It is through the practice of good stewardship that we as humans express love for the world. — William Enright and Timothy Seiler
Stewardship is the responsible management of others’ resources for the common good. It’s more than rote organizational functions and it’s certainly not about shoring up the institution with planned gifts.
Stewardship is about establishing and sustaining a trust between an institutional steward and the stakeholders who share their resources because they care about a given mission and impact on the world, and want that mission and impact executed well.
As Enright and Seiler argue, it involves accountability, prudence, and discernment. Without these three virtues, a group can easily lose sight of its core purpose, the values that drive it to act in the world, and the basis for the trust it seeks from stakeholders.