Contributors to Supporting Advancement

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"I hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as men of course do seek
to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor themselves by way
of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto."

Francis Bacon.1561-1626, Maxims of the Law. Preface.

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Lindsey P. Ballenger, Assistant Director of Annual Giving, College of Charleston

Lindsey Ballenger is the assistant director of annual giving at the College of Charleston. She coordinates the reunion giving program, the annual scholarship program, and the Class Agent program. Prior to her current position, Lindsey spent a year and a half in Alumni Relations at the College of Charleston

Benchmarking Annual Fund - List of statistics and questions for benchmarking annual fund.

Class Agents - Handbook, job description with volunteer form and recruitment letter.

Planning - Annual Giving Direct Mail Checklist.

Samples - 50th Gift Letter from Committee, 60th Gift Letter from President Emeritus, Recruitment Letter with Reply Form.

Lynne Becker

Lynne Becker served as Kintera’s Vice President and General Manager of the health and social services sector leading a vertical group of services for a variety of clients including foundations, social agencies, and international organizations.

Most recently, Ms. Becker worked with the American Red Cross as its Director of Development Systems for the organization’s fundraising division. While at the American Red Cross, Ms. Becker played an instrumental role in a 2.5 million record conversion, a system integration for 990 chapters, and process improvement opportunities.

Ms. Becker was also a member of the consulting firm of Bentz Whaley Flessner where she assisted higher education institutions and healthcare facilities prepare for major fundraising campaigns or reorganize for optimal efficiencies. She was also the Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services at the University of Washington and managed a staff that supported development and alumni relations.

Ms. Becker has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland; a Master of Education in student personnel work in higher education from Loyola University in Chicago; and a Master of Business Administration in higher education administration from the University of Hawaii. She is finishing her doctorate from Vanderbilt University in organizational behavior. Ms. Becker is also the recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple Award.

Ethics: A New Paradigm for a Modern Age

Gutsy Leadership
Strategic Planning: Tools You Can Take Home With You

The Anatomy of a Donor Relations System, Presentation

Tips and Tricks on Working With or Being a Consultant

Using Technology to Empower Communities

Meredith Berg, Phonathon Coordinator, North Park University

Meredith Berg has been a staff member in the Development Office for a year-and-a-half, and worked as a student in the Phonathon program for nearly four years previously.

Donor Card
Job Descriptions - Phonathon Supervisor, Phonathon Supervisor Duties
Phonathon Caller Feedback
Phonathon Objections Responses, Objections Worksheet
Phone Interview Questions
Sample Forms - Parent Information

Brett W. Blackwelder, Annual and Athletic Giving Coordinator at Park University

Brett W. Blackwelder is the Annual and Athletic Giving Coordinator at Park University, a private liberal arts school located in Parkville, Missouri. He has been at Park since December of 2000. He graduated in May of 2002 with a Masters degree in Health Policy and Management Administration from the University of Kansas. He studied strategic planning as an undergrad at Iowa State University and graduated in December of 1999.

Golf Sponsorship Materials
Corporate Invitation Letter
Corporate Sponsorship Menu
Sponsorship Form

Emily Bourke, Assistant Director of annual Giving, Samford University

I just graduated in May from Samford University where I am currently blessed to be the Assistant Director of Annual Giving. My primary responsibility is managing the Phonathon with secondary responsibilities including direct mail and assisting our Director of Annual Giving.

Training - Caller Training Presentations Part 1 and Part 2.

Joshua P. Bowerman, Director of Major & Planned Giving at Austin College

I'm the current director of Major & Planned Giving at Austin College in Sherman, TX. Prior to that, I was Regional Manager of Capital Giving at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. I have over 8 years experience in educational fundraising.

Policies and Procedures - Athletics Endowed Fund Agreement, Endowment by Annuity, Irrevocable and Enforceable Pledge Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, Scholarship Agreement

Rebecca Bramlett, Associate Director of Annual Giving, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Rebecca has been with the Carolina Annual Fund since January 2005. She has served as the Phonathon Manager, Assistant Director of Mail Programs, and has held her current position of Associate Director since March 2006. In that role she manages phonathon operations and the student giving and senior campaign program, as well as has a hand in direct mail, online giving, personal solicitations and all other duties related to the Annual Fund.

Senior Class Giving - Brochure, 2, Handbook, Letter, 2, Poster
Student Giving Planning - Fiscal year operating plan for student giving program.

Kelly M. Brant, Associate Director, Purdue Telefund

Kelly Brant joined the Purdue Telefund as an Associate Director in January 2005. Kelly is responsible for Managing student supervisors as well as the nightly calling sessions. She is also responsible for developing and tracking the Telefund's training program.

Student Manager Checklist
Student Manager Personnel Policies

Helen Brenneman

Helen served The Pennsylvania State University as the Director of Annual Giving. In this capacity Helen oversaw all direct mail, E-fundraising, the Lion Line phone center, Parents Fund, Young Alumni Programs, Faculty and Staff Campaigns, Corporate Matching Gifts, Class Campaigns, Special Gifts Program, Renaissance Scholarship Fund, and other campaigns as needs arise. A senior fundraising professional, Helen spent more than 20 years at Penn State, having at one time or another worked in the trenches managing each of the programs for which she now has oversight responsibility.

Active within her field, she also believes it is important to take an active volunteer role within her community – serving on boards, committees, and with the United Way.

Non-Alumni Strategies
Staffing and Justification Strategies - Identifying Opportunities for Growth
Young Alumni Strategies: Welcome to the Pipeline

Carolyn H. Brown, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Barton College

Carolyn H. Brown is the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Barton College in Wilson, NC. As chief development officer for Barton, Brown oversees the fundraising program at the college. Her responsibilities include supervision of the Barton Society program, alumni programs and the annual fund, publications and public relations, as well as the management of capital campaigns. She also serves as a member of the college's marketing team.

Brown completed both a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to her appointment at Barton, Brown served as the director of major gifts at East Carolina University. She has also served as director of annual giving and The Chancellor’s Society at ECU. Additional fundraising roles have included manager of major gifts for the North Carolina Symphony, director of annual giving and donor relations at the Intracoastal Health Foundation in West Palm Beach, Fla., director of development for Ballet Florida in West Palm Beach and development manager for the Raymond F. Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Brown also has 12 years of experience in advertising and marketing in the newspaper industry to add to her list of credentials.

Civic and professional memberships include the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE); North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities; Board of Directors of USTA/North Carolina Tennis Association; committee member for Education Session 2007- Leadership North Carolina.

Policies and Procedures - Naming of Facilities and Programs

Christine Brown, Director Career Services and Alumni Relations, Kendall College of Art and Design

Christine Brown, Director of Career Services and Alumni Relations at Kendall College of Art and Design. The marriage of these two positions has been most beneficial for both the alumni and students. We currently have student representatives from each major (selected by the faculty) serving on the Kendall Alumni Board. The students have the opportunity to network with the alumni board members and the alumni are very much in touch with what is evolving in each program.

Alumni Board Job Descriptions

Gayemarie Brown, Senior Manager with Deloitte

Gayemarie Brown is a Senior Manager with Deloitte with more than 15 Leading complex Sales, Marketing and Customer Portal Implementations. Gayemarie has led some of the firm's largest Enterprise Content Implementations globally including multi-country, multi-lingual content deployments. In addition to delivering strategic content solutions for Fortune 500 clients Gayemarie manages the firm's alliance with OpenText and holds Senior Leadership positions within Deloitte's Information Dynamics practice focusing on Enterprise-wide Content, Data, Sales, and Marketing solutions.

Enterprise Content Management - Lessons Learned

Nancy Brown, Executive Director, Winona Health Foundation

Nancy Brown is the Executive Director of Development at Winona Health. She has been in development since 1995 with prior experience in both public and private higher education. She has a Masters of Science in Non-profit Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Policies - Gift in Kind Acceptance.

Sample Form - Gift in Kind.

Nancy Bryant, Director of Advancement Information Systems, Washington & Jefferson College

Nancy is the Director of Advancement Information Systems at Washington & Jefferson College, a small liberal arts college in Western Pennsylvania. She is a 1995 graduate of W&J, and has been working at the college since 2001. In 2003, she completed her M.Ed. in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Prior to working at W&J, Nancy was a teacher at the high school and technical college levels. In her current position, she is responsible for the maintenance of the college's development and alumni database, and produces lists and reports for those departments. She also oversees the gift entry and acknowledgement process

Sample Forms - Data Request Form

Paul Budlong, Assistant Director for the Rensselaer Annual Fund at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Paul Budlong is an Assistant Director for the Rensselaer Annual Fund at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Rensselaer is the nation's oldest technological university, founded in 1824. It is distinguished by its enduring mission to "apply science to the common purposes of life" and poised for leadership in the 21st century as a world-class research university. Paul has worked in higher education development since 2001. He manages volunteer based programs geared towards securing leadership-level gifts of $1,000 and up.

Planning - Operating Plan, Operating Plan Appendix, Appendix 1, Appendix 2
Policies - Reunion Gift Counting

Daniel J. Burns, Esq., Director, Executive Search, Campbell & Company

Founded in 1976, Campbell & Company is a national philanthropic consulting firm offering a full range of fundraising services, including capital and endowment campaign counsel, annual and planned giving program counsel, feasibility studies and development audits, volunteer and staff training, marketing and communications plans and materials, case statements, board development, and executive search.

What To Do 'Till the Headhunter Calls

Terry Burton, Founder, Dig In Research

Terry began working in the area of research in 1989 as co-founder of Rainforest Publications Inc. in Vancouver, BC. Over an 11 year period he was directly involved in development and marketing of more than 20 research products and services for the non-profit sector. Most notable in that group, PRO – Prospect Research Online launched in 1995. PRO and related online services are still offered today by the company that bought out Rainforest Publications in 1999, see iWave.com.

Over the last few years Terry turned his attention to the area of donor relations and stewardship. He has written and published three books on stewardship related topics and issues including numerous discussion papers with industry leaders.

A Fundamental of Naming Opportunity Policy Statements is Stewardship

Donors Like the Tunes as Endowment Grows - Stewardship Strategy to Help you Grow Your Endowment
Endowed Chairs, Essence of Implied Stewardship, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Entitlement or Need. $100 million naming rights. Mile high expectations or just a fishing trip.
Evolving Naming Strategies.
Going Forward With Major Gift Asks.

Introduction to Stewardship.
Motivating the Money Givers.
Named Gifts Activity Surging.
Named Gifts Report.
Naming. Business school to go unnamed after receiving $85 million gift.
Naming Rights. Good overview of Terry Burton's new book, Naming Rights: Legacy Gifts and Corporate Money.
Naming Trends. Presentation on some emerging trends in naming opportunities.
$100 Million Dollar Gifts. Several generous philanthropists get people thinking about something good.
Spreading the Wealth. Trends in Philanthropy.

Stewardship is More Than a Thank You Letter

Telecom Business Rivalry Heats up with $30 Million Bell Lightbox Naming Deal

The Rising Tide of Major Gifts in International Philanthropy

J. Travis Byrd, Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Telefund Coordinator, Radford University

Travis Byrd began his development career as a successful student caller and supervisor at Radford University. He is currently in his second year as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Radford. He is responsible for all phonathon operations at RU.

Caller Zone Evaluation Used for Call Monitoring

Other Contributions

Contributions are also received from anonymous contributors, and sometimes taken from listserv postings. Thanks in advance to everyone for sharing. In accordance with our terms of use, legal and privacy statement, copyright remains and belongs to the originator and can be removed upon request at any time.

Email Subscriptions - Sign up for email newsletters to areas of topical interest.
Favorite Listservs - Useful for advancement professionals and a guide to listserv etiquette.
Like Minded - Sites with similar or related information or resources.
Research Pages - Individuals and organizations with research links on their sites.