Holiday stewardship can be as easy as baking cookies

A few days ago I found myself talking with an old friend who is an executive director for a youth development non-profit organization in Indiana. We were chatting about her organization’s year-end stewardship strategies, which include something called a “Cookie Drop.”

It is the holiday season and many of you are probably baking. So, I decided to share her stewardship recipe with you this morning:

• Recruit kids
• Bake and decorate holiday cookies on a Saturday
• Package cookies in tins (could be simpler packaging)
• Include a handmade holiday card (include short “impact message”)
• Use donor database to identify Top 10 donors
• Call donors and let them know you’re coming over
• Put kids in van and drive to donor’s house or business
• Sing a holiday song or two
• Thank the donor for all of their support
• Stick around, answer questions and leave when it feels appropriate

I asked her if she has ever measured her results, and her response was perfect. She said that everyone who has received her kids cookies over the last 10 years are still donors unless, of course, they moved away or passed away.

My mom just shared an old family recipe for holiday ball cookies with me the other day. As you can see from today’s post, this executive director shared her holiday stewardship recipe. ‘Tis the season for sharing. Do you have any year-end stewardship strategies or simple activities that you would like to share? If so, please scroll down and do so in the comment box. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
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