We are pleased to publish the third volume of the Journal of Donor Relations and Stewardship. The concept under consideration in this volume is structure. We began The Journal in 2016 with a volume on definitions and followed that in 2017 with a volume on measurement. With Structure, we step off from the first two volumes to consider how we build our work from our definitions and how we organize our work to be in a position to determine whether what we do is effective. We believe that the issue of how to organize a donor relations and stewardship program arises naturally from defining our work and measuring our effectiveness.
Articles
Structured Training and Development as a Means to Realize an Envisioned Future
Promoting Innovation In and Through Donor Relations and Stewardship
Managing Donor Relations and Stewardship in Small-shop Settings
Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation: How Donor Relations Can Evolve to Meet Its New Donors
Strategic Growth: Using Research and Donor Input to Inform Program Expansion
Team Stewardship: An Organization-wide Professional Development Community
Formal Mentoring as a Means of Professional Development for Donor Relations and Stewardship Practitioners
Lisa Honan is the associate vice president for development operations at the University of New Haven, CT. Prior to her move to New Haven, she spent 25 years at Syracuse University in a number of roles, including executive director of donor and prospect development, assistant dean of advancement for the Maxwell School, and senior director of donor relations. Lisa is a member of CASE and AFP, and is a founding member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals, where she was treasurer from 2007 through 2012. She chaired the 2007 CASE Conference for Donor Relations, and co-chaired the ADRP International Conference in 2004.
Megan McAndrews is senior director of donor relations at Syracuse University where she oversees a team responsible for the acknowledgment, recognition, and stewardship of all donors to the university. Prior to arriving at Syracuse University in 2015, Megan crafted donor stewardship programs at the University of Vermont and Indiana State University. She has served as vice president and director of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals Board of Directors, CASE Donor Relations faculty, and presents regularly on donor relations topics.
Ashleigh Manktelow has worked in donor relations and stewardship at McGill University since 2005. Since that time she has had the opportunity to both participate in and manage many diverse projects relating to donor recognition and acknowledgment including a customized stewardship planning program for 250 of the university’s top donors, and the implementation of a home-grown IT system integral to the management of McGill’s holistic stewardship strategy. In her current role as associate director, donor relations, Ashleigh continues to work with the donor relations team to grow stewardship programs and collaborates with colleagues across advancement to promote and implement strategic stewardship activities.
Ashleigh is on the board of directors of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals and has presented at several of ADRP’s international conferences in addition to the CASE donor relations conference and the CCAE national conference. She is a two-time McGill alumna, holding a bachelor of commerce degree in marketing and a master’s degree in educational psychology.
Members of the central Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship at the University of Georgia (UGA) have created Team Stewardship, a university-wide professional development program, which engages practitioners in the nearly 30 units of this decentralized university. Department members who support Team Stewardship include Tony Stringer, senior director; Teresa Kesler, assistant director; Jordan Dotson, assistant director of presidential stewardship; Lauren Schlesinger, assistant director of scholarship stewardship; Melissa Lee, donor impact coordinator; Calli Choe, presidential stewardship coordinator; and Abby Bryant, scholarship stewardship coordinator. Team Stewardship received the 2017 Gold Award for Professional and Staff Development by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Mitra Keykhah is currently assistant director of donor relations at Princeton University, where she has worked for the past five years. She served on the diversity committee for Princeton's Office of Development, tasked with creating a diversity plan for development. In 2016, Mitra presented on diversity and inclusion in donor relations at the Association of Donor Relations Professionals international conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Before coming to Princeton, Mitra worked in development at StoryCorps, the national oral history project, where she was responsible for fundraising campaigns, government and foundation grants and reports, and board documentation. Mitra holds an AB from Princeton University, and master's degrees from the London School of Economics and the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
Katie Sklar has a 25-year career in fundraising for organizations dedicated to music performance and education. She has worked in fundraising management roles for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Aspen, New England Conservatory, The Silk Road Project, Community MusicWorks, and, perhaps an outlier, Women & Infants Hospital. She has held positions as development assistant, assistant director and director of development, assistant director and director of alumni relations, assistant director and director of annual giving and manager of advancement and communications. In several cases, she was the first to hold her position, charged with establishing a fundraising presence where there had been none.
Julia Emlen is the author of Intentional Stewardship: Bringing Your Donors to Their Highest Level of Philanthropy (CASE Books). She is a frequent writer and presenter for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) and the Council for the Advancement of Secondary Education (CASE), and has chaired the CASE Annual Meeting for Donor Relations and Stewardship. She offers consulting through Julia Emlen and Associates and Marts & Lundy and holds the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. She has served as adjunct faculty at Johnson & Wales University, teaching an undergraduate course on philanthropy and fundraising.
Executive Editor
julia@journaldrs.com
Anne Manner-McLarty is a serial entrepreneur and lead consultant of Heurista, a multi-disciplinary firm helping nonprofit organizations improve their donor relations and stewardship practices. This work draws upon Anne’s reputation as a thought leader in the field and combines the experience, creativity and project management skills of the Heurista team. Anne is a long-standing member and volunteer leader with the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP), contributing through board service, conference and educational content planning and frequent presentations.
Managing Editor
anne@journaldrs.com