Pretenders to the Steward Throne

Stewardship is the new buzzword. Everyone is talking about it. But it raises more questions than it answers.

Written by
Gordon Michie
Added
June 02, 2010
All 19 pages of Pretenders to the Steward Throne are now available free to SOFII users.

This White Paper sets out to clarify some of the confusions around the term stewardship, exploring:

  • Different notions of stewardship.
  • The differences between stewardship, donor care and relationship fundraising.
  • US notions of stewardship as they relate to planned giving.
  • Different types of fundraising stewardship – including the idea of ‘Third Level Stewardship’ which sits above and encompasses relationship fundraising and is a notion of stewardship that is not yet practised or aspired to by British fundraisers.

The White Paper then identifies nine barriers to the adoption and take-up of stewardship among UK charities:

  • What does stewardship actually mean?
  • British, or American-style stewardship?
  • There is no common understanding of stewardship in a fundraising context.
  • Bandwagon jumping.
  • Low standards of donor care could undermine stewardship.
  • Measurement – KPIs (key performance indicators) and benchmarks are needed to assess the impact of stewardship.
  • Is stewardship a means or an end?
  • Training/CPD issues.
  • Lack of will for stewardship to succeed.

Finally, this White Paper concludes by calling on the Institute of Fundraising to set up a working party to develop a code of practice on fundraising stewardship that will introduce a definition of stewardship that can be used as a benchmark for all fundraisers.

To read the full white paper download the PDF.

Notes

The opinions expressed in this article and this download belong to the author and are not necessarily shared by SOFII.—SOFII editors

About the author: Gordon Michie

Gordon Michie

Gordon Michie is the Development Director at Relationship Marketing Limited

Recent Articles

Exploring the evolution and trends of mid-level fundraising

What is the difference between major and mid-level giving? What changes are we seeing after years of traditional mid-level programmes? What charities have been innovating in this area of fundraising? In a special long read written especially for SOFII, Simon Dickson explores all these questions and kick starts your thinking about what mid-level giving could look like at your charity.

Read more

ChatGPT and fundraising – what do you need to know? (part two)

In the second instalment of our series on ChatGPT and fundraising, SOFII talks to Cherian Koshy – the founder of a platform that democratises access to artificial intelligence and machine learning for nonprofit organisations. Dive in and explore Cherian’s in-depth insights and opinions on ChatGPT for fundraisers. 

Read more

ChatGPT and fundraising – what do you need to know? (part one)

You’ve probably heard about ChatGPT. You might have read about how it could revolutionise (or destroy) everything from internet searches to journalism. But as fundraisers, what do you really need to know? In part one of a two-part piece, we ask three digital fundraisers to give us their opinions on ChatGPT. 

Read more

The Legacy Showcase – where fundraisers share inspiring campaigns

SOFII knows that fundraisers like you understand the importance of legacy fundraising and are seeking new ideas to inform and inspire your work. Well look no further! The Legacy Showcase is a collection of short videos where fundraisers share their favourite legacy campaign and explain why they think it’s worthy of your admiration too.

Read more

I wish I’d thought of… charity shop Gift Aid

Charity shop Gift Aid. Is it fundraising history? Is it fundraising innovation? Is it a tax loophole for good? Honestly, it’s probably all three! Jonathan Cook takes you on the somewhat strange yet fascinating journey of how charity shops began making 25 per cent more for every pound they earned by simply selling the UK’s donated goods.

Read more

Also in Categories