College of Charleston Cato-Simons Display Christened!

August 13th, 2010

I was so pleased to have been part of a “christening” immediately following our successful installation of the College of Charleston Cato-Simons display. Among those in attendance were the Dean for the School, Valerie Morris, EVP of Business Affairs, Steve Osborne, Director of Operations, Kathryn Norton and EVP of Institutional Advancement, George Watt, who gave a toast to mark the occasion.   The Cato-Simons display marks the juncture of the new Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts and the existing Simon Center for the Arts and follows an initial installation of donor recognition plaques in January 2010  for the grand opening of the Center. Continue reading »

Presenting “Linkage” to AFP-Atlanta

May 25th, 2010

Here in Atlanta, the local chapter of AFP has asked that presenters at their monthly breakfast meetings to speak to fundraising’s new normal, which Roger McNamee refers to as “great opportunities at a time of great risk”. We spoke to the group on May 18. Continue reading »

Will Jumo.com Bring Tools Needed for Online Donor Relations?

March 26th, 2010

As donor recognition consultants, we’ve been monitoring the social media tools available for online donor communication. Last week’s technology and philanthropy pages were a-buzz with news of Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes’ latest idea, Jumo.com.  The site claims, “Jumo brings together everyday individuals and organizations to speed the pace of global change. We connect people to the issues, organizations, and individuals relevant to them to foster lasting relationships and meaningful action.” Hughes’ e-blast announcement was quoted as saying, “We believe we can leverage the participatory web to foster long-term engagement with the issues and organizations that are relevant to each individual.” Continue reading »

Time to Rethink Your Approach to Social Media?

March 16th, 2010

Last December, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hosted the DARPA Network Challenge to explore the role of the Internet and social networking in contemporary communication.  Whether influenced by recent events, like political protest in Iran or Columbia, or not, the rules of the contest were simple.  DARPA moored ten eight foot red weather balloons in different locations across the continental United States, and teams tried to track them down as quickly as possible.  While most of us were putting the finishing touches on our holiday shopping, a team from MIT tracked down all ten balloons in just under nine hours. Continue reading »

Non-Traditional Donor Recognition Outlets

December 8th, 2009

Monday I had the good fortune to participate in a session at the Association of Donor Relations Professionals annual conference in Baltimore.  I sat on a panel discussing “tricks from the experts”.  My portion of the presentation focused on ways to recognize donors beyond traditional plaques and printed lists.  Specifically, we considered avenues available to those who either have no physical space for traditional donor recognition or are interested in exploring new methods for engaging donors and potential donors alike. Continue reading »