Scholarships: From Messy to Clean and Pristine!
Session 4C

Session Description: 

Are you tired of getting the dreaded call from frustrated donors asking if their scholarship has been awarded? Sick of getting crummy answers, if any, from your departments?

In this session, we'll tell the story of how we transformed our scholarship culture and decreased our unawarded funds by 30 percent annually. We will share our institution's challenges (get ready—it's not pretty), solutions, and results, taking us from messy to clean and pristine. You, our dear friends, will leave with examples of structures and processes that can be tailored to your organization in order to improve your scholarship administration. Go home with the confidence that making this investment for your institution is the ultimate stewardship activity.

Shop Size
Suitable for any size shop

Experience Level
Suitable for all levels

Sectors
Private College/University
Public College/University
Private Secondary School

Categories
Corporations & Foundations
Donor Loyalty
Reporting
Scholarships
Storytelling

About the Speaker:

Diane Calhoun
Director, Scholarships and Stewardship
New Mexico State University

As a member of the donor relations and stewardship team at New Mexico State University, Diane has been instrumental in transforming the culture of scholarship administration and donor reporting at the institution. Her impact there has also included the development of a comprehensive stewardship plan, a tiered system of identifying fund sponsors, a protocol for an expanded tribute messaging program, and just this year, she has helped develop a measurement program for stewardship actions for both the donor relations team and development officers across the university system.

Recently, Diane was the co-presenter in a 16-hour training series for all development staff at NMSU on the newly adopted stewardship plan. She is ever-grateful for a background in public accounting and private school administration that has provided her with a unique set of perspectives and experiences for her work. When she's not up to her elbows in thank-you notes and donor reports, you can find her "playing in the dirt" on the family farm, which includes a flower farm that she and her daughters operate.