Southeast Donor Relations Conference Was Excellent, Yet Again!

July 27th, 2010

Last week Robin and I had to divide and conquer.  I went to the Southeast Donor Relations Conference in Charlotte sponsored by the Association of Donor Relations Professionals while she attended the Georgia Association of Development Professionals annual meeting in St. Simons.  She got the beach . . . but I got the brains (which is all right by me)!  This group is smart and fun-loving.  As is the case every year, they are raising the bar for what donor relations means as a distinct and necessary part of their organizations. Continue reading »

GADP Conference in St. Simons Island: THIS WEEK!

July 19th, 2010

“Somebody’s gotta do it. And I made sure it was me!”

This week, I have the distinct pleasure of attending a conference for hospital fundraisers here in my home state. I’ve been attending, in fact, since 1994, and it’ll be a doubly-good place to work this week.

The location, of course, is superior at The King and Prince Hotel, but most importantly it is attended each year by the most collegial and talented hospital fundraisers I’ve known and worked with. Continue reading »

AHP-SE Returns the Focus to the Core Mission of Development

June 14th, 2010

This year’s Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Southeast Regional Conference began yesterday in Atlanta.  Focus is split between new strategies and proven best practices.  The concentration on the sad state of the economy is finally coming to an end.  People I talked with are busier than ever, finally coming out of the shock of the economic crisis.  There is a pervasive return to the optimistic “we can get it done!” attitude that first drew me to the philanthropic arena. Continue reading »

Online Webinar Proves A Useful Forum for Defining Donor Recognition Standards

May 3rd, 2010

Last week I had the good fortune of presenting in the Association of Donor Relations Professionals webinar series.  Our topic was “Think Before You Thank: Donor Recognition Best Practices”. The session had over 200 attendees representing a wide variety of organizations throughout North America.  I was impressed by the level of involvement from the audience; their questions were thoughtful and wide-ranging. Continue reading »