Session 9D - Everything I Need to Know About Fundraising Success

I Learned In Donor Relations

Friday, September 21, 2012
11:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

Return to Program Schedule

Description: "Everybody knows" that excellent donor relations skills are at the core of smart fundraising tactics, but do your frontline fundraisers really understand that?  Do they know how to incorporate planned stewardship into their cultivation and solicitation strategies, and understand that their fundraising success will be directly proportional to those efforts?  If you’ve been frustrated at the difficulties of collaborating with your "road warriors" and getting them to understand the impact of donor relations on your donor base, or if you have your own portfolio of donors to cultivate, this session is designed to help you. Join donor relations-turned-frontline fundraising staff Lisa C. Honan (Syracuse University) and J. Kay Coughlin (Capital University) for this discussion of specific donor relations tools that anyone can learn to use to increase donor satisfaction.

Sector: Higher Education
Expertise Level: Suitable for all levels
Shop Size: Suitable for any size shop
Subject Focus: Professional Development


Speaker Bio: Kay Coughlin

J. Kay Coughlin joined the Office of University Advancement at Capital University as a Major Gift Officer in November, 2011. Prior to that, she led the Office of Stewardship at Oberlin College, where she was responsible for overseeing all major fund and gift agreements, reporting to donors annually on 400 funds, gift acknowledgements, and divisional paper records. Kay's background in donor relations and non-profit management is reflected in her approach to development in a university setting, focusing on making the most of limited resources. Kay's experience ranges from front-line fundraising, grant writing and events management at small arts and social service organizations, to volunteer program coordination and producing performing arts. Kay has presented at many conferences, including the ADRP International Conference and the CASE Conference on Donor Relations. Kay holds a B.A. in Speech, Communications, and Theatre from Baldwin-Wallace College, and is a charter member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals.

Speaker Bio: Lisa Honan

Lisa C. Honan has been at Syracuse University for 20 years in both donor relations and fundraising capacities.  She established the Donor Relations function at Syracuse in 1998, and rose to Executive Director of the department, overseeing five full-time staff responsible for all donor recognition and stewardship activities, both centralized and in collaboration with the University¿s schools and units.  This includes donor agreement and gift management, stewardship reporting, acknowledgements, gift society recognition, and donor cultivation and recognition events and activity.  In November 2008, she was appointed Assistant Dean for Development for the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, and in that role acts as the chief fundraising officer of the School, managing the fundraising operation, soliciting leadership gifts
Lisa has served the ADRP in several capacities, including co-chairing, with Pam Havens of Hamilton College, the International Conference in 2004.  She is currently the Treasurer of the association.  She has spoken about donor relations and stewardship at numerous conferences and workshops, both for ADRP and other organizations, and chaired the 2007 CASE Conference for Donor Relations.