What an incredible February! Thanks to everyone for such a successful month — there were projects progressing, asks being made, and events seemingly every day! You were out there hosting career fairs, parents weekends, awards lunches, alumni and donors events, and important meetings that help elevate our work. Whether you were on the front lines or supporting essential operations, THANK YOU! We are grateful to the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees for making $4 million in matching funds available (details below), and we hope fundraisers can leverage the funds to have meaningful conversations with donors, close gifts, and help us reach our $300 million goal by June 30. I look forward to seeing everyone at the DAR Town Hall on March 24 where we'll recognize colleagues with our inaugural Level Up Awards and Academic Achievement Awards, and share updates as we head into the final quarter of FY25. Thanks to everyone for their ongoing hard work! Please let me know if I can be a resource to you or your team in any way. |
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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
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Matching Funds ✌
- Upcoming DAR Meetings 📆
- 🎉 Events for Target Audiences
- 🥼 School of Medicine Update
- UGA Mentor Program Update 🤝
- 💸 Dawg Day of Giving
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🎓 2025 Senior Signature Update
- Engagement Center Changes 📲
- ✈️ New Travel Territories for Parent Giving Team
- Advancing the Arch 🐾
- Career Outcomes Rate 🎓
- 😍 News from Engineering
- Ecology Events 🐢
- New Hire Welcome Email 📨
- 👨👩👧 PLC Weekend 👩👧👦
- Rachel Perry Mentoring Profile 🤝
- DAR Headshot Schedule 📸
- 🔔 Ring the Bell: DAR Success Stories
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Regional Travel ✈️
- Open DAR Positions 🎉
- 👨💼 Staff Announcements
- Pets of DAR 🐕 🐈🐖 🐍 🦜
- 🥳 Just for Fun
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Here is where we stand in fundraising as of March 3. Questions? Email Danielle Free. |
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The UGA Foundation has approved a $4 million allocation for matching funds to be used for top priorities. Matching funds are available for the following priorities: -
Graduate and Professional School Scholarships/Fellowships - $2 million (Remaining: $1.3M)
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School of Med. Scholarships - $1 million (Remaining: $850K) - Structured like the GCS model, allowing for a spendable portion of each pledge payment to assist in recruiting our first class.
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Undergraduate Scholarships - $1 million (Remaining: $850K) - Including GCS, Let All the Big Dawgs Eat, Experiential Learning, Study Abroad, Rural and Veterans Scholarships
Additional details for use of matching funds: - Minimum commitment of $50,000 will be eligible for a $50,000 match.
- Commitments may be pledged.
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One match per donor.
- Commitment must support the creation of a new endowed fund.
Matching funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis with a signed letter of commitment until the funds are exhausted. Please forward a copy of the letter of commitment via email to Megan Jenkins (megan.jenkins@uga.edu). |
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Monthly Dashboard Deep-Dive
March 6 | 11AM-12:30PM (Drop-In) One Press Place, SIC 'EM Conf. Room |
Dawg Day of Giving Workshop
March 10 | 9-10AM Zoom |
Board of Visitors Meeting March 20 Athens, GA |
DAR Town Hall
March 24 | 8-10AM Tate Grand Hall |
| Discover DAR
March 28 | 8AM Pinnacle Room |
Spring Alumni Board Meeting May 2 Rusk Hall |
May Development Meeting
May 12 | 8AM Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Target Audiences |
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Dawg Day of Giving Solicitation Hiatus March 3-30
Questions? Contact Ashley Crain. |
Women of UGA Mentorship Monday March 17 Zoom |
Georgia Women Give Signature Event
March 20-21 Athens, GA |
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TEDxUGA March 28 | Doors at 6PM
Morton Theatre + Trappeze Pub |
Honors Week March 31-April 4 Miscellaneous Events |
Alumni Awards Luncheon April 4 Athens, GA |
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School of Medicine Update |
The UGA School of Medicine was granted candidate status by LCME on February 14. Candidate status is a significant step in the accreditation process, indicating that the medical education program has made substantial progress toward meeting the accreditation standards set by the LCME. The UGA School of Medicine will host a site visit this fall to determine compliance with LCME accreditation standards.
Fundraising for the School of Medicine continues to be a priority with the focus shifting to student financial aid to alleviate the monetary burden that comes with a medical education. UGA estimates that the total tuition cost for the School of Medicine's inaugural class will be over $2 million. Please contact Matt Mize with any School of Medicine fundraising questions.
Reminder: please use the MED prefix for all DMEs, plans and opportunities tied to the School of Medicine in GAIL. |
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UGA Mentor Program Update |
As of Feb. 13, we are pleased to report: -
# of Mentors - 5,914 (554 new registrations since July 1)
- # of Mentees - 5,688 (1,610 new registrations since July 1)
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Current Matches - 720 (includes 16 week/quick chats/circles)
Upcoming Mentor Programs:
Questions? Email Bethany Bagwell.
Mentor Skills Webinar: Unlocking Potential: Elevating Mentees Through Mentorship - March 7 | Noon - 1 PM EST | Virtual
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Attendees will explore how mentors can elevate their mentees by fostering confidence, guiding them through life changes, and addressing imposter syndrome.
Women in the Workplace Mentorship Dinner - March 14 | 6-9 PM | Tate Grand Hall
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Designed to cultivate and celebrate mentorship among the diverse women of UGA, the Women in the Workplace Mentorship Dinner provides a welcoming space for women to come together and engage in meaningful conversations about personal and professional development.
Mentor Meetup: Best Practices & Challenges - March 21 | Noon - 1 PM EST | Virtual
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Attendees will join a conversation amongst mentors to talk with peers about UGA Mentor Program best practices and challenges.
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Dawg Day of Giving is March 27 |
The big day is almost here! Thanks to everyone who has been planning for this year's day of giving. Please continue to use the digital toolkit to promote this initiative to your audiences (your boards/volunteers can use it, too). A few notes to share as we head toward March 27: - Early giving began March 1 at givingday.uga.edu
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Development officers who have donor commitments they'd like counted should email Sherry Abrams with the lookup ID, amount and benefiting site by end of day March 27.
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There is a direct marketing hiatus from March 3-31; please avoid large-scale solicitations during this time. It's OK to send: personalized solicitations, evites, e-newsletters, Senior Signature info, and DDOG VIB communications.
- Join the Dawg Day of Giving planning team for a virtual workshop to prepare for the big day: Monday, March 10 (9-10 a.m.).
Questions or need Zoom links? Email Ashley Crain or Sherry Abrams.
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Senior Signature: Final Weeks
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Engagement Center Calling Structure Changes
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There are changes coming to the calling structure at the Engagement Center. Beginning April 1, student ambassadors will operate in a virtual call center structure (ie: not from current in-person location). This overview outlines the upcoming changes. Please direct any questions to your Annual Giving liaison or to Sherry Abrams.
You can continue to view Phone Pledges in the Annual Giving Dashboard. To view the entire fiscal year, select "All Quarters" in the "Overview by Quarter" dropdown. |
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New Travel Territories for Parent Giving Team
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Advancing the Arch (May 2-3) |
The Alumni Relations team and colleagues across campus are busy planning for the first Advancing the Arch Volunteer Leadership Training Conference on May 2-3 on campus. Details are coming together and a webpage has been built as outreach begins. Questions? Contact Kate Lantz.
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Class of '24 Achieves 95% Career Outcomes Rate |
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Busy February at Engineering |
In February, the College of Engineering made 200+ stewardship touches to some of its most important donors — great stewardship fosters great philanthropy! Thank-A-Thon
On Feb. 10-11, College of Engineering student ambassadors made 140 thank you calls to FY25 donors of $100+. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, as donors expressed their appreciation (and often surprise!) at receiving a thank you call directly from an engineering student. Shout-out to the participating students for assisting with this important effort!
Faculty/Staff Stewardship
Then, on Feb. 13-14, the development team made 60 deliveries across campus to faculty and staff who've donated to the College of Engineering — with more than half of those individuals being DAR colleagues! The deliveries included a 3D-printed Bulldog produced by students in the Engineering Fab Lab and a chocolate box from Condor Chocolates. During the last five years, the number of faculty/staff donors to Engineering has increased five-fold!
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March Ecology Events Spotlight Alumni |
This month, the Odum team is hosting a pair of events that reflect alumni engagement and collaboration. Questions? Email Melissa Lee.
March 12: Food & Country (5 PM | Cine + The National)
Guests will attend a special screening of Food & Country, a documentary exploring the intersection of food systems, culture and resilience, followed by a panel discussion featuring Will Harris (BSA '76) (featured in the film), Laura Turner Seydel (Turner Foundation), John Isakson (real estate developer and son of the late Sen. Johnny Isakson), and Rashe Malcolm (Rashe's Cuisine and Athens Farm to Neighborhood). Afterward, The National
will serve a special meal (optional). Event sponsors include Silicon Ranch and Green Power EMC. Registration is filling up!
March 20: UGA Sustainability Networking Night (6:30 PM | ASW Distillery in ATL)
Odum is partnering with the UGA Alumni Atlanta Chapter and Sustainability Certificate for a happy hour at Bulldog 100 business, ASW Distillery. The event includes a sustainability tour of the distillery and table topics around UN sustainability goals. Event sponsors include Delta and Southwire, and other gifts to support the event have come from MARTA and the Georgia Peanut Commission. Friends from Coca-Cola, Cherry Street Energy, Horizon Media and more plan to attend. Registration is filling up (very)quickly!
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In January, Talent Management began sending welcome emails to new hires—after they've signed their acceptance letter, but before their first day. The email contains a welcome video from VP Walton (thanks, Edwin Hammond!) and information they may find useful as they begin their DAR career. Supervisors are copied when the email is sent (no need to send on their own). Questions about this new onboarding step? Contact Cristy Jones.
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The Parent Giving team welcomed the Parents Leadership Council (PLC) to campus for their annual Spring Weekend last month where we celebrated the tremendous impact they are making at UGA through their generosity and the PLC Grants Program. The council allocated more than $1.5 million to enhance the student experience in the coming year. Grant recipients have been notified and DAR will begin transferring funds March 3. The transfer process will take 6-8 weeks. If you or a colleague has questions, please email parents@uga.edu.
The Parent Giving team has launched the Bulldog Funding Finish Line, a fundraising initiative that seeks to secure 100% funding for each grant applicant. If you have a donor or parent who might be interested in helping to close the gap, please email parents@uga.edu. |
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Rachel Perry Mentoring Profile |
Please feel free to leverage this profile of Rachel Perry (BBA '93), a successful UGA alumna, donor and member of the UGA Alumni Association board. Her story showcases the power of mentorship and the impact of private giving. We hope the write-up and the accompanying video will inspire our audiences to understand the effect they can have by mentoring and giving.
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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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Faculty Outreach Makes A Difference
Kudos to Melissa Lee for encouraging Odum faculty members to engage with donors who support their work throughout the year. Last month, a donor in Baltimore wrote Dean Hunter to recognize Seth Wenger, associate professor and director of science for the River Basin Center, who shared updates on the area they support (the John Spencer Graduate Fellowship) while expressing his gratitude for their generosity. In the donor's words:
"... never in all of our giving moments has a faculty member reached out to thank us and inform us of the program we are supporting ... I can’t tell you how appreciative we are that he reached out and how much it means to us. Development folks often do this, but never has a faculty member. We have kept in touch with Seth and look forward to coming back to Athens one day and hopefully get to see the Odum School of Ecology in person."
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Chris Jefts Rome, GA (March 11-13) Albany, GA (March 25-26) |
Vince Thomas Augusta, GA (March 5-7)
Gainesville, GA (March 20 + 21) Highlands, NC (March 26-27) |
Rob Carrico ATL / Blue Ridge, GA (March 13-14)
Richmond, VA (March 18-21) |
Christina Varnedoe SSI / Sea Island, GA (March 5) |
Katie Adams Chattanooga, TN (March 6-7) Birmingham, AL (Dates TBD) |
Chandler Boyle Charlotte, NC (March 7) Athens, GA (March 19-21) |
Kyle Bryson Dallas, TX (March 19-20)
Houston, TX (March 26-27) |
| Courtney Hart Athens, GA (March 11 + 24) |
Hannah McIntosh Athens, GA (March 11 + 24) |
Alysse Capitanelli
NYC (March 5-6 + 11) Connecticut (March 20) |
Elizabeth Kozak Athens, GA (March 19-21) |
Michelle Rotondo Athens, GA (March 14 + 24) |
Weldon Kolker
Atlanta, GA (March 11-13) Gainesville, GA (March 25-26) |
Madi Cox Carrollton, GA (March 11-13) *tentative |
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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 Christy Dasher.
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- Congrats to Kaitlyn Schwarzenbach, named Signature Events Coordinator, CAES
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Congrats to Meredith Glenn, named Major Gift Officer, Parent Giving
- Best wishes to Jakob Biddle, leaving Records
- Best wishes to Kami Hopkins, leaving Regional Development
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Name: Beaker, a Border Collie and Jack Russell mix Owner: Carol Barach (Office of the VP)
Fun Facts: Beaker was adopted from his hometown of Philadelphia and was thrilled to see his Eagles (and the Dawgs on the team) win the Super Bowl last month! He enjoys chasing squirrels and rabbits, protecting the family from UPS and FedEx delivery people, and visiting Sandy Creek Park. |
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Thanks to Annual Giving for leading a fantastic Discover DAR last week. There wasn't an empty seat in the room in Correll Hall — as shown by Jeremy Ransom's impressive selfie skills. We hope everyone learned a little something useful. Have an idea for a future Discover DAR topic? Email Megan Jenkins!
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The Regional Development team hosted a breakfast last month for members of their team, including those who traveled into town, to get to know campus colleagues better, thus fostering stronger opportunities for collaboration throughout the year! We enjoyed seeing our colleagues in person who are officed in other cities. |
Members of the Student Alumni Council handed out "candygrams" on campus to celebrate Valentine's Day and Senior Signature. Students brought the remaining goodies to One Press Place to share with DAR staff and chat a little bit about what they do on campus to educate and engage students in building a culture of philanthropy at UGA. Thank you to Drew Flaherty and Terrance Smith for their great work with SAC students throughout the year.
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Thanks to everyone who joined in the first Dashboard Deep-Dive in One Press Place in February. We'll be at it again on March 6 - so drop in and take home information to help you LEVEL UP your work! |
On Feb. 21, CAES hosted the inaugural Field to Table: Food Prices and Inflation during which agricultural economics students were invited to Atlanta to connect with alumni and friends over lunch and a program. UGA's Mike Adjemian shared his research findings on the factors that influence overall and commodity-specific inflation. A panel discussion featured Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, and Brad Arnold, vice president of North America for Massey Ferguson. It was a great event — congratulations to the CAES team!
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Do you have information or a suggestion for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? |
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