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  • 1.  Staff & Faculty Donor Stewardship / Payroll Deduction

    Posted 09-19-2025 01:25 PM

    Hello,

    I have a donor stewardship question I'd like to put before the community to gather ideas. For any college/university advancement services teams (or any of you with similar scenarios): What do you to steward staff & faculty donors? Specifically my challenge is I have some who give via payroll deduction (which is fantastic!) but as this happens twice a month, any gift-by-gift receipting has been seen as annoying and "too much". I also don't want to miss the opportunity to thank them, nor do I want to overtax my small team by introducing a cumbersome system of acknowledgement (currently we have two modes of receipting/acknowledgement): One-per-gift, and one for the tax year in Jan. This seems like it necessitates something between the two, but I need to adopt something that's sustainable as it is impactful.

    Any thoughts? What do you all do for honoring Staff & Faculty who give via payroll? Thanks for any ideas or insight you have!



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    Melissa Rufener
    Life Pacific University
    mrufener@lifepacific.edu
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  • 2.  RE: Staff & Faculty Donor Stewardship / Payroll Deduction

    Posted 09-19-2025 01:37 PM
    I do not think you need anything in between.

    I have always recommended treating these the same way you handle your recurring credit card donors, who I trust receive a single receipt or acknowledgment at the end of the tax year. These are really no different. They "see" the donation on their pay stub, as it is.

    Now, with that said, I strongly recommend an annual letter (separate from the receipt) from the President of the University. That's a special touch that should be given to any faculty or staff who contribute to the University, regardless of how often they donate.

    John

    John H. Taylor, Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier Street
    Durham, NC     27705

    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987






  • 3.  RE: Staff & Faculty Donor Stewardship / Payroll Deduction

    Posted 09-22-2025 07:53 AM

    Good morning,

    Just to confirm what Mr. Taylor said, our employees who donate via payroll deduction receive a note/letter personally written by our President, thanking them for their dedication to our school, which is usually sent right before Christmas or in early January.  Otherwise, they receive only one thank you letter from Advancement each year.



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    Mary Taylor
    Lees-McRae College
    taylorm@lmc.edu
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  • 4.  RE: Staff & Faculty Donor Stewardship / Payroll Deduction

    Posted 09-22-2025 08:07 AM

    We do two touchpoints - one thanking them for their overall donations at the end of the school year, signed by the Head of School (we're a JK-12), and one from me in January / February reminding them that their final paycheck of the year serves as their tax receipt and offering a giving statement if they would like one. Beyond that, they are folding into general annual fund stewardship.



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    Christina McNamee
    St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School
    cmcnamee@sssas.org
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  • 5.  RE: Staff & Faculty Donor Stewardship / Payroll Deduction

    Posted 09-22-2025 08:54 AM

    Good morning,

    We also do a handwritten note of thanks from our president, mid year.  Feedback we've received has been positive; Fac/Staff seem surprised that the president knows and makes time from a personal note.  We also provide a nice tax receipt for the entire year in January, not the canned report from RE. 

    Best,

    Penny



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    Penny Devins
    penny.devins@gmail.com
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