Concurrent Sessions 7

7A: Don't Wait to Celebrate: Tips for Maximizing End-of-Campaign Stewardship

As our institutions cycle in and out of campaigns, the question from senior leaders inevitably arises: What's the most effective way to celebrate with our donors all that we've accomplished together? In this session, you'll explore lessons learned from Dartmouth as it stewarded over $3.8B raised, and recognized over 100,000 donors who supported its recent campaign, The Call to Lead. Kathryn Munro will provide strategic, scalable, and creative ways to ensure that every donor who participates in your campaign feels thanked and like they were a part of something special. Spoiler alert: don't wait until your campaign is over to start celebrating!

All Audiences  ⬧  All Levels  ⬧  Large Shop

Kathryn Munro is the Executive Director of Recognition and Stewardship at Dartmouth College, leading the central team of ten. She advances the overall institutional approach to donor recognition and stewardship, with the goal of deepening the relationship that donors of all giving levels have with the institution. Prior to her arrival at Dartmouth in 2018, Kathryn spent sixteen years in advancement at the University of Toronto, during two Canadian record-setting campaigns. She served as the Director of Principal Gifts, developing and managing strategies for securing gifts from the institution's most generous supporters. Prior to that, she worked with U of T's Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education as the Manager of Alumni Relations and Advancement Campaigns. Kathryn holds a BSc in psychology and religious studies from the University of Toronto, and a certificate in business management from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Kathryn leads workshops for women based on Tara Mohr's book "Playing Big," and enjoys mentoring and coaching advancement professionals.

7B: Engage That Donor!

Let's play Engage That Donor! Take a break from the same old stewardship! Go outside the restrictions, boundaries, and boxes placed around your work with fresh ideas and creative brainstorming with your peers. Join us for this fun, gameshow-style session where you and your team will draft the most creative donor engagement plans possible and compete with other teams to impress that donor (well, donor relations expert playing our donor for the day). During this upbeat session, you will meet peers in the field, gather new ideas, see fresh perspectives, and have a blast doing what we do best. If the fun isn't enough, you will also receive all plans created throughout the session to take back to your organization and influence your day-to-day work.

All Audiences  ⬧  All Levels  ⬧  Any Size Shop

Meg McAndrews, Senior Director of Donor Relations at the V Foundation for Cancer Research, leads the creation and implementation of a comprehensive donor stewardship program. She focuses on developing cross-departmental collaborations that produce the most meaningful experiences for V donors. Meg has also crafted donor relations programs at Syracuse University, the University of Vermont, and Indiana State University; was the $1B campaign project manager at Syracuse; served as Vice President and board member of ADRP; and has frequently presented on donor relations over the last 15 years. She is a creator and a finisher and loves to have fun in her role.

7C: Do I STILL Want to Do This? A Conversation for Those Who've Been in DR a While 

The core of this session is the question: "do I STILL want to do this?" Over the years, I have heard a number of long-term DR colleagues and friends ask this rhetorically. I’ve even asked it myself. The challenge is that there is no answer – not even a path to an answer - that applies well to everyone. In addition, this question is rarely asked aloud because we fear creating uncertainty amongst those whose confidence and stability we most need – current co-workers, family, and friends. Paradoxically, we can derive a great deal of valuable insight, helpful wisdom and guidance, and meaningful support through conversations with someone other than our self – especially a trusted individual who knows the day-to-day pains and frustrations of DR professionals. The goal (and hope) of this session is to bring these questions out into the light, to offer some helpful insights and wise suggestions, and to sift through it all as a group in order to make – and live well with – the best decisions for our career.

All Audiences  ⬧  Mid-career (8-12 years), Seasoned (13-17 years), Experienced (18+ years)  ⬧  Any Size Shop

Mark Lanum is the Senior Director of Donor Relations at Brown University. He has worked in Advancement and Donor Relations for over 24 years, including 19+ years at the University of Washington. As a self-professed people person by nature and computer nerd by choice, he particularly enjoys developing and enhancing stewardship systems aimed at supporting and improving donor relationships. Strong teams and healthy organizational cultures are a particular interest for Mark as well and he always enjoys a good laugh along the way.

7D: Leading with Equity and Inclusion in Donor Communications Part 1

Fundraising plays a vital role in driving social change, with donor relations and stewardship serving as the foundational pillars for achieving transformation. As the philanthropic landscape evolves, so do the strategies for charitable giving and managing stewardship and engagement efforts. As leaders in this field, we need to stay forward-thinking, emphasizing innovation to promote inclusivity and equity in our fundraising and donor communications so all supporters feel welcomed and valued. This is a participatory workshop that defines diversity, equity and inclusivity as it relates to your fundraising and donor relations strategies. Together we will explore how to apply a diversity, equity and inclusion lens within your organization’s communications to strengthen community and deepen relationships with donors and funders.

	Leticia John is the Managing Director for the Development Division at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Overall she is responsible for supporting the strategic direction, operational effectiveness, and overall success of PPFA’s fundraising operations and provides visionary leadership, and a positive organizational culture to drive performance excellence. Before coming to PPFA she earned her B.A. from Northeastern University and her master's in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from New York University. Leticia has nearly 20 years of diverse experience in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, working with academic institutions, philanthropic consulting firms, national and international healthcare organizations, and government agencies. She enjoys developing meaningful partnerships and creating mutually beneficial solutions that promote and improve access to economic, educational, social, and health care equalities.
	Sharday Urtarte is a passionate DEI leader with over 10 years of experience driving inclusivity across nonprofits and corporations. A proud Dominican from the South Bronx and a graduate of The Ohio State University, Sharday is devoted to advocating for Black and Latina Reproductive Health. She led key initiatives, including Planned Parenthood's 2022 midterm "Get Out the Vote" campaign and Apple's WARD Program promoting anti-racism and discrimination. Currently spearheading Philanthropic Communications projects at Planned Parenthood’s National Office, Sharday also chairs the Civic & Economics Committee for New York Urban League Young Professionals, where she drives voter registration and political education. A Georgetown University's 2023 Emerging Leaders graduate and a 2024 Memorial Foundation Social Justice Fellow, Sharday leverages her global experience and Spanish fluency to champion civil and social justice.
	Aimee White has served in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, starting her career as a journalist for a local nonprofit newspaper before focusing on fund development and donor communications. She currently serves as the Director of Annual Giving for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. Aimee held fundraising leadership roles with organizations in Washington and Indiana including American Red Cross, United Way, Bellevue College, and NPR station KUOW. In all of her roles, she has been committed to equity in philanthropy by making strategic shifts in donor communications, blurring the wealth divide, and investing in community partnerships.

7E: Time for an Endowed Fund Audit

Legal. Possible. Practical. Are you able to sleep at night, knowing that all your funds are in compliance with the law and your organization's policies? If not, it's time for an endowed fund audit. This session will cover how to audit funds to ensure compliance, creating your action plan, donor communication, and what to do about problem funds. Because you deserve a good night's sleep.

Academic Institutions, Social Service & Health Care Organizations  ⬧  Early-career, Mid-career  ⬧  Any Size Shop

Having worked in advancement for more than 30 years, Debbie Meyers honed her editorial skills by writing countless acknowledgments, talking points, proposals, gift agreements, and impact reports. During that time, she created or enhanced operations, communications, donor relations, and stewardship programs at Chautauqua Institution, the University of Maryland, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Florida. She also built communications and development programs for a Catholic high school, an art museum, and a health center development office. An ADRP founding board member, she chaired the international conference in 2011 and has presented at every other one. Debbie is a part-time writer/editor for Rutgers University Foundation and chief inspiration officer for her consulting business. Living in Mayville, NY, with her high school drum major, Paul, she has four grown children and three grandchildren, along with three rescue mutts: a pit-lab mix named Bo, Boo the Aussie, and Marco Polo, a chihuahua.

Kathleen Diemer has worked in fundraising for almost three decades. During her tenure at two universities, she has led every behind the scenes fundraising unit - from Donor Relations to Strategic Advancement Services. From 2013 to 2018 she served on the board of ADRP, including time as both Secretary-Treasurer and President. A proud University of Maryland Terrapin, Kathleen holds a B.A. in Journalism and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the university. While pursuing her graduate certificate through the Maryland's Do Good Institute, she was honored to receive multiple fellowship awards and be named a Do Good Nonprofit Leadership Fellow.

7F: How to Scale AND Streamline Your Stewardship Reporting Process with the Mythos Platform

In this session, you’ll learn how the Brown University Stewardship team dissolved its manual reporting processes, increased team efficiency, and engaged more campus partners in the reporting process. As a result, they built a scalable and sustainable process that has allowed them to create a consistent donor experience in reporting, increase the quantity of fund reports, and free up more bandwidth for other team priorities.

Katie LeClair is the Director of Stewardship on the Brown University Donor Relations team. In her role, she coordinates the efforts of the annual, standard stewardship reporting process, the strategic stewardship programs, and donor recognition, while setting the goals and vision for the entire team. Previously, Katie worked in donor relations at Brandeis University for over eight years, where she served in progressively advanced roles, culminating in her time as Director of Donor Relations.

Robb Hoffheins is the Head of Product at Mythos and works closely with all prospective and current customers to ensure that the platform is meeting and exceeding their expectations and needs by steering the Mythos product development roadmap. Robb has been with Mythos for over 11 years. Prior to this role, Robb had a diverse career starting as a Product Manager at AOL in the 90’s managing many early innovative internet products to small business ownership and consulting including leading (at the time) one of the largest Kickstarter campaigns ever.

7G: Edit Your Way to Engagement: Reel Results Using Video Messaging

Do you hate your form letter acknowledgments to donors? Are you tired of editing the same old "know-before-you-go" emails for each event? Do you wish you could generate that FOMO feeling when your no-show guests find out how unique that signature event was? Join donor relations team friends to learn about the potential for video messages to elevate your donor communications. Using video messages, Butler broke down the barrier between donors and the audiences they desperately want to hear from: students with exciting experiences, faculty doing groundbreaking research and bringing campus traditions and special celebrations to donors nationwide. We will review the process we use to edit and film videos, get leadership on board with changes to donor communications, and multiple use cases for this personable approach. Turn tired tiered acknowledgments and boring, one-way messages into another channel of donor engagement!

All Audiences  ⬧  All Levels  ⬧  Any Size Shop

	Experienced with all facets of the fundraising process, Emily Thornton has been involved in multiple record-setting capital campaigns in higher education with the successful close of the $3.9B For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign and Butler Beyond: The Campaign for Butler University, which surpassed $263M. Currently the Assistant Athletics Director, Donor Relations at Stanford University, she previously worked as Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship at Butler University. Her frontline fundraising experience as Director of Development at Indiana University continues to provide invaluable context in relating to gift officers. She also served as Director of Advancement for the Tau Kappa Epsilon Educational Foundation. Emily also served on the National Campaign Leadership team, guiding the $20M comprehensive One Destiny campaign for the Phi Mu Foundation, which concluded in 2022. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Philip, and her son, Campbell.
	As the Assistant Director of Donor Relations at Butler University, Kaylyn Adams leads the endowed fund reporting process and focus on enhancing donor stewardship. She has significantly improved our donor acknowledgment processes and found ways to personalize our interactions, ensuring donors feel valued and connected. Kaylyn also assist the events planning team in organizing donor-specific events, providing exceptional hospitality and engagement. Recently, Kaylyn received the Innovation Award for my early adoption of technology, data-driven approach, and creative thinking. What she finds most rewarding is witnessing donors' appreciation and sharing students' gratitude for the scholarships made possible by their generosity.
	At Butler University, Alyssa Cacini is the Assistant Director of Donor Relations, focusing primarily on gift acknowledgment and documentation processes. Through our acknowledgment strategies, she aims to ensure our donors feel deeply appreciated and engaged with the institution. In addition, Alyssa works closely with our Information Services and Development teams to compose gift agreement documents that accurately reflect our donors' generosity and support. One of this role's most fulfilling aspects is seeing philanthropy's transformative impact on students' lives.