Features
Pandemic altered Development team engagement, but mission remains intact By Annemarie Mountz
For the Penn State College of Education, philanthropic support is not about the size of the gifts given to the college. Rather, it’s about the relationships formed, and the collective impact those gifts have on the success of the college community. “The professionals that comprise the College of Education’s Development Office are committed to the idea of transformation,” said Steve Wilson, director of Development for the college. “By enabling our alumni and friends to connect their passions to the needs of our students and faculty, we are helping them to ease financial burdens and transform students into scholars. We are helping them to support innovative research and transform faculty into thought leaders. And we are helping them to transform themselves from donors into benefactors, who come to know the people who are directly benefiting from their philanthropy.” Wilson said that gift conversations are driven by donors, so that the gifts they make reflect their passions and the kind of impact they wish to create. Those conversations typically occur in person, over coffee, in their offices or even in their homes, so the life of a development officer typically includes a lot of time on the road. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, that changed. 8
Penn State Education
College of Education Development Director Steve Wilson, inset in bottom right, meets with some of his development colleagues via Teams. The group has adapted to using technology to accomplish much of what used to be done in person.
