Streamlined for Success: Proven Strategies to Revamp Your Acknowledgment Processes
Session 5E

Session Description: 

Taking gifts is easy; but thanking donors for their support can come with a multitude of challenges. From changing staff, fluctuating resources, new priorities, and creative roadblocks, the way you process written acknowledgments is often overlooked. Instead of letting these obstacles keep you from creating efficiencies, we challenge you to take a step back and really question whether your written acknowledgment processes are working for or against you.

In this session, we will share how UC San Diego streamlined its approach to written acknowledgment procedures and implemented process-driven changes in a large, decentralized university environment. By highlighting these acknowledgment-related initiatives, we aim to provide successful approaches to help you keep your processes consistent while remaining fresh and flexible.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It’s not. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed)” -Dr. Seuss

Shop Size
Suitable for any size shop

Experience Level
Suitable for all levels

Sectors
Private College/University
Public College/University
Private Secondary School
Healthcare
Religious Organization
Arts Organization
Foundation
Environmental Organization
Advocacy Organization
Social Services
Other Nonprofit

Categories
Acknowledgments

About the Speakers:

Victoria Tejera
Writer/Editor
University of California, San Diego

Tori Tejera is a gift acknowledgment writer and analyst in the Office of Donor and Fund Stewardship at University of California San Diego. She drafts appropriate, effective, and personalized correspondence for donor gifts to the university. She writes or recommends unique acknowledgment letters for the signature of the chancellor and Advancement leadership, requiring in-depth gift analysis and donor research. She also provides writing and editorial assistance for various stewardship materials such as impact reports and the annual endowed fund report. Tori has been with UC San Diego for three years and received her bachelor's degree in English literature from UC Riverside.

Jackie Sewell
Gift Acknowledgment Analyst
University of California, San Diego

Jackie Sewell is a gift acknowledgment analyst on the Donor and Fund Stewardship team at University of California San Diego. Jackie supports her team by crafting original, creative, and consistent messaging for acknowledging donors of all giving levels and managing special projects to strategically improve Advancement's stewardship operations. Prior to UC San Diego, Jackie worked in institutional advancement at the San Diego Natural History Museum (theNAT) and as a National Youth Organizer at Democratic Socialists of America. Jackie holds a bachelor's in Spanish language and literature from the University of Kansas.