Credit: University of Nebraska

As Director of Donor Relations and Creative Impact, Amanda Feser of the University of Nebraska Foundation (U.S.) leads personalized, high-end stewardship projects and creates detailed reports for donors on how their charitable gifts are used. But it isn’t all business, all the time, Feser said. It’s OK to be a little whimsical.  

In 2024, Feser, who is also tasked with sending high-quality appreciation touchpoints to donors, decided it was time to venture beyond the perfunctory reports and presents. 

Why not be a little whimsical and give a donor, say, pints of custom-made ice cream with his face on the label?

Feser worked with an ice cream company to create a label with a vintage photo of the donor, a 1983 business graduate and former Nebraska football player, posing in his team jersey. She even came up with fun flavor names: “Cherry Chocolate Husker Hunk,” “Punts and Peppermints,” “Scholars and Sea Salt Caramel,” and “COB Cookies and Cream.” (“COB” being the acronym for the College of Business, which he supports.) He loved it. 

“It should be fun for donors; it should be something they get tickled about,” she said. Unconventional approaches have reshaped her job, because she is leaning into the idea that stewardship should be enjoyable for everyone. “This is my thing; this is my passion—this whimsy, this fun.”  

When she creates personalized gifts, the foundation’s frontline fundraisers are also fully engaged; these are high-end donors, and the fundraisers have built relationships with them over the years and well know their likes and dislikes. 

“They know what will hit right with a certain donor,” Feser said. “This whimsical, kind of fun approach doesn’t work for everybody. You would not give a fun gift to a donor who has said they want a report on what their scholarship has done.” 

Her advice to other advancement professionals? 

“If we are going to do something like this, it’s essential to know [your donors] and not just wing it,” she said. 

The foundation team has found it can give donors a deep dive into the financials, but the next communication can be a whimsical piece.  

Feser recently commissioned a local artist to make a caricature of a donor’s dog. That same artist designed the cover of a children’s board book about two donors with a building on the Lincoln campus named for them. The donors and their younger family members received copies as heirlooms.

“I am all about how to make something highly meaningful for a donor,” said Feser, who began working for the foundation in 2008, one month after graduating from Nebraska. “I am very lucky in my role that I can focus on personalization. It’s taking it to that playful place. Stewardship should be fun and enjoyable.”

The impact of the unique gifts is reflected in the numbers, she said, because donors, if they feel appreciated, are more likely to support the foundation. 

The University of Nebraska Foundation received a 2025 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for Donor Relations and Stewardship Initiatives for its project, “Whimsical Appreciation: Crafting Creative Stewardship.”