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In This Issue...
President's Message
A Workplace that Works For All
Building a High-Performing Fundraising Team While Advancing Racial Justice
International Stewardship Award Spotlight
Member Spotlight: Sarah Thomas
COVID-19 Resources for Donor Relations Professionals
Write for The Hub
Next Webinar
Building a Stronger Team: Strategies to Foster Trust, Reduce Stress, and Promote Well-being
Yvonne Ng, MIT Open Learning
Lana Cook, MIT Open Learning
Thursday, August 20
10:00 AM PT
All 2020 Webinars
Webinar Archives
ADRP Resources
Network: Take advantage of the Member Directory in the Member Center
Support ADRP: Explore NEW Sponsorship Opportunities
Job Search: Visit the ADRP Career Center
Learn: Register for a Webinar
New Sponsorship Opportunities
Your organization can build an entire year of sponsorship opportunities into one customized package. From webinars and The Hub to the Annual International Conference, your company can be featured prominently across the board. Pick and choose your favorite options to highlight your brand, and we will tie it up with a bow.
Connect with ADRP Online
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In Service: The Column of the ADRP President
Michal Shaw
AVP of Donor Relations
Oklahoma State University Foundation
It was a balmy Monday morning in Washington, D.C. I had just taken what would be the first of many trips to work on the Metro. It was my first day, so of course I had worn a suit not knowing what was expected of interns at National Geographic. They hadn’t covered this in my phone interview. After my 45-minute transit I had finally arrived at the corner of 17th and M and I was wet from head to toe. Was the amount of sweat pooling in my shirt obvious, or could I hide it somehow? As nervous as I was about my soaked blouse, I was reassured when I saw her bright smile and heard her contagious laugh. I immediately identified Meredith as another intern, just as lost and bewildered as me…and drenched with perspiration (she had worn a suit too). From that moment on, we were inseparable.
Read More
A Workplace That Works For All
Suzanne Bellanger
Assistant Director, Stewardship Marketing
Brown University
I’m going to be completely honest with you. I don’t feel totally confident writing (and sharing) an article focused on dismantling racism and removing biases at work. It’s a critically important topic and I don’t want to misspeak or misdirect. I am in no way, shape, or form an expert on how to fight for racial equality or foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace, I’m just me–someone who is coming to terms with how damaging my white fragility has been, and just how much my white privilege has afforded me. As I garner a better understanding of both, I am more determined than ever to do my part to end systemic and individual racism in our society and to ensure I’m doing everything I can to fight for equality and end oppression of marginalized people. And I know to be fully engaged and to be an effective ally, I need to address and confront these things in both my personal and professional life. I want to share what I’ve learned so far, and I want to keep continuing to learn.
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Building a High-Performing Fundraising Team While Advancing Racial Justice
This article originally appeared on Bloomerang.co and has been re-posted with permission.
Valerie Harris
Senior Director, Stewardship Communications
University of Pennsylvania
In 2011, I embarked upon a new position in donor relations with great expectations and optimism. But my excitement soon dissipated when within six months both of my Associate Directors left for other positions within the University—one for a higher position while the other made a lateral move. Still a newbie to the field of higher education, I was more than a little dismayed at the loss of two experienced staff members. My discomfort was heightened when I received a call from HR asking if there was something I had done to prompt their departures.
Huh?!
I wondered if that question would have been put to a white director upon the defection of two black associates. Perhaps it would have been, or at least should have been.
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International Stewardship Award Spotlight
Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation: Dr.'s In+sight
2017 ISA Winner
View Original Submission
For two years, staff at Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation put together an experiential event, walking their Children's Circle of Care members ($10,000) through a real-life scenario, to be met by the actual family who had gone through the scenario in real life at the end.
The event was impactful, purposeful, and meaningful. In response to the consortium of children's hospitals around the country dissolving their national stewardship events, each individual pediatric health center (part of the Woodmark Group) had to innovate new ways to acknowledge and steward their donor base.
Read More
Member Spotlight: Sarah Thomas
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Sarah Thomas
Director of Donor Services
NC State University
ADRP member for 3 years
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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.?
This is a tough one. I am always working on a leapfrog project at work. Recently, these projects include digital endowment reporting, deploying analytics to improve the open rate and donor experience of endowment reports, designing a naming database, designing a naming program, building partnerships to improve processes and now we are working on automating the gift agreement process. I am always trying to find ways not to only break barriers at NC State, but also ways to break barriers within our industry.
Read Sarah's Complete Interview
COVID-19 Resources for Donor Relations Professionals
In light of current events, the ADRP Board of Directors, members, and office staff have curated a handful of helpful resources for donor relations professionals available on the ADRP website. This page includes links to videos and relevant sites to help guide you and your organization during this time.
Read More
Webinars to Motivate You and Your Colleagues
Our members and supporters remain top of mind during this time, and with so many events being canceled and rescheduled, we wanted to offer everyone the opportunity to continue their education and access valuable resources. With our upcoming webinars, we encourage attendees to share the post-webinar recording and materials with their colleagues.
Download the Webinar Brochure
View and Register for 2020 Webinars
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Next Webinar:
August 20, 2020 | 10:00 AM (PT)
Building a Strong Team: Strategies to Foster Trust, Reduce Stress, and Promote Well-being
Yvonne Ng, MIT Open Learning
Lana Cook, MIT Open Learning
Do you feel disconnected from your team? Is the tension between team members, feelings of being siloed, or breakdowns in communication, adding to more stress on your plate? If you crave healthier relationships among the members of your team and community, want to create a sense of calm and well-being for yourself, and cultivate respect and compassion, then this session is for you. MIT Open Learning’s development team members will share strategies they practice, drawing on the work of systems design thinking and socioemotional learning, to cultivate compassion and understanding among their team. The benefits of this practice include: building more trust and patience within your team, increasing your sensitivity to each other, improving your listening skills, reducing stress, building an overall culture of respect, kindness, and interconnectedness–and ultimately a strong team.
Register Today
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Write for The Hub: We Want to Hear from You!
The Hub is seeking article proposals for new monthly issues!
Do you have a success story you would like to share? How did you handle a particular problem or project that seemed insurmountable? Have you discovered effective tactics that help gain a seat at the table? What are your thoughts on best practices or new, emerging ideas that take a donor relations/stewardship program to the next level?
We want to encourage our members—new and experienced—to share their insights, best practices, and what works (or doesn’t work!) when planning their shop’s programming and responsibilities.
We welcome all submissions related to donor relations and stewardship, but we especially encourage ADRP members to step forward and share their expertise and experiences in the profession.
The submission form is available any time you have an article proposal to submit. We have included the webinar topics for each month, in case you would like to tie your article to a specific webinar topic.
Please submit your article proposal today! We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
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