December 2019, ISSUE NO. 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Paws for a Cause PAGE 2
Donor Reporting
PAGE 3
Terry College of Business PAGE 4
Matrix Workshop PAGE 5
Thanksgiving Stewardship PAGE 6
Scholarship Stewardship PAGE 8
WHAT’S JINGLING IN STEWARDSHIP
In this season of stewardship, we reflect upon our impact and accomplishments. We are excited to report on the recently implemented Paws for a Cause campaign, donor impact updates, and many unique stewardship efforts taking place across campus! In addition, Terry College of Business shares their stewardship efforts that made a sixyear vision a notable reality! Our highlights would not have been possible without the commitment that Stewies like you make to the University of Georgia’s mission. Each of our meetings and partnerships lead us to greater growth, knowledge, and inspiration, and we have one another to appreciate for these successes!
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA Development & Alumni Relations Donor Relations & Stewardship Tony Stringer, Senior Director Melissa Lee, Editor Teale Moran, Writer
PAWS FOR A CAUSE ABBY BRYANT
On October 21, Team Stewardship partnered with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia for our first-ever “Stewie Day of Service.” This day is part of Paws for a Cause, a new initiative started by Team Stewardship that centers on spreading acts of kindness and service throughout our community. We worked to fill more than 250 bags of food to benefit people in the AthensClarke County area!
During our most recent Team Stewardship meeting, we collected and donated mac ‘n cheese to UGA’s very own Student Food Pantry. Thanks to so many generous Stewies, were provided over 100 boxes of mac ‘n cheese to students in need. The Food Pantry is organized by the Greek Life Office and feeds, on average, around 100 students per day. This is a service that we plan to continue, and we encourage everyone to support programs that are serving our students campus-wide.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED DO YOU & YOUR TEAM WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR NEXT
“STEWIE DAY OF SERVICE?”
We would love to get to know more of you through our Stewie Days of Service. With more volunteers, we can serve our surrounding area in a bigger capacity (and have the opportunity to spend time with colleagues we don’t often see). We are open to supporting causes YOU love. Share your ideas with us today! For more details on how to get involved, contact Abby at abby.bryant@uga.edu DECEMBER 2019
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DONOR REPORTING MELISSA LEE, TEALE MORAN, & TERESA KESLER This year, the first ever UGAF Trustee impact report was created to show the collective impact our trustees are making at the university. Included were all trustee planned gifts to date, FY19 Georgia Commitment Scholarship impact, newly committed pledges, and overall FY19 trustee giving. Thanks to our Stewies in Ecology, Business, and Athletics, we were able to secure quotes from their Deans and Directors for a more personal touch! Next year, Melissa and Teale will include a personalized insert unique to each trustee listing their FY20 giving. We hope to add new, personalized touches each year, but we are being thoughtful about each addition, keeping sustainability and the ability to keep our promises in mind.
The FY19 Faculty Impact Report flipped to a landscape layout and chairs had the option to attach an additional photo illustrating the impact being made by their position. In addition, Melissa stretched her limits in Qualtrics to enhance the response rate and overall report information. By offering examples of past reports and creating character and pixel maximums and minimums, our faculty had direct guidance and submitted better responses. Faculty participation continues to increase, and positive feedback on the reports is being recorded for the FY20 Stewardship Overview.
Endowment Reports were completely redesigned thanks to a lot of hard work by Teresa Kesler and Amanda Qubty. Foundation-wide information was moved to the folder, making it possible for each fund’s report to exist independently on a single page. This eliminates duplication and waste, and it’s now easier to print reports on demand for development officers. This project continues to grow each year with exceptional feedback and appreciation.
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THANK YOU, MARTEE Everything that happens in stewardship is because Martee took a chance on me and donor relations years ago! TONY STRINGER
TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS LYNSEE MILLER
The Building Terry campaign, which spanned over six years of construction, fundraising, and dedication, consists of six Terry College of Business buildings that total around 300,000 square feet! This new learning community features collaborative team rooms, interactive classrooms, and modern technology that enhances the learning environment for Terry College students, faculty, and staff. Terry College development staff worked closely with their marking and design and construction firms to make this vision a reality; along with the support of our donors, friends, and committed staff! Lynsee Miller and team recognized over 230 donors with naming opportunities throughout the space. These naming opportunities include interior and exterior recognition—from faculty office name plates to bricks and pavers. These recognition opportunities were presented to those whose gifts ranged from $15,000-$10M during the campaign. In addition, the learning community features giving society walls honoring the following donor groups:
Pinnacle: $1M lifetime giving Shareholder: Dean’s Discretionary Fund giving Stewarding this campaign has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding! Lynsee and Catherine Henry are still in the process of stewarding its Building Terry donors, but they have had great feedback and success thus far!
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DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A MATRIX? Why?
MELISSA LEE & JORDAN DOTSON
ACCOUNTABILITY If it’s written down and shared with your boss, you’re more likely to do it.
FUTURE PROPOSALS If this matrix is kept up-to-date, you’re already prepared with ammunition to propose something new or eliminate redundancies.
SNAPSHOT OF COMMUNICATION
How many times has someone asked what a donor has received from your office? This can provide a quick answer!
Units that communicate to donors in any way (even if you don’t consider it stewardship) can use this format to illustrate output!
Keep in Mind… ✓ Not all stewardship matrices will look the same! ✓ Not all headings have to be gift amount-based
Gift Amount Annual Giving Amount Cumulative Giving Amount Type of Donor (ex. parents, alumni, endowment reps, special funds, loyalty…)
✓ Remember to include other communications as well Magazines, newsletters, events…
For more details on building a matrix, contact Melissa at mleew@uga.edu DECEMBER 2019
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STEWARDSHIP TONY STRINGER Last year, Donor Relations began stewarding top donors with a special Thanksgiving card. The cover of this year’s card (pictured to the right), which when opened reveals a pop-up image of Uga, the Arch, and downtown (pictured at the top)! This is no ordinary pop-up card, but one that is custom made! No one else in the world will be receiving this card but our donors. Tony, Melissa, and Amanda Qubty worked closely with the card company designer to realize the vision for this card, and we are very pleased with the result! Cumulative Giving Societies donors ($1M+ lifetime giving), Trustees, and Presidents Club Platinum level donors ($25K+ annual giving) from FY19 and FY20 to date received this piece. Not only do our top donors deserve to be stewarded for Thanksgiving, but we also like to send ALL donors a “blanket” stewardship e-mail message each November. All donors who gave or pledged $1+ in FY19 and FY20 to date received this email, as well as all planned gift donors, donors who have given $100,000+ in their lifetime, trustees, and several other special donor groups. It’s become a tradition for Donor Relations to work with DARCOMM to create this video e-mail message. This year’s video—a group of recognizable UGA icons seated at a table in the middle of Herty Field—has been an idea several years in the making. This year, the stars aligned and we were able to secure a fantastic cast of students on a beautiful day!
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SPOTLIGHTS College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences LAURA WILKERSON
The College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences mailed a Thanksgiving card to CAES Alumni Board, Dean’s Advisory Council, CAES Administration, planned gift donors, endowment donor representatives, elected officials, the 4-H Foundation Board, and current prospects. This year, a student in Student Philanthropy Council, painted the Chapel Bell on the cover of the card. In addition to the card, an e-mail was sent to a broader selection of donors on Thanksgiving day.
College of Engineering
KIM BROWN
The College of Engineering sends a video message from the Dean via ThankView annually. This video message changes each year and is e-mailed to a variety of donors, corporate partners, and other “VIPs.”
Terry College of Business CATHERINE HENRY The Terry College of Business mailed a Thanksgiving card to select donors and the design of the card is unique each year. This year, the cover of the card is a photo of Student Ambassadors holding letters that spell “Thank You.” The inside of this fall themed card featured each students’ name and a special message from the Dean. The recipients of this card include donors of $50K+ lifetime giving, Heritage Society Members, and Pinnacle Society Members.
Alumni Association
SARAH SONENBERG
With the recent success of the Alumni Association Chapters Scholarship becoming a $100,000 Georgia Commitment Scholarship, the Alumni Association team worked with DARCOMM to thank the chapter leaders who inspired communities and donors to give back with a two part stewardship plan. First, an Announcement/Thank You letter was sent from the Alumni Association Board Chapters Committee members to the chapter leaders around the country. Next, a ThankView video e-mail was created, featuring the Student Alumni Association President, Caroline Kraczon, Class of 2020, thanking over 1,100 donors who contributed to the effort, which had a 44% open rate.
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THANKVIEW LAUREN SCHLESINGER
Study Abroad Scholar A Terry College of Business student, studying abroad in Shanghai, China, sent a video message to the scholarship donor with the skyline of the city in the background. The scholar thanked the donor for allowing her the opportunity to have this experience and the donor wrote back praising the video! This is great use for showing the impact of a study abroad scholarship within a school or college.
Thank-Ewe-Thon
The College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences’ Student Philanthropy Council created a video message themselves, thanking their donors. Thank-Ewe-Thon is an annual event that helps educate CAES students about the impact that private philanthropy has on their education at UGA and in the CAES.
GRATITUDE REPORTS We are excited to have the following units participating in our first campus-wide printing of Gratitude Reports: ✓ Lamar Dodd School of Art ✓ College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences ✓ College of Engineering ✓ Hugh Hodgson School of Music
✓ Student Veteran’s Resource Center ✓ Disability Resource Center ✓ Terry College of Business ✓ Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication ✓ Franklin College Dean’s Office
If you are interested in the Spring round of Gratitude Reports, e-mail Lauren at lkschlesinger@uga.edu DECEMBER 2019
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RESOURCES November 2019 Team Stewardship PowerPoint Presentation Donor Relations & Stewardship Matrix Blank Matrix Donor Experience & Legacy Giving Survey 2019 Thanksgiving Video
TEAM STEWARDSHIP | FEBRUARY 20, 2020 UGA Livestock Arena from 11AM-2PM
THANK A DONOR DAY | APRIL 16, 2020 Tate Plaza from 9AM-1PM
TEAM STEWARDSHIP | MAY 2020 TBD
PHILANTHROPY AT WORK SOCIETY RECEPTION | AUGUST 21, 2020 Tate Grand Hall (invitation only)
PRESIDENTS CLUB RECEPTION & CAMPAIGN CLOSING CELEBRATION | OCTOBER 9, 2020 Tate Grand Hall (invitation only)
Tony Stringer tonys@uga.edu
Melissa Lee mleew@uga.edu
Caitlin Lacey cslacey@uga.edu
Teresa Kesler tkesler@uga.edu
Calli Choe ckchoe@uga.edu
Teale Moran theresa.moran@uga.edu
Jordan Dotson ddotson@uga.edu
Shearron Hamlin shearron.hamlin@uga.edu
Tonya Moore Latonya.moore@uga.edu
Abby Bryant Abby.bryant@uga.edu
Lauren Schlesinger lkschlesinger@uga.edu
DOWNLOAD THE STEW
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