Steward articles https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles Short, practical reads on donor retention and stewardship for development teams of one to five. en-us Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT How to calculate your donor retention rate (and what to do with it) https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/donor-retention-rate https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/donor-retention-rate Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) Divide the donors who gave last year and again this year by everyone who gave last year. Here is how to count it right, split it, and act on it. A first-year donor plan you can run with a team of one https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/first-year-donor-plan https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/first-year-donor-plan Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) A 12-month plan for every first-time donor: a thank-you in 48 hours, a welcome, an impact story, an invitation, a check-in and a second ask, in an hour a week. LYBUNT and SYBUNT: the two lists to pull before year-end https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/lybunt-sybunt-before-year-end https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/lybunt-sybunt-before-year-end Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) LYBUNT donors gave last year but not yet this year. SYBUNT donors gave in an earlier year. Here is how to pull both lists and what to say before December. Why nearly half of nonprofits have no retention strategy, and how to start one this month https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/no-retention-strategy https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/no-retention-strategy Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) Nearly half of nonprofits in a 2025 survey reported having no donor retention strategy. Here is a four-week way to start one. How to move your donor list off a spreadsheet in a day https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/spreadsheet-to-donor-system https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/spreadsheet-to-donor-system Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) A one-day plan to move a donor spreadsheet into a donor system: clean the columns, fix dates and money, test 20 rows, import, then check totals to the cent. What to do in the first week of January https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/january-week https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/january-week Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) The year-end rush is over. These five tasks set up the whole year. LYBUNT and SYBUNT: the two lists that pay for themselves https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/lybunt-sybunt https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/lybunt-sybunt Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) Who they are, how to find them and what to say when you call. Monthly donors are the quiet engine https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/monthly-donors https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/monthly-donors Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) Why recurring gifts deserve their own care, and the one problem that ends most of them. How to read your retention rate https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/read-retention https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/read-retention Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) One number, three ways to get it wrong, and what to compare it to. Why the second gift matters more than the first https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/second-gift https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/second-gift Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) The gap between first-time and repeat donors is the most useful number in fundraising. The state of donor retention, in plain words https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/state-of-retention https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/state-of-retention Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) What the latest sector data says about who gives again, and what a small shop can do about it. Why the thank-you call beats the letter https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/thank-you-call https://www.stewardapp.dev/articles/thank-you-call Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT jonathan@stewardapp.dev (Jonathan Atkinson) A short look at the research on calling donors within 48 hours.