Bringing Spaces to Life with Stewardship
Congratulations! A donor has named a space for a capital project. What next? A celebration? Sure, but then years and decades of stewardship and engagement.
Unless the donor in question only cares about name recognition, you’ll need to paint a vivid picture of everything the space makes possible and impart a feeling of being there even if they can’t visit.
The specifics of your organization and culture of philanthropy should shape your approach, but you can adapt the following strategies to meet your named space stewardship needs:
Video, video, video. Watching a space being created or used is the closest thing to actually being there, and it’s easy to capture compelling footage using a phone and deliver it with a tool like ThankView.
Plan your cadence. Formal narrative reports are still a good idea when illustrated with photos and video, but delivering one each year is overkill. Think in terms of milestones instead, maybe 1 year after completion, then 5, 10, 15, 25, etc. These anniversaries are a great opportunity to plan a celebration, invite the donor back, and publicly celebrate the impact of philanthropy across your communications channels.
Seize the moment. Send updates beyond milestone reports when you notice the space being used. Happen to see a researcher working in a named lab? Ask to take her picture and share it with the donor. An intriguing lecture happening in the donor’s named space? Send them info about it. Giving donors a window into a space’s life in “real time” provides a vivid supplement to ongoing reporting, and this material can also make great social media content.
Philanthropic allies. Authentic voices are the best for conveying impact to your donors. Establish connections with philanthropic allies at your organization—students, doctors, professors, and researchers, for example—and ask them to share what the space has made possible for them.
Embrace change. Named spaces can be susceptible to changes in use as organizations grow or flex. Don’t try to hide these changes—instead, let the donor know and have a conversation about how they would like to proceed. This may be moot depending on the gift agreement, but I’ve been surprised by how many donors are fine with changes to their space when they’ve received good stewardship.