In this article, we share their stewardship journeys which combine direct mail, email and other activities to engage supporters and create a meaningful supporter experience.
Scleroderma and Raynaud's UK
SRUK is a small charity whose mission is to improve the lives of everyone affected by Scleroderma and Raynaud's. Their stewardship journey is highly personalised and delivered by a small team with a limited budget.
Christmas message – An email which recognises how hard Christmas can be for bereaved families, and includes a link to create a tribute page if they don’t already have one
Automated ‘keep in touch’ emails – The only part of the journey that is automated, the purpose of these emails is to help supporters find a way to stay involved with the charity that’s right for them
Once the stewardship journey has completed, supporters only receive personalised emails, or the e-newsletter if they have opted in.
Watch the SRUK case study here
Thames Hospice
Thames Hospice provides palliative and end-of-life care services to local people in their own homes and within the hospice. Their in-mem team has used MuchLoved since 2019 and seen a year-on-year increase both in the number of tributes set up and funds raised.
Many of the stewardship emails are automated, but the content is personalised with the name of the supporter and person who has died.
Events – Thames Hospice’s stewardship programme includes their annual Sunflower Walk, Light up a Life, and afternoon tea ‘thank you’ event for fundraisers
Stewardship candles and virtual gifts – The team light a candle when the tribute page is first created, and on the first anniversary of the death. A virtual gift is added on the first anniversary of their birthday, and a candle at Christmas
Fundraising events – Help for supporters participating in events, such as setting up a tribute page, adding offline donations, or linking JustGiving pages to the MuchLoved tribute
Connecting with funeral directors – Thames Hospice recognises the importance of their connections with local funeral firms because they set up so many of the tribute pages that raise vital funds for the Hospice. They host an annual breakfast event for funeral directors and send a bi-annual communication, as well as offering hospice tours
Internal engagement – It's important that all Hospice staff, whatever their role, can talk to families about tribute pages and point them to the in memory team. All hospice staff participate in training, and regular communications help to maintain engagement
Future projects – Thames Hospice are looking at extending their programme to steward donors as well as tribute owners; and are planning to integrate MuchLoved with their Donorfy (CRM) database. They are also refreshing the tribute information in their patient and family welcome pack
Watch the Thames Hospice case study here
RNLI
RNLI, one of the UK’s most well-known charities, celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2025. With their Forever by the Sea tribute funds, RNLI connect all aspects of their stewardship journey with their well-known brand.
RNLI has a dedicated team and a mature stewardship programme which benefits from their strong brand identity and emotive storytelling. Its online and offline activity conveys a clear purpose to supporters who are also encuraged to participate in fundraising activities locally. There are two strands to RNLI’s stewardship activities:
General stewardship journey
Personal stewardship Journey - RNLI’s in-mem team have devised a journey with personal touch points so they can connect more closely with supporters:
Learnings – Showing the difference that tribute funds make to the charity leads to greater supporter engagement. Their stewardship journeys can be varied depending on the relationship, for instance a close family member has different needs to a friend or colleague. Finally, they’ve seen the benefit of cross departmental collaboration, so legacy pledges now get the same type of stewardship as tribute funds
Watch the RNLI case study here
At MuchLoved, we’ve noticed that 70% of activity is on tributes that are over a year old. This is lovely to see and testament to the many fantastic stewardship journeys run by our charity partners. Every tribute is forever, so the communications that the tribute owner receives from the charity are essential in acknowledging the very special nature of the tribute fund, and can be the start of a fantastic supporter relationship. We hope these case studies will provide inspiration for your own stewardship activity and help you develop meaningful relationships with supporters for the long term.
If you would like to know more about MuchLoved tributes and dedication pages, contact our Support team at support@muchloved.com or 01494 722818
