Collaboration Lab

If You Build It They Will Commit: Mining Your Loyal Donor Pool for Bequest Fundraising and More

Liz Thompson and Aleksandra Stankovic

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 10:00 – 11:00 A.M.

Intermediate

Donor loyalty is one of the highest indicators of planned gift likelihood, but rarely have organizations had an opportunity to test and quantify this at scale. What can face-to-face engagement look like for donors who have been supporting your organization for decades at $25 or $50 per year? The Nature Conservancy created the Loyal Donor Program in 2017 to realize opportunity in both outright and deferred giving by creating personal connections with long-time donors. This ground-breaking program uses a specific outreach framework and metrics to steward, cultivate and solicit loyal donors in order to raise bequests and identify complex gift leads. Join us as we share our methods, results and lessons learned along the way!

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the opportunity that lies with loyal donor stewardship, cultivation and solicitation.
  2. Envision how loyal donor outreach could be implemented for your own organization.
  3. Communicate about the urgency and value of investing in loyal donor engagement.

 

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Liz Thompson

Director, Loyal Donor Program - THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

Liz Thompson is the Director of The Loyal Donor Program at The Nature Conservancy and has been with the organization for 8 years. Liz’s previous experience at the Conservancy includes serving as Director of Planning & Operations and as a project manager, both in Gift Planning. Prior to coming to the Conservancy, Liz managed conservation land acquisition, event planning, and community relations as a project manager for Alachua Conservation Trust, a regional land trust in Gainesville, Florida. She has an MA and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Florida. Liz currently lives with her family in Olympia, Washington, and her team is located in more than 15 states across the U.S.

Aleksandra Stankovic

Associate Director, Loyal Donor Program - The Nature Conservancy

Aleksandra Stankovic is an Associate Director of the Loyal Donor Program at The Nature Conservancy. Aleks’ 18-year tenure with the Conservancy includes raising funds for Caribbean, Central America and Mexico conservation programs, leading the organization’s fundraising goal setting process, and providing guidelines, reports, and consulting to support management of fundraising teams and donor portfolios. Aleks' fundraising experience at the Conservancy and prior organizations includes major gift fundraising, capital campaigns, corporate/foundation relations, working with board members and direct mail. Aleks lives in Arlington, Virginia, and manages 8 fundraisers throughout the U.S.