WINTER 2019, ISSUE NO. 10
WE'VE MOVED! Quarters B 100 Spear Rd
INSIDE THIS ISSUE STEWARDSHIP SPOTLIGHT PAGE 2
A TROLLY TO LEADERSHIP PAGE 3
OUR PROFESSION with Paige Eubanks-Barrow PAGE 4
LIVING A GRATEFUL LIFE PAGE 5
'TIS THE SEASON
FALL IN THE CLASSIC CITY
It's been a busy season for Team Stewardship. Since our last issue of The Stew, we were inspired to lead by our values through the screening of Won't You Be My Neighbor, we kicked off our August Team Stewardship 'tween the hedges in the Sanford Stadium SkySuites, and we hosted a very collaborative November annual giving workshop. With a special speaker all the way from Louisiana, guests from Kennessaw State University, and lots of discussion about our work, Team Stewardship would not have been possible without your creative thinking and hospitality. We can't thank you enough for being a part of our stewardship community. Our meetings have allowed us to learn more about the trajectory of our profession, and we always enjoy the collaborative conversation that our Stewies generate so well. We look forward to more growth and energy as FY19 continues!
ANNUAL GIVING
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA Development & Alumni Relations Donor Relations & Stewardship
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RESOURCES PAGE 6
Tony Stringer, Senior Director Melissa Lee, Editor
ed Featur hip s d r a w Ste
BULLDOG CLUB FORD WILLIAMS
ty Magill Socie
Athletics stewards through experience and is able to illustrate the impact of giving in this way. Tickets are the primary hook, but the Magill Society includes a vague tagline of events based on the success of our teams. Donors can choose what they would like to experience via the creative Google Form Stewardship Selection Tool.
NAMING OPPORTUNITIES
iety Hedges Soc
Hedges rolled out in 2018 with 78 members. Athletics first sent a letter to the members that achieved it before announcing it publicly. Stewardship includes a dinner with coaches, field passes, and half-time recognition.
See more in the August 2018 Presentation included in Resources
are trending! The Bulldog Club is working on a booklet that standardizes their recognition levels (including font size, location, and plaque material) to better prepare gift officers for donor questions, proposals, and overall stewardship.
ODUM SCHOOL OF ECOLOGY ALLISON WALTERS SPECIAL IMPACT REPORT BRINGS MEMORIAL GIFTS TO LIFE When John Spencer, an Ecology graduate student, suddenly passed away, the School was flooded with memorial gifts to further his research and passions. Allison Walters prepared an impact piece illustrating the graduate students impacted by the gifts with a beautifully For more details, contact Allison at designed pamphlet that included artwork allison.walters@uga.edu from a friend of Spencer. DECEMBER 2018
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WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” —Fred Rogers We began FY19 with a lesson on the leadership potential of stewardship professionals by none other than our most beloved neighbor, Fred Rogers. Won't You Be My Neighbor shined a quiet (and tear-filled) light on leading in our field with empathy, dignity, kindness, and gratitude. Following the screening, we gathered for a discussion. Each Stewie placed a note with a lesson he/she learned from the film on the wall. We examined the value of listening before answering, speaking earnestly, and appreciating how our differences make us better--as colleagues and as fundraisers. We found that stewardship is inherently quiet leadership, as long as we keep our values at the forefront of our work.
Ideas?
Ideas for Stewardship-Focused Professional Development
CONTACT TERESA KESLER Quarters B | 706-542-6452 tkesler@uga.edu
DECEMBER 2018
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ONCE UPON A STEWARDSHIP PAIGE EUBANKS-BARROW "IF YOU WANT TO FIND SOMETHING NEW, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO FIND IT LOOKING AT THE SCHOOLS JUST LIKE YOU. LOOK AT SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS THAT MUST EXPERIMENT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF YOU HAD NOTHING."
we here? Why are g? e we goin r a e r e h W WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE DOING?
IT GREW DURING THE CRASH
Paige introduced the conversation by thinking of how our work could be described as emojis. From acknowledgements to parties and partnerships to damage control, donor relations is not easily defined by a tweet or tagline.
In 2002, the stock market crashed and endowments were underperforming. This led to the need for financial reporting as donors began to see their gifts as investments in the organization.
IT STARTED WITH A CAMPAIGN
In 1987, Stanford kicked off the nation's first billion dollar campaign shining a light on the need for strategic donor recognition, acknowledgements, and engagement. But well before that, people were doing the behindthe-scenes work of donor relations. The first acknowledgement writer position is thought to have been hired at the College of William and Mary in 1975.
s? Question
DECEMBER 2018
THE SPACE BETWEEN THE GIFT MATTERS
By 2006, full cycles of billion dollar campaigns had been completed, and Universities began kicking off their next campaigns. They discover that they are asking the same prospects for new gifts. The question is being asked, "but have we been treating these donors well in-between?" MORE CAMPAIGNS SUSTAIN OUR WORK
Donors from our current campaign will continue to need to be stewarded. Our work will never end with a campaign.
CONTACT PAIGE EUBANKS-BARROW LSU Health Foundation peubanksbarrow@gmail.com
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LIVING A GRATEFUL LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION Technical failures got the best of us in November, and we were unable to share our meditative video with you about living a life of gratitude (linked through the November Powerpoint Presentation in Resources). Instead, we reflected on navigating relationships and refocusing our attitudes into a more grateful mentality. Kimberly Whitten chooses to respond to cynicism with a positive response, Elizabeth Elmore reminded us that we can use Outlook to set gratitude reminders, Megan Powell works to vent and move on from tough situations instead of live in the negativity, and Leandra Nessel shared that being mindful of every moment and savoring the journey can lead to an overall more healthy mindset.
ANNUAL GIVING
DEVIN TAYLOR
In collaboration with schools, colleges, and units, Annual Giving raise an annual goal of $20 million. The office's strategic plan aims to increase donor participation and giving from alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends of the University. Annual Giving works to achieve this goal through support of the "Georgia Fund," which are gifts that are considered repeatable. This means Georgia Fund Annual Giving gifts are less than or equal to $25,000 regardless of purpose or designation. Many of these gifts are to the Georgia Fund for University-wide Support, but Annual Giving fundraises for other funds as well. In the Fall of 2018, Annual Giving focused on gifts to the Georgia Fund, the Law School Fund, and Parents Fund through a phone campaign. This was supplemented by appeals to these funds, a calendar year-end appeal to all donors, and much effort was given to to Giving Tuesday. The Spring of 2019 will bring more focus to school, college, and unit giving through the phone campaign, along with a faculty/staff appeal and university-wide appeals to close out the fiscal year. Ongoing engagement includes features in Columns and Georgia Magazine, #matchitmonday, and GeorgiaFunder campaigns. A BIG THANKS to those who participated in the thoughtful annual giving discussion we shared in November. We hope that you left with inspired ideas and fresh thinking for your stewardship plans. If you have suggestions for workshop topics, please contact Melissa Lee at mleew@uga.edu. We'll do our best to think of more ways to incorporate guided roundtables that benefit all of our units! DECEMBER 2018
s? Question ANNUAL GIVING HAS NEW DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS Laura Ashley Lester lalester@uga.edu Chatise Smith chatise.smith@uga.edu
DEVIN IS NOW WITH THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK DeVin Taylor devin.taylor@uga.edu
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RESOURCES IMPORTANT LINKS: August 2018 Team Stewardship Powerpoint Presentation November 2018 Team Stewardship Powerpoint Presentation Team Stewardship Resource Archive in Issuu
es! t a D e h Save t TEAM STEWARDSHIP | FEBRUARY 7, 2019 Tate 137 from 11AM-2PM THANK A DONOR DAY | APRIL 11, 2019 Tate Plaza from 9AM-1PM TEAM STEWARDSHIP | MAY 2019 TBD CASE CONFERENCE FOR DONOR RELATIONS | JUNE 3-5, 2019 PAUL SANDERS San Diego, California PRESIDENTS CLUB RECEPTION | OCT 11, 2019 Tate Grand Hall (invitation only) INTERNATIONAL ADRP CONFERENCE | SEPT 25-27, 2019 Miami, Florida
Tony Stringer tonys@uga.edu
Lauren Schlesinger lkschlesinger@uga.edu
Abby Bryant abby.bryant@uga.edu
Teresa Kesler tkesler@uga.edu
Calli Choe ckchoe@uga.edu
Shearron Hamlin shearron.hamlin@uga.edu
Jordan Dotson jddotson@uga.edu
Melissa Lee mleew@uga.edu
Caitlin Lacey cslacey@uga.edu
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DECEMBER 2018
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