Smart Stewardship Integrating Data & Donor Strategy

Many organizations struggle with "dirty data," yet fail to realize that operational excellence is the foundation of high-impact fundraising. In this episode of The Nonprofit Boost, we sit down with Sasha Lewis, President & CEO of Moves Management Consulting, to discuss how to bridge the gap between back-end data entry and front-end relationship building. We explore why a strategic plan for donor stewardship is the only way to tap into the massive potential of mid-level donors and how improving your donor database management can prevent lost revenue. Sasha shares her inspiring journey from a high school dropout to a philanthropy expert, emphasizing that every data point—from employer data to gift frequency—is a person telling you their story.

What You Will Learn:
1. Donor Stewardship: Why most nonprofits fail to plan for the follow-up and how to fix it.
2. Donor Lifetime Value: How to calculate this crucial metric using average gift size, frequency, and donor years to create a growth baseline.
3. Fundraising Intelligence: The "Maserati" analogy and why investing in professional fundraising software and data management is a leadership priority.
4. Matching Gifts: How one small nonprofit turned matching gift revenue into a consistent five-figure stream through simple template updates and persistence.
5. Moves Management: The step-by-step process for handling a $1M surprise gift, from prospect research to building a multi-year transition plan.

Notable Quote:
"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. This is the biggest pitfall nonprofits take with stewardship—we know what to do, but we don't put the strategic plan in place to engage every donor."

Chapter Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:05) Meet Sasha Lewis: From Philanthropy Recipient to Consultant
(04:22) The Pitfalls of "Failing to Plan" in Stewardship
(08:12) Calculating and Understanding Donor Lifetime Value (LTV)
(11:57) How First-Gift Data Informs the Next Best Action
(15:35) The Power of Automation in Personal Stewardship
(17:35) Capturing Employer Data and Matching Gift Success Stories
(22:45) The Maserati Analogy: Leadership's Role in Data Integrity
(27:10) What to do with a Surprise $1 Million Gift
(30:40) Closing Thoughts and Resources