Donor Relations Report FY22/23

Donor Relations Report

FISCAL YEARS '22 & '23

ABOUT THE TEAM

Thank you for your interest in learning more about the Office of Donor Relations at the University of Richmond This report captures the efforts and achievements of our team that took place between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023 During this timeframe, we modified existing work and ushered in a series of new projects that provided our donors with a better understanding of their gifts at work; streamlined formerly cumbersome processes that impacted the donor experience; and established partnerships with colleagues across campus to improve overall donor and fund stewardship.

When approaching and evaluating our work, our goals are to encourage and inspire continued philanthropic support of the University; to recognize and engage donors in meaningful, consistent ways; and to ensure we are responsible financial stewards of donor gifts

While we each have varied responsibilities, consistent teamwork and sharing of ideas, knowledge, and experience with one another has made it possible to expand our efforts We embrace change and strive to improve our work and, ultimately, the donor experience. I welcome any questions you may have or ideas you’d like to share. We are excited about our work and hope you are as well.

Chnoic Adams Clarke Director of Donor Relations

Chnoic Adams Clarke

Director of Donor Relations (DDR)

Chnoic focuses on strategic planning and goal setting; project ideation, implementation and management; donor relations policy and process; and custom and principal level stewardship

Katie Bell, '07

Senior Associate Director, Donor Relations (SADDR)

Katie focuses on endowment reporting, gift documentation, and internal fund stewardship

Katie is a liaison to Business & Finance and our team's query specialist

Rachel Hill

Assistant Director, Donor Experience and Recognition (ADDER)

Rachel focuses on strategic donor events and engagement opportunities; named spaces; and several of our donor recognition groups Rachel is also the ThankView contact

Kyra Molinaro

Assistant Director, Donor Communications (ADDC)

Kyra focuses on managing and writing for donor communications projects, website content, and VP/Presidential gift acknowledgements. Kyra is a liaison to University Communications and advocates for the placement of donor stories across University-wide channels.

Hannah Rhodes, '13

Administrative Coordinator, Donor Relations and Parent Giving (AC)

Hannah focuses on providing support to both Donor Relations and Parent Giving and coordinates all PPLC events and communications. Hannah manages tribute notifications, updates units with monthly gift reports, and updates website content. Hannah is a liaison on the database post-conversion team, DIGT.

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GIFT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VIP Donor Acknowledgements

These letters are written by the Assistant Director of Donor Communications, in partnership with more than 20 staff members across Advancement, and acknowledge major gifts with a letter from UR's President ($25,000 or more) or the Vice President for Advancement ($10,000 $24,999), with some exceptions Donor Relations sent approximately:

182 Presidential letters for gifts totaling $14,673,843

225 Vice Presidential letters for gifts totaling $977,996

211 Presidential letters for gifts totaling $39,687,000

202 Vice Presidential letters for gifts totaling $969,285

Unit Based Acknowledgements

Donor Relations facilitates the acknowledgement processes of individual schools and units by regularly providing them with gift reports (and acknowledgement letter templates as needed from the Assistant Director of Donor Communications) Reports are sent monthly by the administrative coordinator to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, International Education, Student Development, Boatwright Memorial Library, Modlin Center for the Arts, the Chaplaincy, and the President's office; they are sent quarterly to the School of Arts and Sciences and the Robins School of Business.

Donor Relations meets annually with each school and unit to continually review and improve this process; most recently Donor Relations used these meetings to address the transition to ArachNet, revising the reports to better meet each unit’s needs

Tribute Acknowledgements

Tribute acknowledgements are mailed monthly to recognize members of the University community who have inspired others to give Prepared by the administrative coordinator on behalf of the Director of Donor Relations, these letters give acknowledgees the opportunity to thank the donor personally, deepening relationships with one another and with the University. The tribute information, donor name, gift designation, and contact information are shared in these letters. Gift amounts are not.

In FY22 and FY23, Donors Relations mailed 707 tribute acknowledgement letters, recognizing 1,429 gifts.

[Coach Dick Tarrant] was a legend before, during, and after I attended Richmond. Many of my fondest memories were provided by the Richmond basketball team during my years at school and as an alumni Coach Tarrant was beloved by the students

[and]deservesalotofcreditforputtingtheprogramonthenationalmap " Rob Shapiro, B'89, who donated in honor of Coach Tarrant

FY22 FY23

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ENDOWED FUND STEWARDSHIP

Annual Endowment Reports

Each year, the Senior Associate Director of Donor Relations prepares and sends reports on endowment funds’ performance in the previous fiscal year; for example, in FY22 we report funds’ performance in FY21 These documents provide a yearly update to endowed fund donors - and in some cases, their descendants - on the value and impact of their individual funds, as well as the value and impact of UR's endowment as a whole. Depending on the nature of the fund, the report typically also includes a profile and note of gratitude from a student or faculty beneficiary In order to demonstrate donor impact, Donor Relations engaged approximately 33 faculty/staff members and 360 students in FY22, and 43 faculty/staff members and 422 students in FY23

Our endowment reporting process continues to grow steadily with the addition of new funds.

ANNUAL ENDOWMENT REPORTING

Endowment reporting in FY23 represented stewardship of funds with a collective annual budget of $21,939,174, a book value of $188,505,297, and a market value of $556,950,082.

Endowment reporting also resulted in 11 student/donor meetings in FY22 and FY23, held in person or by Zoom.

Welcome to the Endowment

This print piece, launched in March 2022 in collaboration with University Communications, thanks donors for their support, proactively answers questions donors often have related to endowed funds, and explains what stewardship they can expect from the University.

This piece was designed to provide standard information to each new endowment donor, while being customizable with a cover note on matching stationery.

Welcome to the Endowment packets were sent to 25 donors from March 2022 to June 2023.

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ENHANCED STEWARDSHIP

Presidential Event Follow-up

Donor Relations partnered with the President's office multiple times in FY22 on stewardship of event attendees.

In follow-up to an event hosted by Austin and Peggy Brockenbrough at their Goat Hill farm home in June 2022, The ADDC coordinated thank you letters for attendees 50 letters were mailed to attendees and five special letters were mailed to UR trustees in attendance In addition, the ADDC coordinated a special gift for the Brockenbroughs - a framed event photo of President Hallock and the Brockenbroughs, along with a personal note from the President - as a thank you for hosting.

For those who attended the Nantucket presidential dinner hosted by Stuart and Tina Fiertz (PPLC members) at The Westmoor in July 2022 and again in July 2023, the ADDC coordinated presidential email correspondence Four emails were sent in 2023 and six in 2022 to thank those who attended and to the Fiertzes for hosting

Following a May 2023 dinner with young alumni donors in New York City, the ADDC drafted a thank you email for attendees. Donor Relations also created and distributed a survey to non-attendees to better understand what they want out of stewardship events This survey can be adapted and used for future events, helping us to better meet donors' expectations

The Paragon Medal

First awarded to E. Claiborne Robins in 1986, the Paragon Medal recognizes an individual whose extraordinary commitment, involvement, affection, and benevolence have been critical to the University’s prosperity This award may only be held by one individual at a time and awarded no more than once every 15 years.

In January of 2023, at an intimate gathering of close friends and family at his home, President Kevin Hallock presented Marcus M Weinstein the second ever Paragon Medal. The medallion design, presentation, and the event were coordinated by Donor Relations. Post-event communications, including a printed book with event photography and several videos for the Weinstein family and other special guests, were designed by Donor Relations Through a partnership with University Communications, an article about the award was published in UR Now, and a press release was published on the UR website and in several local publications, including the Richmond Free Press

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The Donor Relations team was recognized with a 2023 Virginia PRSA Award for the suite of collateral created and the event execution for the Paragon Medal.

ENHANCED STEWARDSHIP

Custom Donor Impact Books

From January to October 2022, the Director of Donor Relations and the ADDC partnered to fully research, write, and design a donor impact book for the Weinstein family, recognizing their tremendous generosity to the University of Richmond over the past 50 years

The creation of this book included interviews with 17 members of the UR community and the involvement of 21 staff members across the University. Going forward, Donor Relations intends to produce one impact book every one to two years

The Donor Relations team was recognized with a 2023 Virginia PRSA Award for the Weinstein Family Custom Impact Book.

Custom Impact Reporting

In response to COVID and shifting donor demographics, Donor Relations began increasing its use of digital tools for stewardship. In July of 2022, the Director of Donor Relations piloted using a custom microsite for stewardship of a major donor to the Well-Being Center that highlighted of the success the work taking place inside its walls and the impact it was having Additionally, in response to a unique request from the MCJ Amelior Foundation (READY Scholarship), Donor Relations was tasked with creating an impact piece to persuade the foundation to leave this scholarship fund intact. The SADDR compiled seven "where they are now" profiles on former READY Scholarship recipients. As a result of this effort and a revised gift agreement, the MCJ Amelior Foundation agreed to continue the READY Scholarship for the benefit of future Spider scholarship recipients.

The SADDR also created a custom microsite for Stuart and Tina Fiertz to highlight the Ethics of Choice Conference, made possible by the Fiertzes’ gift to the Jepson Ethics Initiative fund. The site featured a note from the dean, participant testimonials, and a video of the opening plenary

The DDR and ADDC began planning a similar project for a major donor to the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in late spring 2023, and this will be an ongoing stewardship opportunity for major donors to future projects and campaigns. Donor Relations is in the process of collaborating with University Communications to establish a templated version to allow for broader use for stewardship purposes.

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Donor Recognition Rebranding

During 2022 and 2023, Donor Relations worked to identify and formalize Donor Recognition Groups and to clarify and expand the donor experience. For phase one of this project, Donor Relations worked with Karnes Coffey - a Richmond-based branding company - to develop a new narrative for UR's various donor recognition groups. This work included one:one interviews with a diverse group of donors and a facilitated brainstorm with the Development team Two significant shifts followed this work: we no longer refer to "giving societies," but rather Donor Recognition Groups; and we sunsetted tier-driven recognition

In January 2023, the DDR presented a comprehensive plan to the University Communications team that would visually rebrand our donor recognition groups with a new/refreshed suite of logos and various pieces of collateral. Through the remainder of FY23, the DDR, the ADDC, and the ADDER partnered to produce a Donor Recognition Group brochure for summer 2023 distribution The AC also worked with University Communications to update the Donor Recognition webpage

The Robins Circle honors dedicated donors who have made an annual gift, of any amount, during each of the past three consecutive fiscal years

The Lake Circle recognizes those who have demonstrated their commitment to the University by making a cumulative annual gift of $5,000 or more in the previous fiscal year

Our premier recognition group, Quatrefoil celebrates the University’s most generous benefactors whose lifetime giving totals $1 million or more. This group’s transformative philanthropy has shaped, and continues to impact, Richmond in extraordinary ways

Charter Associates Richmond’s legacy circle welcomes alumni, parents, and friends whose support will benefit the University in the future through estate gifts and/or deferred gifts.

Spider parents are an integral part of our web Families who make an annual gift of $10,000 or more are honored as members of the President’s Parent Leadership Council

As part of our branding efforts, we will begin utilizing an additional graphic asset, and will include the tag "We are Grateful" on the majority of our donor communications.

DONOR RECOGNITION 6

DONOR RECOGNITION

Memorial Pavers

Memorial pavers provide a meaningful, tangible reminder of deceased Spiders' connection to the University A paver purchase covers the cost of production and maintenance and is not a charitable gift Pavers may be purchased and engraved in memory of:

University of Richmond alumni and degree-seeking students

UR parents

Current and retired UR faculty and staff

Current, former and emeriti UR trustees

In FY22 and FY23, the AC coordinated the production and installation of six new memorial pavers in the Columbarium, in memory of Joseph A Burnett L'95, William C Sandel III L'11, Shirley Ward Wingfield W'54, Benjamin F Wingfield B'56, Christopher E Kondracki R'88, and Thaddeus T Crump, Sr R'48

Named Spaces

Donor Relations oversees most physical recognition across campus and partners with landscaping, facilities and academic units to implement consistent signage and guidelines across campus. Beginning in FY22, the AC began to reconcile hundreds of paper and digital records of named spaces across campus and in FY23, the DDR established a process to utilize ArachNet to track existing naming opportunities, link secured opportunities to constituents, and initiate drafting documentation for named spaces and creating proofs for signage into our broader gift documentation process All historical information will eventually be integrated into ArachNet

Queally Athletics Center Well-Being Center

In the fall of 2021, donors were recognized with 21 different spaces, representing $13.94M in donor support.

In the fall of 2021, donors were recognized with 38 different spaces, representing $16 12M in donor support A more comprehensive, formal donor wall was also installed in the entry of the WBC

Elevate/Pitt Field

In late 2021, Athletics and DR partner to begin the process of clarifying donor commitments made over the past decade In late 2023, over 51 donors will be recognized with 17 different spaces and three group plaques, representing $2 76M in donor support

The Wilton Center, Special Programs Building, and the Law School

In the fall 2022, DR worked with the Chaplaincy's Wilton Center, SPCS, and Law during their individual renovations to either move/adapt existing signage or establish appropriate naming opportunities and design supporting collateral for new spaces Both Law and SPCS still have active recognition opportunities.

Well-Being Center Celebration

On October 1, 2021 Donor Relations hosted the Well-Being Center Celebration, an event designed to thank major donors to the facility and let them see first-hand the resources it has made available to our students. The event was facilitated by 18 staff members across the Development and WellBeing Center teams, along with 13 student volunteers (including a student speaker and a student musician)

The program included remarks from President Hallock, VP for Advancement Martha Callaghan, alumna and trustee Kathleen Hughes Bettencourt, and then-student Makayla Callender '22 (Chemistry and Pre-Physical Therapy)

It culminated in self-guided exploration of the facility, with student ambassadors stationed throughout to greet attendees and introduce them to new spaces such as the Demonstration Kitchen and the Salt Therapy Room. Approximately 100 University supporters attended the event

Gratitude Day

Gratitude Day is an annual event that invites the Spider community to share something for which they're grateful and celebrate all of the ways we’ve been supported at the University of Richmond During both 2020 and 2021, Gratitude Day was a fully virtual experience, with various communication and engagement opportunities accessible to donors.

However, in fall 2022, the ADDER executed an on-campus Gratitude Day. Attendees had the opportunity to write thank you cards to professors, colleagues, donors or anyone they wanted to share a message of gratitude with Students, faculty, and staff were able to grab a hot drink and donuts while they wrote on gratitude cards who or what they were grateful for. All of these cards were gathered to create a physical Web of Gratitude.

Post-event communications included a video of the day with a message of gratitude to all donors, placement in Pillars magazine, and by partnering with gift officers, hard copy thank you notes were mailed to a predetermined list of donors.

As part of our branding effort and at our request, University Communications redesigned the 2023 Gratitude Day logo to fit with our other visual elements

Strategic Donor Event Support

As Donor Relations works to establish more consistent protocols and guidelines for events Development-wide, the focus remains on supporting strategic stewardship events- those that are directly related to a Donor Recognition Group or that have donor impact and gratitude woven into programming Over the past two years, Donor Relations has provided increasing support and partnership to Gift Planning for the Charter Associates events and the Boatwright Society dinner, and to Parent Giving for PPLC events, when helpful

EVENTS 7

Within the Web

The donor e-newsletters are written and curated by the ADDC on a quarterly basis and emailed to all donors who have given within the past 3 fiscal years Each newsletter includes a campus update from the DDR, as well as links to Giving Spotlight features, photos and/or video(s) from recent events, and other UR news. As part of our efforts to rebrand, the e-news header was updated for a more cohesive appearance.

I'llneverforgettheopportunityRichmondgaveme atadifficulttimeinmyfamily'slife.Ilookforward topayingitforward,asIknowitwillbeusedto offerthatsameopportunitytofuturestudents."

ArmonModirian,'13,inresponsetotheAugust 2022e-newsletter

Annually, Within the Web reaches over 14,000 donors, has an average open rate of 56%, and raises an average of $6,450 in unsolicited gifts.

Donor Stories: Giving Spotlights and Other Publications

The ADDC oversees Giving Spotlights on the UR Giving website, which demonstrate the value of giving to the University and hopfeully motivate others to give. Each story features a stand-out donor who has made a lasting impact through their giving, or a grateful recipient who has directly benefited from donor generosity

The ADDC also contributes giving-related stories to UR Now, UR Magazine, and Spider Insider faculty/staff magazine In FY22 and FY23, the ADDC wrote 14 giving stories that involved 20 interviews with members of the UR community.

MOST VIEWED DONOR STORIES

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The Donor Relations team was recognized with a 2023 Virginia PRSA Award for both Within the Web and our Giving Spotlight

Every Gift Matters Ivana Marshall Building a Legacy Betty Gustafson and Mary Murphy From Nepal to Richmond Keshav Jha 400 views 394 views 311 views COMMUNICATIONS 8

Pillars

UR's annual report on giving, crafted by the ADDC, is a collection of stories that demonstrate the many ways donors have made a lasting difference in the lives of students, faculty, staff, and the Spider community at large It documents the ways in which donor impact can be seen all around campus, from the athletic arena to the classroom to the stage and beyond

The Donor Relations team was recognized with a 2023 Virginia PRSA Award for Pillars.

In 2023, the inaugural edition of Pillars was shared with all current donors, by mail or email, and is available on the UR website The Pillars webpage was the #4 most visited page on the Giving site (behind the home page, Meet the Team, and The Endowment) and got more than 1600 views in FY23. The next edition of Pillars will be shared with donors in December 2023 through January 2024.

Thank you for your letter of January 20 enclosing the University's new "Pillars" magazine. It was fascinating to read this impressive publication and learn of the remarkable philosophy that has sustained the University through the years. While the University has made incredible strides because of the generosity of its alumni and its constituents, I predict that the future will be even better."

Bob Jepson, in a letter to President Kevin Hallock

5,897 THANKVIEWS SENT UNIVERSITY WIDE IN FY23

Managed by Donor Relations, ThankView is a video messaging platform used by teams across Advancement to steward and thank our donors.

In FY22, the ADDC partnered with University Communications and the Office of Annual Giving to prepare several thank you videos for UR Here Giving Day 2022. Nearly 1,700 Thankviews were sent during Giving Day 2022 and nearly 1,100 during Giving Day 2023.

81.1% OPEN RATE IN FY23*

38% CLICK RATE IN FY23*

The ADDC, ADDER, and DDR partnered with University Communications to film two videos for future ThankView use: a birthday message to Robins and Lake Circle donors and a message of gratitude to faculty and staff donors from the VP for Advancement featuring WebstUR

*Industry averages for open and click rate are 21 33% and 2 63%, respectively

ThankView

COMMUNICATIONS 9

Giving Site Updates and Enhancements

Donor Relations contributed to the maintenance of, and improvements to, the Advancement website over the last two years. Considerations for externally facing content and opportunities for internally facing content were considered The ADDC led the overhaul of the Meet the Team webpage, hosted quarterly Website Governance meetings across Advancement, and consistently made updates and improvements throughout the entire site to keep the content impact focused and/or relevant and timely to the readers.

One of our primary goals was to increase the quantity of giving spotlights that live online. We strive to achieve diversity in our storytelling, both in the donor stories that we tell, but also in the type of giving and donor behavior that we celebrate. All of our stories can be easily shared across other University websites, and we actively encourage our campus-partners to do so when it’s relevant

The AC continues to expand the content Donor Relations provided on the intranet as we work toward a goal of a fully comprehensive Development intranet

Cross-Campus Partnerships to Improve Communications

Donor Relations identified or supported several opportunities for collaboration with campus communicators to enhance the work taking place in Development. We have had success in placing donor stories and philanthropic impact stories in more broad University communications. We hope the details below can help you think about new opportunities for collaboration with our team and enhancement to our work and we welcome all ideas or suggestions!

Participation in University Communication's (UC) Editorial Cross-Campus weekly sessions, Storyboard Team monthly meetings, and ongoing collaboration on donor/impact story placement in Spider Insider, UR Now, and the University of Richmond Magazine

Partnering with the Office of Annual Giving (OAG) and UC on UR Here and Spiders

Helping Spiders communications pieces, including thank you emails and videos

Collaborating with OAG to support enhancements to Robin’s Circle stewardship

Partnering with Gift Planning for Gift Planning / Charter Associates communications

COMMUNICATIONS 10

Gift Documentation Workflow and Resources

Beginning in FY22, with the support of VP, Advancement and AVP, Development, the DDR undertook efforts to address long-standing gift documentation challenges including: an informal and inconsistent review process, underutilization of approved templates, and a lack of understanding of allowable gift restrictions. Throughout FY22, the DDR and SADDR partnered to implement a new process and formal oversight for gift documentation. Digital tools were utilized, resources were created, and multiple training opportunities were provided to support the work of Development and ultimately improve the donor experience

This new process was fully implemented in July 2022 Donor Relations has so far facilitated 49 (and counting) gift usage agreements, memos, and gift intentions. Each one entails drafting the documentation, facilitating review and signatures, completing a new fund request, and organizing document storage. Some also entail extensive conversations with prospect managers and campus partners as terms are negotiated

The Donor Relations team was recognized for our gift documentation process with a 2023 CASE Circle of Excellence: Silver in the category of Change Management

Donor Narratives

Beginning in the summer of 2020, Donor Relations began facilitating the creation of Donor Narratives when new endowed funds are established These are somewhat informal statements that are crafted with the donor's input and approval, and typically include a brief donor bio and the intent or story behind their gift The narratives are stored in ArachNet, and in the case of endowed scholarship funds, the narratives are shared with student recipients, which allows the students to learn more about donors behind their scholarships The SADDR typically drafts a narrative in partnership with the donor's prospect manager as part of the gift documentation process.

We now have more than 250 recorded Donor Narratives.

GIFT DOCUMENTATION 11

PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS DEVELOPMENT

Development Strategy and Operations

In order to best create a positive donor experience, Donor Relations believes that internal operations must be clearly established and transparent across Development, and we consistently participate in several groups and taskforces to enhance related processes and policies Additionally, we believe our team can often play a helpful role when discussing engagement, fundraising, and communications strategy Throughout the year, our team participates in several cross-campus, development-wide, and University Communications strategy conversations and collaborative efforts to help improve both internal processes as well as our own story telling abilities

Goals for Fiscal Year 2024

The Donor Relations team strives to be forward-thinking, to be creative, and to welcome improvements and change that will help achieve our shared goals and objectives across Development. This, of course, requires collaboration and partnerships University-wide. Below are new or different ways we hope to approach our work and partnership opportunities this coming year

Enhance communications and engagement work, often utilizing donor recognition groups to facilitate and coordinate (including enhancing existing events and thoughtfully implementing new events)

Formalize and implement an improved process for planning and managing both cultivation and stewardship events Development-wide

Establish stewardship and donor communication standards for endowed position holders as well as internal communications between DR and the faculty member

Help establish a more comprehensive and consistent onboarding process and ongoing training for both DR and Development

Continue work to improve process, policy, and systems that impact Development, with a focus on the Gift Acceptance Policy and other internal resources

We always welcome new opportunities to collaborate, whether its for new projects or existing efforts, and we encourage you to bring your questions, ideas or opportunities to partner to our team

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Donor Relations has created several process and/or policy related resources related to our work that we hope are helpful to others in Development Below is a list of the resources we have and where to find them After review, If questions still remain, please contact the designated subject matter expert or the Director of Donor Relations

The Donor Relations Intranet is accessible through the RESOURCES tab on giving richmond edu Here, you will find:

Gift Documentation reference guide and template library

Scholarship Criteria reference guide

Endowed Fund toolkit

Named Spaces opportunity collateral, reference guide, and comprehensive toolkit

Donor Recognition Group reference guide and brochure

Donor Experience reference guide

Donor Gift Acknowledgement reference guide

Other materials of interest:

Digital version of the annual university wide donor impact report, Pillars

Endowment Reporting Basics for Prospect Managers

Multi-donor / group gift policy

ThankView (pending updates)

Gift Acceptance Policy (pending updates)

Office of Donor Relations

donorrelations@richmond.edu

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DONOR RELATIONS RESOURCES

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Donor Relations Report FY22/23