Social Media Demystified – Lynne Wester Does It Again!

Lynne Wester, the donor relations dynamo behind donorrelationsguru.com, was a hit again at this year′s Southeast Donor Relations Conference in Raleigh. For those of you who don’t (yet) know her, Lynne is a force to be reckoned with and a personality not to be forgotten.  She is a leader among the Association of Donor Relations Professionals’ network of dynamic, forward-thinking “stars”, and a frequent speaker.  This is not the first time I have seen her presentation on social media, yet as always, she was on top of the newest of the new and casual and confident in her mastery of the technology. Continue reading »

Filed under Donor Communications, Social Media | Tags: ADRP, Best Practitioner, Communications, consultant, Creative, Donor Relations, new media, online giving | Comments Off

All the things (and friends) I didn’t get to see in San Francisco

So, earlier this month, I had the great fortune to travel to San Francisco with my good friends Robin and Harv to present at my favorite annual conference, ADRP International.  Except for the hour of the presentation, I doubt you saw me there, and I regret that I was able to see so few of you!  Sadly, I spent the majority of my time on the floor in my hotel room, immobilized by a bad back!  Yet, this trip will remain one of the most memorable of my life, for so many reasons. Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Donor Recognition Programs, Social Media, Think Before You Thank, multimedia donor recognition | Tags: ADRP, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Interactive Displays, new media, Social Media, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off

And the Award Goes to . . . Dania Beck

“This is a big deal!”  So said George Maynard, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center about the Best Practitioner in Donor Recognition Award bestowed on Dania Beck, Annual Giving Manager for the hospital system.

Dania has been a leader there in the development of a comprehensive donor relations program that integrates new media for donor cultivation, stewardship and recognition. Moving to the Office of Philanthropy and Partnership from the hospital’s marketing team, Dania’s first responsibilities were centered specifically on e-Philanthropy.  In that capacity she initiated the Virtual Toy Drive for their Children’s Hospital and other e-philanthropy programs that continue to raise awareness as well as funds for much needed patient support items.  Dania’s creativity and dedication to using new media to drive her program have been instrumental in building a rapidly expanding donor base for the hospital system. Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Donor Recognition Programs, Social Media, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: annual giving, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Best Practitioner, Communications, Donor Recognition, online giving, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Comments Off

What Comes Next? TheThanksTank.com™ Roundtable’s Critical Question

Today we sparked out-of-the-box thinking (over boxed lunches) with multimedia donor recognition experts, Harv Mock and James Graham of Planned Legacy and a select group of forward thinking non-profit professionals, discussing the role of new media in donor recognition.  The conversation started with an overview of the “perfect storm” of fundraising and donor communication demands that created the need for more dynamic, engaging communication tactics, leading to the influx of electronic and interactive displays.  Harv and James were able to show examples of multimedia presentations in several formats and demonstrate the versatility of electronic recognition; the slides from today’s presentation are included here. Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Recognition Environments, Social Media, Stewardship, multimedia donor recognition | Tags: Capital Campaign, donor wall, electronic displays, electronic donor recognition, Interactive Displays, multimedia donor recognition, online giving, Stewardship, Trends in Fundraising, virtual donor recognition | Comments Off

I Found a “Great” Online Experience!

In searching for examples of high quality donor recognition media on line, I came across this absolute J-E-W-E-L from Texas A&M Commerce! It meets all the qualifications we recommend for an engaging online experience: it is dynamic (video), creative (what a great concept… the metaphorical “lift” a scholarship provides), it includes donors and scholarship recipients speaking directly to the audience, and it’s well worth forwarding (taking advantage of social media’s viral communication spread). Kudos to the producers of these videos. They get an A++ in my book! (click continue reading to see the videos) Continue reading »

Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Social Media | Tags: Communications, Development, new media, online giving, Social Media, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off