Confusion over 'stewardship' prompts survey

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 18 Jun 2008

Fundraisers may talk about stewardship, but whether or not they understand it is set to become the focus of a new survey hoping to help pave the way for stewardship strategies in the future.

The Relationship Marketing Stewardship Survey, developed by director of development at Relationship Marketing Gordon Michie, plans to uncover what fundraisers really think about stewardship.

“Fundraisers keep talking about stewardship but no-one can really give a firm definition of what stewardship – when applied to fundraising – actually is,” says Michie.

“It’s been a year since stewardship became a happening term, but despite jobs being renamed ‘stewardship officer’ and organisations appointing dedicated stewardship teams, we are still really no nearer to understanding what stewardship is as a concept,” he continued.

Stewardship, says Michie, is not just donor care or relationship fundraising. He hopes that the survey will uncover current attitudes and practices in relation to stewardship which can be used as a springboard for improving programmes into the future for the benefit of the industry and ‘stewards’ as a whole.

Key to the survey, and its aims, is how stewardship strategies may be measured.

“Stewardship really is all things to all fundraisers,” said Michie who, following the release of his white paper on the subject last year, appears determined to drive it higher on the fundraising agenda.

Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro

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