Spooky season is upon us ... but there is nothing spooky about the great work happening across DAR this month! Thank you for making Beat Week a success, for hosting alumni, families and donors during Homecoming festivities and for coming together to support Bulldog communities during recent weather events. I am hoping for quick recoveries for those affected by the storms - both staff and our UGA community. As we head into November, let us keep our foot on the gas while also using the season of thanks to show our donors how much we appreciate them and how their support is changing lives here on campus. |
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Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the UGA Foundation |
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What You'll Find in This Month's Pulse |
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📈 Fundraising Update
- Upcoming DAR Meetings 📆
- Events for Our Target Audiences 🤝
- DARing to Level Up ❤️
🏈 Beat Week Results
- Cookies & Cocoa with Hairy Dawg 🍪
- 🍲 The Latest Stew
- Exclusions for Crises and Natural Disasters 🌪
- DAR Marketing Planning 📆
- 💻DAR Directory Emails
- UGA Career Fairs Record 💼
- 👩🏫 UGA Mentor Program Update
- 💯 Bulldog 100 Next Steps
- DAR Position Profiles 💼
- 1️⃣8️⃣ UGA No. 18 Ranking
- President's Annual Report 📕
- DAR Season of Giving 🦃
- 🔌Southern Company + GA Power + UGA
- Open Enrollment, Ethics Training, Staff Performance Management ♥️ 🇭🇷
- DAR 101 🎉
- 3️⃣ Lead at Three
- 🌅 Coastal Georgia Happenings
- DAR in the News 📰
- DAR Headshot Schedule 📸
- 🔔 Ring the Bell: DAR Success Stories
- ✈️ Regional Programs Travel Schedule
- Open DAR Positions 🎉
- 👨💼 Staff Announcements
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Pets of DAR 🐕 🐈🐖 🐍 🦜
- 🥳 Just for Fun: Book Recommendations + Franks & Friends + UGA Spirit
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Here is where we stand in fundraising as of Oct. 22. Questions? Email Danielle Free. |
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The DAR Meetings page has been updated to better serve as a reference for DAR meetings. If you have an adjustment or would like something added, please email Elizabeth Elmore.
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UGA Open Enrollment Period
Oct. 28-Nov. 5, 2024 Learn More |
Cybersecurity Training Deadline
October 31, 2024 |
Team Stewardship November 7, 2024 Georgia Center, Dogwood Hall |
Discover DAR: Career Center
December 6, 2024 Delta Innovation Hub |
| Jingle Jam
December 11, 2024 | 11:30-1:30 PM Tate Grand Hall |
Discover DAR: TBD January 24, 2025 Coverdell Room 175 |
Winter Development Meeting
February 3, 2025 Tate Grand Hall
*This date was previously incorrectly listed as Feb. 4 in case you marked your calendar. |
Spring Development Meeting May 12, 2025 Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Target Audiences |
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SAC Applications Open October 1-31 |
PLC Grants Application Deadline October 31 |
Fall Break (No Classes) November 1, 2024 |
Affinity Council Nominations Open November 1-30 |
Chicago Chapter/Grady College Mixer November 6 | 5:30PM Highline Pizza Bar | Chicago, IL |
Women of UGA Cookies & Cocoa with Hairy Dawg
November 10 | 1-5PM City Springs | Atlanta, GA |
Presidents Club Reception November 15 Tate Grand Hall |
Georgia Women Give Fall On-Campus November 15 State Botanical Garden of Georgia |
UGA Alumni Night at the Bookstore November 15 | 5-7PM UGA Bookstore |
Oyster Roast for a Reason November 23 Skidaway Island, GA |
Fall Commencement
December 13, 2024 Stegeman Coliseum |
| 2025 Founders Day Luncheon January 24, 2025 | 11:30-1PM Stelling Study, Terry College of Business |
Bobbi Meeler Sahm Service and Outreach Award Deadine January 25, 2025 |
SAC Founders Day Celebration
January 27, 2025 | 10:30-2:30 PM Tate Plaza |
Women of UGA Mentorship Monday January 27, 2025 | Noon-1:30 PM Zoom |
Spring PLC Weekend February 7-8, 2025 Athens, GA |
Georgia Women Give Signature Event March 20-21, 2025 Athens, GA |
Women in the Workplace Mentoring Dinner w/the UGA Mentor Program March 14 | 6PM Tate Grand Hall |
Dawg Day of Giving
March 27, 2025 *Details to come! |
Honors Week March 31-April 4 Miscellaneous Events |
Alumni Awards Luncheon April 4, 2025 |
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Together as a division, we are DARing to Level Up. We hope you enjoyed the new posters sharing our work practices along with the special fortune cookie just for you (as pictured above)!
Don't forget to share "Level Up Cards" with your colleagues when they show great instances of leadership, impact or collaboration. Print editable versions from your computer or pick up a physical copy — cards have been shared in each unit's office area as well as Carrie Bero's desk at One Press Place. Questions? Email Michelle Carter.
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UGA donors break records during Beat Week |
This year's Beat Week giving challenge against Alabama broke records and pushed both school’s fans and alumni to dig deep. UGA donors gave more gifts than in any previous Beat Week, contributing a total of 17,390 gifts. Moreover, Beat Week 2024 saw 39% more donors participate than in 2023. Read more about the "wins" during Beat Week.
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Cookies & Cocoa with Hairy Dawg |
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Read the Latest Stew Email |
Check out the October issue of The Stew, UGA's e-newsletter for professionals managing stewardship activities across the university. This issues includes updates on: -
Board Management Best Practices
- Guru Webinars
- Faculty Gratitude Reports
- Endowment Reports
- GAIL Scholarship Privacy Changes
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And more!
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Exclusions for Crises + Natural Disasters |
Annual Giving monitors crises and natural disasters in order to determine any audience adjustments that need to be made in the wake of such events. For instance, Hurricanes Helene and Milton were instances in which UGA does not want to communicate unnecessarily with individuals in affected areas who are dealing with much more important issues at the moment. Sherry Abrams and Heather Duiser
monitor locations on a weekly basis and remove exclusions on solicitation materials (Engagement Center calls/texts, emails and mailings) as appropriate. Annual Giving is continuing to exclude hurricane-affected areas from solicitations and are matching them to FEMA areas at this time. Have a question about this best practice or hear of an area DAR might need to exclude? Contact Sherry or Heather.
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DAR Marketing Planning Begins |
DARCOMM has launched the marketing planning period for Spring 2025 (January-July 2025). The team is working with units across the division to outline communications needs for the first half of the year to ensure resources are available and collaboration is possible whenever possible. If you have questions about your unit's planning process, please contact your DARCOMM communications coordinator or email Elizabeth Elmore. Thank you in advance for helping our division level up in 2025!
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Fun Fact: DAR Directory Emails |
Did you know that when you copy a colleague's email address from the DAR directory, it copies it backwards for security reasons? So don't freak out if this happens to you; you simply have to manually enter someone's email address instead of using the c+p keyboard shortcuts. |
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UGA Career Fairs Shatter Record |
Kudos to our Career Center: Total attendance at the UGA Fall '24 Career & Internship Fair and the Fall '24 Engineering & Computer Science Career & Internship Fair hit 5,500 ... which surpasses the team's previous high by 500+ students. Questions about Career Fairs? Email Holly Getchell.
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UGA Mentor Program Update |
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In late 2023, DAR formed a scholarship steering committee to evaluate and discuss all aspects of our scholarship processes—what's working, what needs improvement and identifying best practices. This committee includes representatives from various campus departments, such as the Office of Student Financial Aid, Office of Instruction, Donor Relations & Stewardship, Constituent Programs, the UGA Foundation and several schools’ and colleges' development teams and business managers. Through these discussions, a playbook has been designed to provide an overview and best practices for the scholarship process. The playbook covers a variety of aspects ranging from fund creation, to awarding and stewardship.
We hope this will be a valuable resource for everyone, whether you’re in the process of revamping scholarship processes or looking for ways to enhance an already functioning process.
Your feedback is appreciated and the committee looks forward to hearing how you incorporate this into your scholarship strategies and success. |
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The 2025 Bulldog 100 nominees submitted their applications and financials by Oct. 18. The 2025 Bulldog 100 will be announced in mid-December and celebrated on Feb. 8, 2025. Announcement marketing materials will be provided in early December. Questions? Email b100@uga.edu.
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DARCOMM and Talent Management have partnered to produce an updated recruiting tool. The position profile is an easily customizable and aesthetically pleasing version of a UGA Job Posting. Here is an example. Search committee members and DAR colleagues alike are encouraged to circulate the PDF via email, effectively spreading the word about opportunities to join our team. Questions? Contact Christy Dasher.
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President's Annual Report |
The FY24 President's Annual Report has been disseminated via mail to certain donors and constituent groups, and via email to all alumni. The report is available online and print copies should be available in One Press Place soon. Thanks to everyone who helped bring this publication to fruition. Questions? Email Elizabeth Elmore.
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Join the Employee Experience Committee in spreading joy this season! Through November 15, DAR is partnering with UGA Campus Kitchen to collect cans of 15-oz. pumpkin puree to help provide a Thanksgiving dinner for families in need. Donation Bins are in the breakrooms of: - 1 Press Place
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Clark Howell Hall
- Waddel Hall
But that’s not all! From October 28 to December 15, DAR is also collecting items for Toys for Tots in the 1st and 2nd floor breakrooms of 1 Press Place. Please donate toys for children aged 1-12 to help make their holidays magical. 🎁
Contact Cristy Jones if you have questions about either holiday drive. Thank you, DAR! |
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Immersive Story: Southern Company/GA Power + UGA |
On Oct. 28, DAR celebrated the UGA and Southern Company/Georgia Power partnership alongside UGA alumni and leaders from both institutions. A special video created by Edwin Hammond premiered during the event to provide a glimpse into this rich corporate partnership that builds a better Georgia every day. Questions? Email Kyle Tschepikow.
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Open Enrollment + Ethics Training + Staff Performance Management |
Please review the following information provided by DAR Talent Management: Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 and is the annual opportunity for eligible faculty, staff and retirees to sign up for health insurance and other benefits as well as to make adjustments to their current plans or discontinue coverage. Staff Performance Management
University Human Resources is launching a new Staff Performance Management process in January through the Professional Education Portal (PEP). All staff must complete the required staff training “Intro to UGA’s New Performance Process” before Dec. 15 to be able to access their evaluations in PEP. This course explains the new evaluation criteria, rating scale, and process changes.
Ethics Training
All employees must complete USG's annual Ethics Training by Oct. 31. |
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On Oct. 15, the Talent Management team hosted 42 employees for DAR 101, an all-day event designed to give “new” employees a behind-the-scenes look at how DAR units collaborate. Participants met team members from across the division, heard from various leaders and engaged in interactive games like DAR Bingo and DAR Jeopardy. Plus, everyone received some fantastic UGA swag. A big thank you to all the speakers and attendees for making this fall's DAR 101 a success!
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The UGA Office of Inclusive Excellence hosts the Lead at 3 speaker series that focuses on women’s leadership in higher ed and beyond. Please join in the final in this series: -
Nov. 6, 3-4PM (Delta Innovation Hub) - Paige Carmichael, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Please RSVP to join in. |
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Coastal Georgia Happenings |
Check out upcoming happenings on the Georgia Coast in case they would be appealing for a prospect or donor: -
Nov. 7-8: Library BOV meeting in Savannah
- Nov. 12: Emeritus Trustees Program in Savannah
- Nov. 20-24: RSM Classic @ Sea Island (Dawg House Hospitality Tent)
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Nov. 21: Alumni Reception, St. Simons/Sea Island
- Nov. 23: Oyster Roast For A Reason, UGA Marine and Education Center & Aquarium
Questions or things to add to this list? Reach out to Christina Varnedoe. |
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Here are a few recent bits of news from around campus: |
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📸 DAR Headshot Schedule 📸 |
Have you scheduled a headshot with Edwin Hammond? Fill out a scheduling form below; headshots are taken in front of One Press Place. |
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Records Team Levels Up!
Kudos to the Records team for DARing to Level Up as they successfully entered initial Vet Clinic data into GAIL this fall. The project was behind schedule due to some delays elsewhere in the process and when called upon, this team rose to the occasion and delivered! They exhibited our DAR value of driving IMPACT as our division seeks to get more of this new constituent base into the GAIL platform. And they are already underway with the next round of data! The team gathered earlier this month to ring the Chapel Bell to celebrate this collaborative internal milestone. Please give them a round of applause!
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Long-term Collaboration Results in Big Impact
A big congrats to a giving success story that reflects collaboration spanning 8 years in DAR – beginning with our Research and Prospect Management team giving the name Mike Krensavage to Principal Gifts “back in the stone ages” as has been joked (OK, it was just 2016). That crucial identification led to years of relationship-building with both Mike and his wife, Mary, by staff in Principal Gifts, Grady College, Regional Programs and Athletics. Those relationships have recently developed into the couple from NYC naming the Grady Newsource space in the journalism building. Pictured above (l-r): Grady Dean Charles Davis, Mike and Mary Krensavage, Grady's Keith Herndon, Sam Perez and Davis Baker (the latter two are former Krensavage Award recipients). Great job, team!
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🚗 Regional Programs Travel ✈️
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The Regional team will be traveling to the following cities soon.
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Chris Jefts Waycross/Valdosta/J'ville (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) Thomasville, GA (Nov. 20-21) Vince Thomas Jacksonville, FL (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) Miami, FL (Nov. 12-14) August, GA (Nov. 20-21) Rob Carrico Greenville, SC (Nov. 13-14) Richmond, VA (Nov. 19-22) Ellie Engquist
Greenwich, CT (Nov. 7-8) Boston, MA (Nov. 12-13)
Courtney Hart Athens, GA (Nov. 4, Nov. 14)
Meredith Glenn Gwinnett County, GA (Nov. 5-7) August, GA (Nov. 19-21) Madi Cox Greenville, SC (Nov. 13-14) *tentative |
| Christina Varnedoe
SSI/Jekyll/Brunswick GA (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) SSI/Sea Island, GA (Nov. 20-24) Katie Adams
Birmingham, AL (Week of Nov. 4) Chattanooga, TN (Nov. 12-13)
Chandler Boyle Charlotte, NC (Nov. 7-8, Nov. 20-22)
Kyle Bryson Houston, TX (Nov. 12-14)
Michelle Rotondo Athens, GA (Nov. 5, Nov. 21)
Weldon Kolker Savannah, GA (Oct. 29-31) Atlanta, GA (Nov. 12-14)
St. Simons Island, GA (Nov. 20-22) Matt Brown Athens, GA (Nov. 4) Hannah McIntosh Athens, GA (Nov. 4 + 14) Michelle Versfeld Atlanta, GA (Nov. 5, Nov. 21) |
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Open Position Postings in DAR
We encourage anyone interested in applying to do so. All UGA HR policies and procedures apply. If you know of a potential candidate who may be a good fit for an opportunity, contact Michelle Carter.
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Have a change for the DAR online directory? Email Abbie Jones with your change(s). |
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Name: Bojangle Dukes
Owner: Gabby Dukes (Law)
Fun Fact: Bojangle loves uninterrupted sleep, chasing birds and never being left behind when the family goes on adventures. And he's never met a chicken nugget he didn't try to steal ❤️ |
| Name: Duckie
Owner: Abbie Vaughn Blackstock (Vet Med)
Fun Fact: Duckie loves spending her days taking naps on her heating pad, hunting toys through her tunnel and exploring Mom's new Amazon boxes. |
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Franks & Friends The Advancement IT team hosted a fun Franks & Friends Tailgate on Sept. 6 - and it was filled with, well, lots of franks and lots of friendliness! Thanks to everyone who participated; photos are here.
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Team Spirit Week
Thanks to the Employee Experience Committee for hosting Team Spirit Week leading up to the historic Georgia vs. Florida football game. Kudos to Heather Pearson for truly bringing the spirit with her homemade basketball hat. 😍 |
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Do you have information or a suggestion for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? |
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