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Ideas for County-Managed Donor Stewardship

Building Relationships

When someone donates to a county 4-H program, county and foundation staff members must work together to ensure that the relationship with the donor is a long, worthwhile one. In addition to the Michigan 4-H Foundation’s donor acknowledgement and recognition, a thank-you from the county can mean a lot to a donor.

Gifts to the Michigan 4-H Foundation to support county 4-H programs can and should be acknowledged and stewarded by the county in the following ways:

Say Thank You!

Write a personal thank you letter or have a volunteer or a young person who will benefit from the gift write a letter of thanks. This could be a good task for county 4-H youth ambassadors.
Invite donors to county 4-H events where donors can see their dollars at work. Remember to include county donors to the foundation in your invitation lists for award banquets, youth achievement events and other events where they can meet 4-H’ers and get to know how their gifts are making a difference in their community.
Consider inviting donors to give more than their dollars. Invite them to provide expertise to a 4-H group, to be guest speakers, to serve on your county 4-H council, to become 4-H volunteers or to serve in other ways appropriate to their talents and your needs.

Ask Again, and Again!

Counties should develop plans for annual solicitation of gifts to support local programs. This allows you to set and reach both donor and income goals over time.
Use your annual volunteer and member orientation as an opportunity to encourage private gifts to support 4-H. Introduce volunteers and 4-H youth families to the Michigan 4-H Foundation and the opportunity to provide private support to benefit your local 4-H program.

Think Long-term!

Be mindful of 4-H volunteers whose commitment to youth may extend to including 4-H in their estate plans. Work with foundation staff members to create a communication plan that can begin that process.

Be Aware of Giving Options!

If you have volunteers who work for companies that have employee matching gift programs, remind them to use these progams to enhance their gifts to support 4-H. Most major corporations match their employees' support for significant non-profit organizations in education, youth development and the arts. Gifts to the Michigan 4-H Foundation qualify for most employee matching gift programs.
Donors can make gifts using an automatic bank transfer or using a Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card.
The foundation offers ways for people to make a gift in memory of or in tribute to special people that can support county and state 4-H programs. This is a great way to honor 4-H volunteers, alumni and supporters.
The Michigan 4-H Foundation can receive gifts of property, stock, life insurance proceeds and other annuities to support county and state 4-H programs.