College of Charleston Cato-Simons Display Christened!

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 »

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Experiential Stewardship: The “Must Know” Guidelines for Top Tier Donors

Robin Good recently posted a series of questions on the ADRP Listserv, basically asking this: what are you doing for your top tier donors, and have you standardized those activities in any way?  In further conversation with her, I was impressed with her application of a seldom-used term, experiential stewardship, to the work involved in donor relations.  In a nutshell, she used it to refer to the all-important act of providing meaningful experiences for your donors, ones that go beyond the routine checklist of stewardship activities. Continue reading »

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University of South Carolina Library Dedication

I am excited to share this video showcasing our recently completed recognition for Senator Hollings at the University of South Carolina’s Ernest F. Hollings Special Collection Library. Under a tight deadline, we supervised installation the week before Vice President Joe Biden dedicated the library. Applying REWI principles that follow recently developed and instituted Standards & Guidelines for the University of South Carolina, the new plaques acknowledge and recognize supporters to the university. Continue reading »

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Southeast Donor Relations Conference Was Excellent, Yet Again!

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 »

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Recognition: Every Viewer is Your Prospect

Every viewer of donor recognition is a prospective donor. It is the single, most powerful marketing tool at a fundraiser’s disposal.

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Filed under Donor Communications, Recognition Environments, Robin E. Williams, Stewardship | Tags: area naming, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Recognition, Naming Opportunities, Philanthropy, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments Off