As we return from Thanksgiving break, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation for each and every one of you. You not only make coming to work a joy each day, but your commitment to helping students and our university is truly inspiring. Your incredible teamwork has been on display as we achieved our goal of establishing 1,000 need-based scholarships for UGA students and hitting $100 million by November 30 for the first time in UGA history. Your commitment continually inspires
me to do my best to help every team in our division "level up" throughout the year. If I can be of any assistance to your team, please let me know. Thank you!
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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 |
- 📈 Fundraising Update
- Upcoming DAR Meetings 📆
- 🎉 Events for Target Audiences
- DARing to Level Up 📈
- 🥼 School of Medicine Update
- UGA Mentor Program Update 🤝
- 📙 UGA Scholarship Playbook
- Purchasing Guidance💲
- Dawg Day of Gratitude Success 🐾
- 4-H Attributes in GAIL 💻
- Bulldog 100 💯
- Bookstore State Decal Display 🚗
- Young Alumni Leadership Council Fund 💸
- Bequest Best Practices
- Credit Card Info on Solicitation Envelopes📨
- DAR Season of Giving 🎁
- DAR in the News 📰
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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: Gator Hater Breakfast + OBE Eats + Engineering Lunch
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Here is where we stand in fundraising as of Dec. 2. Questions? Email Danielle Free. |
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Thanks to every single person in the division, the University of Georgia has passed an exciting milestone with the endowment of its 1,000th need-based scholarship. Please pat yourselves on the back for this achievement, and take a moment to reflect on what this means for so many students and their families.
We popped around campus to pass out celebratory stickers to the entire division (pictured above). Whether you are a fundraiser, a stewardship professional, a team that engages alumni, parents and employers, or a colleague who supports those teams ... you made this happen. THANK YOU!! |
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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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Discover DAR: Career Center
December 6 Delta Innovation Hub |
Jingle Jam December 11 | 11:30-1:30 PM Tate Grand Hall |
Alumni Directors Meeting
December 12 Poultry Science Event Space
Questions? Email Jennifer Johnson. |
Discover DAR: TBD January 24 Coverdell Room 175 |
Winter Alumni Board Meeting
January 31 Athens, GA |
| Winter Development Meeting
February 3 Tate Grand Hall |
UGAF Board of Trustees Meeting February 20-21 Athens, GA |
DAR Town Hall
March 24 Athens, GA |
Spring Development Meeting May 12 Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Target Audiences |
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Latino Alumni Council Ugly Sweater Holiday Event December 5 | 6:30PM Atlanta, GA |
Georgia Economic Outlook Luncheon
December 6 Atlanta, GA |
Fall Commencement December 13 Stegeman Coliseum |
Georgia Economic Outlook Luncheon January 7 Augusta, GA |
2025 Founders Day Luncheon January 24 | 11:30-1PM Athens, GA |
Bobbi Meeler Sahm Service and Outreach Award Deadline January 25 |
SAC Founders Day Celebration January 27 | 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 Athens, GA |
2025 Bulldog 100 Celebration
February 21 Athens, GA |
Women in the Workplace Mentoring Dinner w/the UGA Mentor Program March 14 | 6PM Tate Grand Hall |
Mentorship Monday March 17 Zoom
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Georgia Women Give Signature Event March 20-21 Athens, GA |
Dawg Day of Giving
March 27 |
Honors Week March 31-April 4 Miscellaneous Events |
Alumni Awards Luncheon
April 4 |
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Together as a division, we are DARing to Level Up. Don't forget to share "Level Up Cards" with colleagues when they show 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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School of Medicine Update |
We are thrilled to announce that the Board of Regents formally approved the MD degree for the School of Medicine! This is a critical step on the journey to welcoming our first medical students to UGA. On November 15, an engagement email went to all UGA alumni who have an MD degree with updates on the School of Medicine with a soft ask to make a gift to the building fund. This engagement email will begin to warm up this audience for School of Medicine annual giving solicitations set for the spring.
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UGA Mentor Program Update |
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Reminder: UGA Scholarship Playbook |
In 2023, DAR formed a scholarship steering committee to evaluate all aspects of our scholarship processes. Through these discussions, a playbook has been designed to provide an overview and best practices for the scholarship process. The playbook covers everything 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.
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Dawg Day of Gratitude Recap |
Dawg Day of Gratitude on Oct. 16 resulted in a record 1,500 thank you cards written by students to UGA donors! This year's event included two main locations – one at Tate Plaza and one on D.W. Brooks Lawn – and two satellite locations at Terry College of Business and the College of Engineering. Students not only had the opportunity to attend the physical event, but a new digital thank you card template was offered to encourage remote participation. A big thank you to everyone who helped out during the day and educated students about the importance of saying "Thank you!" to UGA donors. See photos from the event!
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Thanks to strong collaboration between 4-H’s Adam Hammond and DAR’s Advancement IT team, UGA staff can now see 4-H attributes on constituent records in GAIL to identify current and former 4-H participants! Questions about this update? Contact Adam or email askit@uga.edu.
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Bulldog 100 Announced Soon! |
Get ready, DAR! We are preparing to announce the 2025 Bulldog 100 on Wednesday, December 11. Applicants will be informed ahead of this date to keep an eye out for information that morning. Details on how you can help recognize these stellar alumni will be emailed in the weeks ahead. Questions? Email b100@uga.edu.
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New Bookstore State Decal Display
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For each state decal sold by the UGA Bookstore (online and in store), UGA receives $5 to support student scholarships. UGA began partnering with the UGA Bookstore on this initiative in 2020 and, to date, it has raised over $70,000. Online purchases are matched to existing GAIL profiles when possible to document gift recognition credit. Shout out to Annual Giving, Advancement IT, Records, and Gift Accounting for managing that process.
This year, Marsha Wages and Justin Patton refreshed the in-store display for the decals—with a "look" inspired by National Park Service. It is near the front of the store for more visibility. Be sure to check it out next time you're on campus, and help promote these to your friends, family and the UGA community as great holiday gifts that give back!
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Announcing the new YALC Fund |
The new Young Alumni Leadership Council Finish the Drill Scholarship Fund seeks to provide financial support for undergraduate students with 60+ credit hours who require financial assistance in order to complete their degree. This need-based scholarship will be awarded by the Office of Student Financial Aid, and it will be the target fundraising initiative for the UGA Young Alumni Leadership Council. Questions? Email Terrance Smith.
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Don't Let Bequests Scare You! |
This month, Gift & Estate Planning's Zeb Brookshire is here to tell you where to find important estate planning resources as you work with donors, and best practices for documenting bequests in GAIL. |
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Credit Card Info on Solicitation Envelopes |
As a best practice, space to write credit card numbers is being phased out of the reply cards/envelopes used in mailed solicitations. Fewer gifts are being made by donors who include their credit card info through the mail. This space can instead be utilized for additional information about recurring and matching gifts.
Annual Giving has adapted reply devices to include the following messaging: Make your gift online {url} or call 888-268-5442. This 888 number will connect donors to Gift Accounting where their gift can be made securely over the phone. If you have questions about how to best set up a reply device in a direct mail solicitation , email Sherry Abrams.
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Join the Employee Experience Committee in spreading joy this season! Through December 15, DAR is collecting items for Toys for Tots in the 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. Thank you, DAR!
Thanks to Jeremy Ransom for rewarding One Press Place with his Thanksgiving cheer as we celebrated a successful canned food drive (200 cans!). Thanks to everyone who participated in the drive! |
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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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Collaboration Leads to Need-based Scholarship in School of Social Work
DAR’s Research & Prospect Management team is always a strong partner for fundraisers across campus – and this fall was no exception. Earlier this year, Heather McCauley and Heather Penland offered a wealth screening presentation and shared a prospect with the School of Social Work’s Megan Powell
. Based on that information, Megan was able to secure a meeting with the prospect and, relatively quickly, close a $50k need-based scholarship endowment with a match to support an undergraduate in the SSW. She gives particular credit to Brooks McCommons, Patrick Knowles and Graff Wilson
for help closing the gift; Brooks attended the initial meeting and brought great DAR knowledge and Graff also met with the donor via Zoom to provide an in-depth view of GCS. Collaboration is key in our work and we offer up our appreciation to everyone who plays a role in the office and on the front lines for gifts like this. Special shout to Heather Penland for her continued commitment to learning and collaborating with our schools and colleges across campus!
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DAR Rocks GEAC
The Georgia Education Advancement Annual Conference was held earlier this month on Jekyll Island. Several DAR staff members attended to learn from and network with professionals working in higher education advancement across the state. Christy Dasher was on site meeting alumni in attendance and recruiting for open DAR positions. In addition, the follow colleagues presented during the conference:
Thanks to everyone who presented, tabled and attended the conference! |
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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 Macon, GA (Dec. 2-4) Albany, GA (Dec. 11-12)
Vince Thomas Gainesville, GA (Dec. 4-6) *daytrips Columbus, GA (Dec. 10-12)
Rob Carrico Greenville, SC (Dec. 4-6) Charleston, SC (Dec. 10-13)
Ellie Engquist NYC Area (Month of December) Courtney Hart Athens, GA (Dec. 6, 11) Meredith Glenn
Gwinnett Cty, GA (Dec. 5, 10, 12) *daytrips Augusta, GA (Dec. 18-19) |
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Katie Adams Birmingham, AL (Dec. dates TBD) Chandler Boyle Raleigh, NC (Dec. 3-4) Charlotte, NC (Dec. 10)
Kyle Bryson Dallas, TX (Dec. 4-5) Houston, TX (Dec. 18-19) Alysse Capitanelli New York (Dec. 16-17)
Michelle Rotondo Athens, GA (Dec. 11, 18)
Weldon Kolker Atlanta, GA (Dec. 11-12) Gainesville, GA (Dec. 17, 18) *daytrips
Madi Cox Greenville, SC (Dec. 3-4) Columbus, GA (Dec. 10-12) |
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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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- Welcome to Jarvis Williams, Business Intelligence Associate, Business Intelligence and Analytics
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Welcome to Joshua Haynes, Assoc. Director of Gift Accounting, UGAF
- Welcome to Brandon Solie, Career Consultant, Career Center
- Welcome to Marisa Castengera, Creative Director, Communications
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Welcome to Rebekah Seabolt, Assoc. Director of Stewardship, College of Education
- Welcome to Marissa Navarro, Administrative Specialist, DAR Finance & HR
- Welcome to Jeff Arner, Business Systems Analyst, Advancement IT
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Welcome to Kate Lantz, Sr. Director of Alumni Relations, Alumni Relations
- Welcome to Grace Mercer, Development Associate, Franklin/Lamar Dodd
- Congrats to Elizabeth Paulsson Norris, named Asst. Director of Alumni Career Services, Career Center
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Best wishes to CJ Padgett, leaving Advancement IT
- Best wishes to Vivian Guerra, leaving Career Center
Have a change for the DAR online directory? Email Abbie Jones with your change(s). |
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Name: Spike
Owner: Chris Jefts (Regional team)
Fun Fact: Spike loves to sit on his favorite pillow by the window and balance fruit on his head while watching the family's two bird dogs chase birds they'll never catch. |
| Name: Pepper
Owner: Kaitlyn Schwarzenbach (Parent Giving)
Fun Fact: Be careful where you leave your Dunkin donuts because she's a sweet treat thief! Her biggest flaw: she doesn't know how to hide her evidence! |
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OBE EATS!
The Office of Business Engagement surprised team leader Kyle Tschepikow with matching temporary tattoos that say OBE EATS! Curious why? We are, too! Ask an OBE team member and report back 😆 |
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Engineering's Annual Scholarship Luncheon Nothing like seeing 120 students and donors breaking bread together on campus. Congrats to the College of Engineering team on this opportunity for donors to interact with scholarship recipients. That's where the magic happens. Go Dawgs! |
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Do you have information or a suggestion for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? |
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