On the Rocks

Not talking about libations here – although feel free to email me if you’re buying!

No, this is about multi-year pledges that have run aground due to the donor’s waning enthusiasm over time. If the proper steps aren’t taken to ensure continuing engagement with the gift, the donor may fulfill the pledge reluctantly or simply out of obligation, not enthusiasm.

Take a five-year pledge; often, around the third payment, a donor may begin looking forward to the pledge ending and may start doling out the money each year on the due date until, finally, he/she is able to “take a break. It’s not that I don’t plan to give again – I just need some time off.”

In this scenario, the donor is thinking a lot about the cost of the gift – which means that he or she is dwelling on the obligation. Wow, I really can’t wait to fulfill this pledge. I need to make a gift to X, or I could use this money for my kids’ tuition, or . . .

At that point the multi-year pledge becomes like a boat taking on water – sinking, requiring a lot of hard work to keep things afloat – as opposed to a craft that’s watertight, buoyant.

Think about that last word, buoyant. It’s no mistake that the word means both “capable of floating” and “cheerful.” A charitable partnership, as opposed to an obligation, keeps the donor engaged and excited.

To stay “shipshape,” you should approach every stewardship visit like a new pitch:

• Don’t leave a visit or a call without offering one specific example of how the last pledge payment was used.
• Try to change the reporting style up slightly each year – “tell me something I didn’t know.”
• Involve others – recipients, deans, professors, Executive Directors, parents, etc. – in writing or even alongside you on a visit.
• Don’t wait until year 5 (or 3, or whatever) to look ahead – begin introducing the idea of the next gift midstream.

Make the value of the gift – to the institution, to the people receiving the benefit, and to the donor – evident. Doing so will keep the ship afloat!