Member Spotlight: Jayne Abernethy

Name: Jayne Abernethy
Institution: Lenoir-Rhyne University
Position: Assistant Director of Donor Engagement
ADRP member for 3 years

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

I began working in donor relations in 2016 after being a full-time mother of four children and a community volunteer for 23 years. My husband asked me to meet with the director of advancement at Lenoir-Rhyne (LR) to help him find someone to fill the donor relations position. He ended up offering me the job.  

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

Lenoir-Rhyne University is a small private Lutheran university with campuses in Hickory and Asheville, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina. It was established in 1891 and offers over 50 undergraduate majors and nearly 30 graduate programs.

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

ADRP has been an excellent resource for learning the ins and outs of donor relations. For the first couple of years, I worked on my own to navigate stewardship, recognition, and events the way they had always been done. Becoming a member of ADRP was a game-changer. It offered webinars and trusted resources and linked me to other industry professionals that helped guide, direct, and educate me through their own experiences to make my way clearer at LR. Finding peers at my first conference in Miami, FL, in 2019 made such a positive impact on me. I was surrounded by folks like me who were willing to share what they were doing to retain and connect with donors. It truly energized how I viewed my career in donor engagement from then on.    

What is your greatest donor relations/stewardship achievement? 

One of my greatest achievements and challenges was keeping my job with the university at the onset of COVID. I was able to pivot quickly by creating a strategic plan to retain and recognize our donors without in-person events.

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

We have a separate department that oversees all our social media.

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.? 

I am continually pursuing how best to develop a relationship with our donors, acknowledging them, and communicating in a sincere, personal way. As a donor within my own community, I appreciate a personal touch and aim to follow a donor engagement golden rule—“Treat your donors the way you would like to be treated.”

What has been your biggest work challenge during COVID-19? 

Up until COVID, most of my job involved donor recognition events for the university. Without in-person events, my biggest work challenge was ensuring that I kept my job. In March 2020, I began reading everything I could to redefine my responsibilities to maintain my worth and cut my budget. I ended up going back to the basics with The 4 Pillars of The Donor Experience by Lynne Wester. I developed a plan to retain the donors we already had with a very inexpensive postcard campaign that acknowledges milestone gifts. We had not directly focused on retention before, nor had we tracked donors in this way. I have kept my job, and our whole office has learned so much in the process. As we go through the second year of this retention and recognition plan, I look forward to measuring its effects on our donors.  

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

Lynne Wester’s books, webinars, emails, etc.; ThankView’s webinars and platform; Joan Garry’s Because Nonprofits Are Messy emails and blogs (because I oversee boards); With Gratitude—The Power of a Thank You Note by Jennifer Richwine; The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White; CASE webinars and articles; and of course, anything ADRP!

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

A very generous, 100-year-old woman once talked about how important it is to financially support things that are important to you. She had a saying that was handwritten on a scrap of paper and stuck into the corner of a picture that hung over her office desk at home. Her life and her saying have had a significant impact on me and now are essential to my career! Her saying was, “You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.”

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

Our career in donor relations is one of service as we care for our donors, work to link their gift to their passion, and then sincerely acknowledge them for their support. Just like housekeepers, teachers, ministers, and customer service representatives, our job is critical to maintaining a donor’s relationship, and it is never done—even during a pandemic. There’s always something more we can do. However, take heart, there is such joy from developing lasting relationships that add value to your institution and change lives.