or a neighbouring one) for a real conversation, you will leave with a plan to better meet your goals and the needs of your donors.

Ashleigh Manktelow 
Senior Advisor, Volunteer Summit
McGill University 

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