When it comes to fundraising, especially major gifts, there’s a fundamental truth that often gets overlooked: doing the basics well is non-negotiable. You can’t skip the essentials and expect to wow your donors with grand gestures. It doesn’t work that way.
Think about an experience you’ve had, maybe a trip where you hired a guide for a day. One guide might have been friendly and engaging, making you laugh and feel comfortable, while the other was technically fine but lacked that spark. Even if the logistics were similar—the pickups on time, the lunch quality—the guide who brought a little extra personality left a stronger impression. Why? Because beyond just meeting expectations, they offered a bit of delight. That combination of reliability and warmth is what creates lasting connections.
The same applies to donor stewardship. The basics, prompt thank-you notes, accurate gift acknowledgments, timely communication, are your foundation. Without them, no amount of creative outreach or surprise events will make up for the gap. It’s like renting a house that has no beds or kitchenware. You might put out fairy gardens and string lights, but if the essentials aren’t there, guests won’t stick around.
Meeting Expectations, Then Exceeding Them
Nonprofit organizations often struggle with this balance. Some have systems in place, solid gift acknowledgments, regular newsletters, proper tax receipts, but they stop there. Others try to skip straight to extravagant donor events or personalized gifts, hoping to make up for neglecting the basics.
This is a common mistake. You must first meet your donors’ expectations. Get the thank-you right. Make them feel seen and appreciated for what they’ve done. Then you build on that foundation with moments of surprise and delight.
At Major Gifts Fundraiser, we use a Stewardship Basics Scorecard with clients. It’s a 20-question tool to help you measure where you stand. Think of it like a test: score 90 or above, and you’re doing really well. Score below 60, and you’ve got some work to do. The goal is to help you get to at least a passing level on the basics so you can build from there.
One of the things we pride ourselves on is meeting clients where they are—no judgment, just practical guidance. We often see clients who start low on the scorecard, and our first step is helping them “fail with style”—get to a baseline where stewardship is solid and consistent.
Once you have the basics down, that’s when you can add those little extras. Handwritten notes, small personalized touches, unexpected tokens of appreciation. It’s these “little wows,” as described in the Disney approach to customer experience, that add up to a big impact. But they only work when the foundation is in place.
True Stewardship Comes From the Heart
It’s easy to get caught up in the mechanics of stewardship, systems, software, schedules, but genuine care can’t be automated. When you truly care about your donors, it shows. At our Airbnb, for example, we do the basics well—a clean house, stocked kitchen, comfortable beds—but then we add details: a handwritten note for every guest, little touches like fairy gardens in the pots outside, even some fun cornhole games in the backyard. These don’t replace the basics; they complement them.
Donors can tell when you care. They notice when you put thought into the relationship beyond just the transaction. When you take time to acknowledge their impact, listen to their interests, and celebrate their involvement, it builds trust and loyalty.
It’s not about grand gestures once in a while, it’s about consistent, heartfelt engagement. You can’t ignore the basics for months and expect to fix things with one big event or gift. Stewardship is ongoing. It requires attention and intention every step of the way.
If you want to take the guesswork out of donor stewardship and build a system that combines the basics with smart, meaningful engagement, check out ClarkBot. ClarkBot is designed to help you manage your major gifts process with ease, keeping you on track with stewardship basics while giving you room to add those thoughtful touches that delight donors.
Start building stronger relationships today — go this link: https://www.delphi.ai/majorgifts and see how it can work for you.