Happy New Year, DAR! Thank you for an outstanding end to 2023 (details about #BestDecemberEver are further below). I can't thank you enough for your commitment and collaboration. This year, you may hear me use "Grow | Give | Guide" when communicating about our work. Similar to "Connect, Hire, Give," in the past, I hope this phrase will assist in your engagement efforts. We hope our constituents will
GROW their relationship with UGA in a way that drives them to want to GIVE financially or to share their time and expertise with an area of campus. And once they feel connected and committed, we want those individuals to act as
GUIDES in their communities and networks to show how UGA advances their goals and our collective future. ie: we want them to become advocates!
As Brooks McCommons so eloquently stated: We want more in '24! Let's raise more funds and engage more alumni in order to improve more lives! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support your team.
|
|
|
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the UGA Foundation |
| |
|
What You'll Find in This Month's Pulse |
- ? Fundraising Update
- Upcoming DAR Meetings ?
- Events for Alumni + Friends
- We Are Georgia Campaign Launches ?
- ?Dawg Day of Giving Email Blackout + Workshops
- ?Recent Donor Stories
- Development Toolkit Survey ?
- ?Championship Merch Discount
- Lead at 3 ?
DAR Headshot Schedule ? - ?Ring the Bell: Fundraising Success Stories
-
? DAR Stars: Alysse Capitanelli and Denise Baughman
- ✈️ Regional Programs Travel Schedule
- Open DAR Positions
- ?? Staff Announcements
- ?Just for Fun: It's a BAIN-ful December + A Sweet Note at the Arch
|
|
|
#BestDecemberEver Recap What a phenomenal finish to 2023—largely thanks to your strong collaboration across teams! We raised 8,288 gifts, surpassing our three-year record for major gifts closed with
241. We closed the calendar year at $113M, which places us on a great path to success this fiscal year. Thank you! Here are a few stats to illustrate our strong December (click to view larger). Questions? Email Jeremy Ransom. |
Alumni Participation Rate
We are currently at 40% progress to our APR goal of 15% for FY24. APR is flat year-over-year and has slowed down slightly without a strong post-season athletics campaign this year. We expect Q3 to bring in many APR donors through Dawg Day of Giving, Senior Signature and the Hartman Fund deadline. Questions? Email Heather Duiser.
|
Overall Fundraising Totals
Below you will find our fundraising total for the fiscal year. We are at 72 new endowed scholarships in FY24 (our goal is 100), and we are at 370 total faculty endowments on campus (our goal is 400). Questions? Email Jeremy Ransom. |
|
|
Winter Development Meeting February 12, 2024 Tate Grand Hall |
UGA Board of Trustees Winter Meeting February 22-23, 2024 Athens, Georgia |
Discover DAR - CANCELED February 23, 2024 Terrell Hall |
Spring Town Hall March 11, 2024 | 8-9:30 AM Tate Grand Hall |
DAR 101 (for new colleagues) March 19, 2024 Stelling Study | Moore-Rooker Hall |
UGA Board of Visitors Spring Meeting March 21, 2024 Athens, Georgia |
|
Discover DAR March 29, 2024 TBD |
Spring Alumni Board Meeting
April 19, 2024 Athens, Georgia |
Discover DAR April 26, 2024 TBD |
Spring Development Meeting May 13, 2024 Tate Grand Hall |
Discover DAR May 24, 2024 TBD
|
|
|
Events for Alumni + Friends |
|
|
2024 Bulldog 100 Celebration February 9 Sanford Stadium West End Zone |
| Georgia Women Give Spring Event March 21-22, 2024 Athens, Georgia |
Dawg Day of Giving
March 26, 2024 Virtual |
Honors Week
April 1-5, 2024 *Alumni Awards Luncheon is April 5 |
Alumni Leadership Assembly
April 19-20, 2024 Athens, Georgia |
|
|
We Are Georgia Campaign Launches |
The Division of Marketing and Communications has launched a campaign to increase awareness about UGA's statewide initiatives that will target state leaders, including influential members of the business community. It will run January 22-March 31 and will highlight key areas of the state in six regions: central, south, north, Atlanta, and Athens. Explore the site for the
We Are Georgia campaign. |
|
|
Dawg Day of Giving Email Blackout Dates + Workshop |
Annual Giving requests that communicators across campus avoid sending solicitation emails from March 10 through March 27 in anticipation of Dawg Day of Giving on March 26. Event invitations and other newsletters are OK to be sent. Questions? Email Ashley Crain.
The first of two Dawg Day of Giving Workshops was held Jan. 18. View the recording for the next 30 days (PW = fmT9&v7E). The next workshop is March 1 at 1:30 PM; email Sherry Abrams for the Zoom link.
|
|
|
Below are a few recent stories that you are welcome to use/share however you see fit. Questions? Email Elizabeth Elmore.
|
| |
Development Toolkit Survey |
A major update for the Development Toolkit is on the horizon, and we’re going to need your help! Thanks to input DAR staff has provided over the last year, we’re planning a significant overhaul and improvement for the elements that make up the Toolkit.
Before we do that, we want to ask you a few final questions to make sure what we roll out is as optimized as it can be. Be on the lookout for an email in mid-February containing a short survey! Questions? Email Clarke Schwabe. |
|
|
Championship Merch Discounted by 75% |
The UGA Bookstore, a longtime DAR partner, has discounted all previous national championship merchandise by 75%. No code or coupon needed. |
|
|
Lead at 3 is
a series focused on women’s leadership in higher education and beyond. Each semester, three women are invited to share three key insights on leadership at 3 p.m. Here are the speakers for the spring semester: - February 21, 3-4 p.m. (Memorial Hall, Victor K. Wilson Memorial Hall Ballroom) -
Michelle Cook, Vice President for Student Affairs
- March 20, 3-4 p.m. (Georgia Center, Magnolia Ballroom) - C. Lee Zell, President of the UGA Alumni Association
- April 10, 3-4 p.m. (Delta Innovation Hub) -
Anna Stenport, Dean of Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
These are in-person events; attendees are asked to please RSVP. Questions? Email Michelle Carter. |
|
|
? DAR Headshot Schedule ? |
Have you scheduled a headshot with Edwin Hammond? Fill out a scheduling form below; headshots are taken in front of 1 Press Place. |
|
|
Here are a few recent success stories from the fundraising world; thank you to all fundraisers and those who support them for an outstanding year so far! |
|
|
#BestDecemberEver
Kudos to Melaney Smith in the Terry College of Business for her innovation around #BestDecemberEver, which became a division-wide initiative last month! |
|
4-H Support Grows Congrats to Adam Hammond on closing two significant gifts for Georgia 4-H during the last month to support STEM and environmental education. |
| |
Congrats to Jennifer Messer and Justin Hill on their second successful collaboration to support the Field Study in Landscape Architecture Support Fund. This latest $100k commitment will support the fund for the next four years to send 20 CED students on a 2-week landscape architecture study trip. The donor, Jennifer Morton, says a similar trip shaped her time as a CED student and she wants to ensure the resources are available for the tradition to continue.
|
|
|
Denise Baughman Denise has been in DAR for 11 years; you might spot this expenditure control specialist walking during lunch with her work friends! |
|
Alysse Capitanelli Alysse is an interim senior regional director whose No. 1 tip for new DAR staff is to meet everyone as quickly as you can! |
|
|
The Regional team will be traveling to the following cities soon. |
|
|
Chris Jefts Rome, GA (Jan. 31-Feb. 1)
Thomasville, GA (Feb. 21-22) Macon, GA (Feb. 27-28) Rob Carrico
Charleston, SC (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) Atlanta, GA (Feb. 7, 8) Richmond, VA (Feb. 27-March 1)
Christina Varnedoe Athens, GA (Feb. 27-28) Katie Adams
Naples, FL (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) Athens, GA (Feb. 9) *tentative Birmingham, AL (Feb. 19-21) *daytrips Chattanooga, TN (Feb. 28-29) *tentative |
| Ellie Engquist NYC Area (Month of February) Adam Prescott Atlanta, GA (Feb. 13, 14) Augusta, GA (Feb. 27-28)
*tentative Elizabeth Kozak Athens, GA (Feb. 21-23) Alysse Capitanelli Savannah, GA (Jan. 31-Feb. 2) NY Area (Feb. 19-21)
NJ Area (Feb. 27, 28) LaRisa Chambers San Francisco, CA (Jan. 29-31) OC/San Francisco, CA (Dates TBD) |
|
|
Open Positions
This is to make you aware of position postings in the division. We encourage anyone interested in applying to do so. All UGA HR policies and procedures will apply. If you know of a potential candidate who may be a good fit for an opportunity, contact Michelle Carter. |
|
|
- Welcome to Alaine Lambertson, Development Associate, Lamar Dodd School of Art (Franklin College)
- Welcome to Abbie E. Jones, Human Resources Specialist, Finance & HR
- Welcome to Logan Lewis, Digital Strategist,
DAR Communications
- Welcome to Brandon Sutton, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence & Analytics
- Welcome to Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Director of Development for Major Gifts, Athletics
- Congrats to Ali Elyaman, named Associate Director of Development,
Franklin College
- Congrats to Heather M. McCauley, named Director of Prospect Research, Prospect Research
- Congrats to Lacey E. Bartlett, named Gift Agreement Support Specialist, UGAF
- Congrats to Mikayla D. Coombs, named Development Officer,
Athletics
- Congrats to Jessica A. McLeod-Waddell, named Asst. Director of Operations & Strategy, Career Center
- Congrats to Tonya Moore, named Donor Reporting Coordinator, Donor Relations
- Best wishes to Jasmine C. Moorman, leaving
Career Center
Have a change for the DAR online directory? Email dartalent@uga.edu with your change(s). |
|
|
They say you shouldn't meet your doppelganger, but what about your name twin? During December's Holiday Feast at Snelling Dining Hall, we stumbled upon:
It was a wonderful time seeing staff from across campus gather to celebrate a great year; thank you for coming! |
A member of the Arch Society stumbled across this sweet note attached to the Arch during a rainy campus tour in late January. #HowSweetItIs |
|
|
Do you have information for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? Send it to Elizabeth Elmore. |
|
|
|
