Donor Stewardship Summit recordings and presentations

FreeWill's inaugural Donor Stewardship Summit for partners was held in April 2026. Over 1,000 of you registered and 700+ attended two half-days of learning and inspiration. Thank you for making the event a success!

 

➡️ Scroll down the page to access the session recordings and, further down, the PDF presentation decks.

 

New! Click below to download our new Stewardship Guide, created to help you jumpstart your stewardship program.

 

Download our Stewardship Guide

New Research to Drive Your Strategy: FreeWill’s Stewardship Survey
Enjoy insights from a brand-new Stewardship Survey FreeWill deployed across the nonprofit sector. Drawing on responses from orgs of all sizes, this session revealed how today’s fundraisers approach donor stewardship — from communication cadence and preferred channels to the biggest barriers standing in the way of stronger donor relationships. Download the PDF presentation here.
→ Watch the recording
Building a Stewardship Engine: How leading nonprofits turn donor relations into growth
Stewardship is taking care of the gift. Donor relations is taking care of the giver. When both are done well, you don’t just boost annual and cash giving; you also build stronger pipelines for major and planned gifts. In this dynamic session, we explored the Four Pillars of Donor Relations to show how organizations of all sizes can design intentional experiences that go far beyond the thank-you letter.
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Mystery Money: The growing challenge of anonymous & non-responsive donors
In this session, we unpacked what’s driving the rise of anonymous and non-responsive donors, from shifts in donor privacy expectations to the unique dynamics of legacy giving. Drawing on sector insights and real-world examples, we explored why many legacy donors never formally self-identify and how this growing trend is reshaping the way nonprofits think about stewardship and donor engagement.
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Stewardship on a Shoestring: Big heart, small budget
Budgets are tight, and your time is even tighter. When you're wearing as many hats as you do, how can you make room for one more task: stewardship? In this session, we shared practical ways to strengthen donor stewardship using the resources you already have with simple, realistic approaches that feel personal, without adding a ton of extra work or budget.
 
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Why print still works, and why it's an excellent stewardship tool!
In a world of crowded inboxes and fleeting attention spans, print still has the power to stop donors in their tracks. In this session, we explored why thoughtfully designed, mission-driven print communications remain one of the most effective tools for scaling donor stewardship.
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The Courageous Donor Conversation: How to prepare for, navigate, and follow up on tricky donor moments
We've all been there: the donor who asks something unexpected, the conversation that takes a turn you didn't see coming, the moment you leave the meeting replaying everything you said. Tricky donor moments are inevitable. What separates great fundraisers isn't avoiding them — it's knowing how to move through them with intention and confidence.
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Beyond the Submission: Automating stewardship for high-growth grant partnerships
In the high-stakes world of grant seeking, the real work begins the moment you hit send. Beyond the Submission shifted the focus from the initial pitch to the critical period of stewardship that defines high-growth partnerships. Explore how to transition from a transactional fundraiser to a strategic partner by leveraging modern workflows to manage grantor relationship maintenance.
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Stewarding the Flock: Your pastoral role in planned + smart giving
What if stewardship isn’t primarily about dollars raised, but disciples formed? In this session, we explored how faith-based organizations can move beyond transactional fundraising and toward a deeper, more holistic vision of stewardship rooted in spiritual formation. We also reframed giving as an invitation into mission, legacy, and faithful participation in God's work.
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Systems that Scale: Why data Is the foundation of scalable stewardship
This actionable, process-focused session reviewed how to set up your CRM to track stewardship touches, segment donors intentionally, and create systems that support long-term relationships as your program grows. Whether you're managing FreeWill donors or your broader donor file, you'll learn practical approaches to coding, importing, and organizing data that make personalized stewardship scalable.
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The Gift Conversation: How to talk to donors & their advisors with confidence
Many transformational gifts are not decided alone. They are thoughtfully considered and often incorporate donors, their advisors, and hopefully your nonprofit. This session showed you how to earn a seat at that table when those opportunities arise. We discussed how financial advisors, estate attorneys, and Chartered Advisors in Philanthropy (CAP®) are trained to integrate charitable planning into wealth and estate planning strategies, and we showed you how to help them do it well.
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Built for Stewardship: How FreeWill helps you see, segment, and cultivate
In this product-focused session, FreeWill Product Managers shared how partners are using FreeWill data to steward with more intention and move beyond acknowledgment into real cultivation. Together, we explored how to use Portal to segment donors thoughtfully, identify the right next step for each relationship, and build outreach that feels personal even at scale. You'll leave with actionable tips to make the FreeWill platform your donor stewardship superpower in the next 90 days.
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The Realization Reality Check: Benchmarks, data, and what to expect from planned gifts
Planned giving programs often focus on two moments: documenting a bequest realizing the gift from the estate. But the real complexity—and opportunity for stewardship—lies in the years in between. In this session, we explored the hard truths of bequest timelines and why realized values often differ from the original estimate. We examined realization benchmarks, donor retention patterns, and the critical role stewardship plays in influencing whether commitments ultimately come to fruition.
→ Watch the recording
Stewardship at Scale: Automation with a human touch
Great stewardship doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built intentionally over time. In this session, we explored how leading organizations move beyond one-off gestures and operationalize stewardship as a system that consistently nurtures donor relationships. We also introduced the “Stewardship Stack” – the combination of people, processes, and technology that works together to ensure donors are thanked, recognized, and engaged in meaningful ways.
→ Watch the recording
Closing remarks with Patrick
FreeWill's co-CEO Patrick Schmitt closed out the Summit with final thoughts and suggested next steps to implement what you learned.
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New Research to Drive Your Strategy: FreeWill’s Stewardship Survey

Patrick Schmitt

→ Download the PDF

Building a Stewardship Engine: How leading nonprofits turn donor relations into growth

Lynne Wester

→ Download the PDF

Mystery Money: The growing challenge of anonymous & non-responsive donors

Jordan Lehr and Nicole Walton

→ Download the PDF

Stewardship on a Shoestring: Big heart, small budget

Anna Kosatka and Autumn Hubbard

→ Download the PDF

Why print still works, and why it's an excellent stewardship tool!

Josh Alcorn and Lauren Winther-Hansen

→ Download the PDF

The Courageous Donor Conversation: How to prepare for, navigate, and follow up on tricky donor moments

Mallory Erickson

→ Download the PDF

Beyond the Submission: Automating stewardship for high-growth grant partnerships

Josh Nadzam

→ Download the PDF

Stewarding the Flock: Your pastoral role in planned + smart giving

Chris Hall and Clayton Chamberlin

→ Download the PDF

Systems that Scale: Why data Is the foundation of scalable stewardship

Catie Martino and Lauren Winther-Hansen

→ Download the PDF

The Gift Conversation: How to talk to donors & their advisors with confidence

Brian Peterson and Nicole Walton

→ Download the PDF

Built for Stewardship: How FreeWill helps you see, segment, and cultivate

Nicole Walton, Omar Antila, and Trisha Arora

→ Download the PDF

The Realization Reality Check: Benchmarks, data, and what to expect from planned gifts

Nicole Walton

→ Download the PDF

Stewardship at Scale: Automation with a human touch

Blair Pippin, Erica Sanchez, and Pamela Leonard

→ Download the PDF

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