August 2018 Member Spotlight

Name: Sara Marie Arias

Institution: EARTH University

Position: Donor Student Relations Officer

ADRP Member for 2 years

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

I’ve worked in donor relations and stewardship for over ten years. I initially studied public relations and was drawn to working with nonprofit organizations. I then went on to get a master’s degree in cultural management and learned more about fundraising and philanthropy.

While working for nonprofits over the years, I noticed that most of the work entailed strong donor communications and donor relations initiatives, so I started specializing in this area and have enjoyed working in it ever since.

As a Latino professional, I can say that it’s not common in Latin America to find jobs in fundraising or development. The concepts of becoming a long-time donor, and of philanthropy, are still not as developed as in other parts of the world. Most corporations, individuals, etc., are solely focused on giving to specific events, short-term causes, or initiatives that help them check off the company’s required social responsibility yearly effort. Most organizations focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs that do not include long-term giving. Although the work is very challenging, we have great opportunity for growth.

Currently, working for EARTH University, in Costa Rica, I’ve been able to develop my skills further because this University is one of the few in Latin America that has specialized in fundraising and development since its creation. It’s very rewarding when you see that your work really impacts the relationships with potential and existing donors, especially because the cause that we work for, which is education, sustainability and leadership, is extremely important to youth around the world and the future of our planet.

Could you tell us something about the organization you work for?

EARTH University is a nonprofit university in Costa Rica, Central America. Since 1990, EARTH University’s innovative educational approach has been preparing young people from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and other regions to contribute to the sustainable development of their home communities while constructing a prosperous and just global society. Shepherded by a prestigious international faculty, an EARTH education culminates in a four-year undergraduate degree in Agricultural Sciences.  Currently, the University has approximately 436 students from some 38 countries, of which 49% are women. Approximately 84% are from rural communities and about 80% of students receive full scholarships with the remaining receiving significant financial aid and /or educational subsidies, which empower promising young leaders from economically underprivileged communities.

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

I admire how ADRP focuses on building long-term and lasting relationships with donors, colleagues, and peers in the field. It’s really not about getting the gifts or meeting goals, but about understanding the value of relationships and collaboration. All the tools that ADRP offers help me broaden my horizons and look at different perspectives as I work toward meeting our organizational goals.

For example, one of the tools I use the most is the Knowledge Center, to read through the presentations on many topics available. I often share these findings with my peers. Some of our colleagues don’t speak English, so we share these in Spanish and it is of great help to us as a team.

What is your greatest donor relations/stewardship achievement?

I am proud to say I am part of a large team that works really hard to make sure goals are met every year, so it’s a collaborative effort.  

In relation to the greatest achievements, as I mentioned before, stewardship and donor communications are not as developed in Latin America as they are in the United States and Europe. One of the major goals I had coming into this position was to standardize communications for all the regions we serve. I am helping to make sure that the same standards are met for both Spanish and English communications. We created a unified stewardship calendar and tailored it to each region, but kept consistent unified efforts throughout. Some Latin American donors might not require as many reports or communications from us, nevertheless we offer them to these donors. We started having more direct and efficient contact with our donors and program officers in Latin America, taking into consideration that each country is different, requires different content and has different needs. As a result, our communication with them has improved greatly.

Another bold step was to eliminate unnecessary communications and reevaluate the reasoning behind every piece we produced.

Although much of our 1 million+ donor base is comprised of baby-boomers, who are mostly used to print, we introduced videos and digital post cards, using careful personalized messages from our students, based on our campus. These were very successful, because it brought our campuses to them and also gave them a clearer idea of how their investment is impacting the world.   

We’ve also strongly targeted alumni who are donors, and have provided personalized content for them in hopes that they can become EARTH ambassadors and help recruit more alumni as long-term donors. Although we are a young university (founded in 1990), we have over 2,200 alumni who we want to include in our development efforts. Last year, for example, we included alumni for the first time in our annual thank-a-thon, an event where students, faculty, staff and volunteers call our donors to thank them for their donations.

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.?

One of the upcoming challenges for me as Donor and Student Relations Officer here is to develop our Student Philanthropy Program. We believe that students should identify with, and learn about, the many ways to give to the University and how to support their alma mater, starting with the admissions process. We really want to focus on a comprehensive program that communicates to students the importance of giving back and why they should become our supporters, so that the University can continue positively impacting future generations of leaders around the world.

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

Social media is vital to communicate with donors, students and alumni. In an institution representing over 43 countries, we need social media to get our message across borders, as quickly as possible. Additionally, the next generations will practically not live without it. If an institution is to survive and truly communicate with its future donors, it must master social media and use it wisely. If we aren’t flexible, and willing to use social media to communicate our message, it may not reach as many people or the right audience. It is not the only media we use, but it is a strong part of our communications strategy. Much of our admissions process and news are communicated this way. We get many questions, comments and recommendations on a daily basis that we couldn’t get otherwise.

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

Well, clearly, I would encourage all to become ADRP members. But additionally, I recommend:

http://foundationcenter.org/newsletters

https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/ 

and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, http://www.epip.org/

What is the best piece of professional advice you have ever received?

Always listen. A good fundraiser, development or stewardship professional needs to listen much more than they speak. We need to listen to our donors, our staff, our community, our peers, etc. That way we can become more effective communicators and meet our goals while benefiting everyone involved, and create real dialogue.

As a woman, another great piece of advice I received is that you can have it all, but maybe not all at the same time. So, be patient with yourself and focus on one thing at a time. 

Are there any particular stories, insights, etc., from your experiences in donor relations and stewardship that you would like to share with our colleagues?

One of the things I’ve learned is that everyone in our organization helps fundraise and everything communicates either positively or negatively.

When one of our major donors came to the University for the first time, they were brought here by one of our long-time university drivers. He is a simple man, spoke broken English, but he loves the University and has worked here for over 20 years. On the way, he spoke to the donors about nature, Costa Rica and, with great familiarity, about the EARTH experience, from his perspective, and why he loved working there. He told them about how the students are impacted by their time there and how the experience of working for EARTH has changed the community and the staff.

After two hours of driving through the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica, and listening to the driver, the donors told our directors, upon arriving at our Guácimo campus, that they were already pretty much convinced about giving to EARTH, because of what they heard from the driver. So, never underestimate anyone in your organization and make sure that everyone is ready to deliver a message about your cause.  

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.