January 2017 Member Spotlight

Name: Kevin Wilson

Institution: Miami University

Position: Assistant Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations

ADRP member for 1 year

How long have you worked in donor relations/stewardship and how did you get involved in this profession?

I have worked in donor relations for three years at Miami University. Before that, I worked for the Boy Scouts of America. I got into our profession because I enjoy working with donors and volunteers, and I love supporting the nonprofit sector. The wide-ranging nature of my previous position allowed me to refine a variety of analytical and interpersonal skills, and I enjoy the fact that donor relations requires that same sort of jack-of-all-trades skill set. Above all, I love that gratitude is what I do for my job.

What do you like most about being a member of the ADRP?

I enjoy researching best practices and benchmarking against other organizations. In my opinion, ADRP is one of the best resources available for this kind of research, along with CASE, EAB, Academic Impressions, and the Donor Relations Guru. The ADRP international conference is also a great opportunity to learn about trends in the industry and meet people in our field.

What is your greatest donor relations/stewardship achievement?

Over a year ago, I attended a small roundtable of donor relations professionals from western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. This group graciously invited me to attend their gathering, and it opened my eyes to the power of an informal network of professionals gathering to talk about their work. Building on their example, I began a new roundtable of donor relations professionals from local universities in Ohio and Indiana. We have met twice so far to share best practices and discuss challenges. It's been a great experience to meet fellow professionals who are managing the same opportunities and challenges as we are, and to see how they are solving those problems.

What is the most important professional goal you are currently pursuing, i.e., attaining a degree, preparing to give a presentation, launching an initiative at work or in your community, etc.?

Our office of Stewardship & Donor Relations is still relatively new, and we are working to modernize our communications and services to line up with current best practices and to retain more donors. Our goal is to be a leader in the field of stewardship and donor relations, and we continue to work through challenges associated with a lack of IT resources and institutional inertia to move closer to our goals. Modernizing our gift receipts, pledge reminders, acknowledgments, and impact reporting have been at the top of my list.

How big a role does the use of social media play in your work?

We don't use it as much as we could, though we are planning to share more impact stories on social media.

Is there a resource, i.e., book, blog, website, etc., that you would recommend to other ADRP members?

I like Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. It talks about what makes ideas "sticky" and helps make communications more effective.

What is the best piece of professional advice you have ever received?
My favorite nugget of professional wisdom comes from a colleague of mine: "I only do fun work. If it's not fun, I put it off until someone yells at me."

If you would be interested in being featured in this column or have someone you would like to suggest, please contact Dianne Dyslin, Member Spotlight editor.