How to keep donors engaged this summer: 5 simple stewardship strategies that work

Summer is a funny time in the nonprofit world. The big spring campaigns are over, year-end giving feels far away, and the calendar looks quieter than usual. It's tempting to shift into coast mode until fall.

But here's the thing: summer is actually your best window for stewardship. Donors aren't being bombarded with appeals right now. Your message has room to land. And the relationships you build between asks are exactly what determine whether people give again when you do reach out.

The average nonprofit loses about 50% of its donors every year. Most of that churn isn't about the cause. It's about donors feeling forgotten. They gave, got a receipt, and never heard from you again until the next ask showed up in their inbox.

Stewardship fixes that. And it doesn't require a big budget. Here are five things you can do this summer, most of them free, that will make your donors feel genuinely valued before you ever ask for another gift.

1. Send a Thank-You That Actually Sounds Human

Most thank-you emails are terrible. They start with "On behalf of [Organization Name], we would like to express our sincere gratitude..." and donors tune out before the second line. It reads like a receipt, not a relationship.

This summer, rewrite your gift acknowledgment email from scratch. Write it the way you'd write to a friend who just did something genuinely kind. Use their first name. Reference their specific gift or the campaign they supported. Tell them one concrete thing their donation is making possible right now.

"Maria, your $75 gift last month is helping us cover after-school supplies for 12 kids this summer. That's the kind of impact that keeps our doors open when school's out. Thank you."

That's it. No boilerplate. No "on behalf of." Just a real sentence from a real person.

The goal is to send this within 48 hours of the gift. Research consistently shows that speed matters as much as content when it comes to donor thank-yous. A warm, personal email sent the same day outperforms a polished letter sent two weeks later every single time.

If you use a fundraising platform that automates your acknowledgment emails, take 20 minutes this week to update that template. It's one of the highest-leverage things you can do for donor retention.

2. Share a Summer Impact Update (No Ask Attached)

One of the most powerful things you can do for a donor is reach out with no strings attached. No campaign. No matching gift deadline. No "we need your help." Just an update on what their support is actually doing in the world.

Summer gives you natural content for this. Programs are running. Kids are in camps. Gardens are growing. Families are being served. Whatever your mission is, something is happening right now because donors gave.

Pick one story and tell it. A simple email with a photo and three short paragraphs is enough. Here's a structure that works:

1. What's happening right now ("This summer, we're serving 200 families through our food pantry.")
2. A specific moment or person ("Last Tuesday, a grandmother named Diane picked up groceries for the first time. She told our volunteer it was the first time in months she didn't have to choose between food and her medication.")
3. The connection back to the donor ("That's only possible because people like you chose to give. We wanted you to know.")

No donation button at the bottom. No "your gift is needed more than ever." Just the story. Donors who receive impact updates between asks are significantly more likely to give again, and to give more when they do.

Cost: $0. Just time, a photo from your phone, and a free email tool like Mailchimp.

3. Make a Phone Call That Isn't About Money

This one feels uncomfortable for a lot of fundraisers. Calling a donor just to say thank you, with no agenda, no campaign to mention, no next step to pitch? It can feel almost suspicious. Like there must be a catch.

That's exactly why it works.

Pick 10 to 15 donors from your list. Mid-level givers who've been with you for a few years are a great place to start. Call them, introduce yourself, and say something like: "I just wanted to reach out to thank you personally for your support this year. I don't have any news or an ask. I just wanted you to hear directly from someone on our team how much it means."

Most people will be genuinely surprised. A few will be moved. Almost none of them will forget it.

A few tips for making these calls work:

• Keep it short. Five minutes is plenty. You're not pitching; you're connecting.
• Have one specific impact detail ready. "Because of donors like you, we were able to open our summer program two weeks early this year."
• If you get voicemail, leave a brief, warm message. It still counts.
• Involve your board. Board members calling donors is even more powerful than staff calling, because it signals that leadership genuinely cares.

This is the stewardship tactic that gets the most surprised reactions from donors. It costs nothing except a little time and a willingness to pick up the phone.

4. Recognize Donors Publicly (With Their Permission)

People give because they care about your mission. But they also give because giving is part of who they are. Recognizing that identity publicly, when donors are comfortable with it, reinforces their connection to your cause in a way that private thank-yous can't.

Summer is a great time to start a simple "Donor Spotlight" practice on social media or in your newsletter. Feature one donor a month. Ask them two or three questions: Why do you support this organization? What does this cause mean to you personally? What would you say to someone considering their first gift?

The donor gets to feel seen and celebrated. You get authentic content that resonates with prospective donors far more than any marketing copy you could write. It's a genuine win-win.

Other low-cost public recognition ideas:

• Add a "Thank You" post to your social channels tagging recent donors (with permission)
• Create a simple "Supporters" section on your website that lists donor names
• Feature a donor quote in your next email newsletter
• Shout out a longtime supporter in your summer impact update

One important note: always ask before going public. Some donors prefer to give anonymously, and honoring that preference is itself a form of good stewardship. A quick "Would you be okay with us featuring you in our newsletter this summer?" goes a long way.

5. Invite Them In, Not Just Back

Most donor communication is transactional in one direction: you ask, they give. Stewardship flips that. It asks: what can we offer donors beyond the opportunity to write a check?

Summer is the perfect time to invite donors to experience your mission firsthand. This doesn't mean a formal gala or a catered event. It means low-key, genuine access.

Ideas that cost almost nothing:

The goal isn't to impress donors with a polished event. It's to deepen their sense of belonging to something meaningful. When donors feel like insiders, they become advocates. They refer friends. They upgrade their giving. They stick around.

The ask will come eventually. Fall campaigns, year-end appeals, Giving Tuesday. When it does, donors who have been genuinely nurtured all summer will respond very differently than those who only heard from you when you needed something.

Stewardship isn't a strategy for the long game. It is the long game. Start this week with one of these five ideas, and you'll be in a much stronger position when the fall season kicks off.

BetterWorld makes it easy to stay connected with donors year-round, whether you're running a campaign or just sending a mid-summer update. Our free platform gives nonprofits the tools to build lasting donor relationships without the platform fees. See how it works at betterworld.org.