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Session 6B

Minute to LOSE It: Laughing and Learning from Our DR Failures, Mistakes, and Gaffs

Mary Weingartner and Mark Lanum

Thursday, September 22
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM (MT)

About the Session

A facilitated conversation and sharing session designed to draw upon the experiences of the facilitators and the audience with failures in the Donor Relations and Advancement setting. By encouraging people to share their own experiences making mistakes and blunders we to seek to create an atmosphere of empathy and camaraderie that leads to a new understanding of and appreciation for the role failure plays in our professional development. Facilitators will share their own stories of mistakes and gaffs along with lessons learned, and then open it up to the audience to share the same using a rapid fire, "social learning" type approach.

Learning Objectives

  • Audience members will develop empathy for themselves and others through recognition of the commonality of failures and mistakes

  • Lessons learned from shared experiences will be highlighted in order to increase audience knowledge of relevant DR best practice and to reinforce the value of failure as a teacher

Keywords: 

Overcoming obstacles, learning from failure, idea sharing, lessons learned, best practices

Who Should Attend?
   



 
 

Private College/University, Public College/University, Private Secondary School, Healthcare, Religious Organization, Arts Organization, Foundation, Environmental Organization, Advocacy Organization, Social Services

Suitable for any size shop

Suitable for all levels

 
 
About the Speakers

Mary Weingartner
Managing Director, Stewardship
UNICEF USA

Mary has worked in the field of stewardship and donor relations for over 15 years, beginning at the University of Illinois Foundation in 2006. In 2009, she joined the University of Chicago’s Donor Relations team, leaving in 2012 to become Director of Alumni Relations & External Engagement for Loyola University’s Health Sciences Division. Taking a break from higher education, Mary managed stewardship for a portfolio of corporate and foundation donors at YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for local YMCAs across the globe. Mary returned to the University of Chicago in 2016 and served as Director of Donor Relations, leading the Donor Relations team and their work to create meaningful donor experiences that deepen relationships with the University. In 2022, Mary proudly joined UNICEF USA as Managing Director, Stewardship.

Mary is an active member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). She enjoys serving as a volunteer and chaired the 2018 and 2019 International Conferences. Currently she chairs the ADRP Education Committee and serves as an ex officio member of the Board of Directors.


Mark Lanum
Senior Director, Donor Relations
Brown University

Mark Lanum is the Senior Director of Donor Relations at Brown University. He has worked in Advancement and Donor Relations for over 20 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.