--- title: The Importance of Good Stewardship description:

Brush up on your fundraising terminology - learn what stewardship means in the world of philanthropy.

--- [![Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates](https://info.jgacounsel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/JGA_2015_Files/image/logo.png?width=190&name=logo.png "Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates")](http://www.jgacounsel.com/) [Join Our Mailing List](http://www.jgacounsel.com/contact-us) search - [About Us](http://www.jgacounsel.com/about-us) - [Our Services](http://www.jgacounsel.com/our-services) - [Who We Serve](http://www.jgacounsel.com/who-we-serve) - [Resources](http://www.jgacounsel.com/resources) - [JGA Blog](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog) - [Contact Us](http://www.jgacounsel.com/contact-us) Search search # The Importance of Good Stewardship # The Importance of Good Stewardship April 09, 2010 by [jga\_admin](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/author/jga_admin) **by Meg Gammage-Tucker** At a course I was teaching a couple of weeks ago, I was asked to provide definitions to the jargon that fundraisers employ—sometimes ad nauseam­­—to our work. Certain terms take on a slightly different meaning when applied to fundraising, so it’s no surprise that some clarification was in order. Indeed, in the introduction of Mal Warwick’s publication, *The Five Strategies for Fund Raising Success (1999)*, Mal notes how “encrusted” the profession has become with jargon. Encrusted both because of the growing amount of information available (through outstanding research by organizations such as the IU Center on Philanthropy), and, unfortunately, because some professionals use jargon as a way of covering up their lack of understanding of the most basic principles of their work. Whatever the reasons for the growth in our lingo, we do have a lot of it and it is important to understand what many of the terms mean so we can accomplish the tasks that we are trying to describe. *Stewardship* is one of the most important concepts we can define*.* According to Merriam Webster, stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” In fundraising, nonprofits seek to further their mission on the shoulders of very important people—their donors and volunteers. These people entrust their precious resources—time, talent, treasure—to the care of the nonprofit to help the organization achieve its goals. It is, therefore, incumbent on the organization to carefully manage those key resources in the most effective manner possible. Effective stewardship requires the volunteer and staff leadership of the nonprofit to: - assure that gifts are used in accordance with the donor’s wishes; - be transparent and forthright about how their gifts are managed *and* used; and - be proactive and consistent in the acknowledgement and recognition of donors and volunteers for their gifts—whether financial or intangible—in a manner that is appropriate and best suits the donor and/or volunteer’s needs. It is my opinion that there is no more important concept than *stewardship* to the building of healthy relationships that are vital to the overall success of a nonprofit. If relationships and gifts are properly “stewarded”, trust in, and commitment to, the organization are a natural result. Therefore, understanding effective stewardship – as it applies to fundraising – can assure your organization gets the most out of its key relationships and resources. *Need a fundraising term demystified? Let us know and we'll be sure to help you out! Post your term in the JGA comments section below.* 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/archives/1590#comments-listing) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Tags - [Fundraising (26)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/fundraising) - [campaign planning (8)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/campaign-planning) - [major gifts (7)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/major-gifts) - [donor management (6)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/donor-management) - [Education Fundraising (5)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/education-fundraising) - [donor research (5)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/donor-research) - [fundraising campaign (4)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/fundraising-campaign) - [Feasibility Study (3)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/feasibility-study) - [JGA News (3)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/jga-news) - [nonprofit management (3)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/nonprofit-management) - [stewardship (3)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/stewardship) - [Strategic Planning (2)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/strategic-planning) - [non profit boards (2)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/non-profit-boards) - [philanthropy (2)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/philanthropy) - [planned giving (2)](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog/topic/planned-giving) ###### 29 South Park Blvd Greenwood Indiana 46143 317.215.2400 © 2014 Johnson Grossnickle and Associates All rights reserved. Site Map - [About Us](http://www.jgacounsel.com/about-us) - [Our Services](http://www.jgacounsel.com/our-services) - [Who We Serve](http://www.jgacounsel.com/who-we-serve) - [Resources](http://www.jgacounsel.com/resources) - [JGA Blog](https://info.jgacounsel.com/blog) - [Contact Us](http://www.jgacounsel.com/contact-us)