The Development Debrief

This week, I spoke with my colleague Ryan Hart about conversational gift planning. Ryan has coined the term “the four gift frames” and walks us through each of them and how they can help us identify bigger, mutually beneficial gifts between our donors and institutions. Ryan explains to us that we don’t need to know the in and outs of complicated gifts to be able to identify them with our donors. R...

This week, the debrief begins to talk about returning to work and the outlook on FY22 with Joan O’Nell, Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development at Yale University. We recorded this episode one month ago, on the one year anniversary of working in a remotely. Joan tells us about Yale’s planning for their first ever virtual campaign launch for the fall. She also tells us about two big gifts...

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continues to remain at the forefront of our minds. Violence and hate permeate the news far too often. This week’s episode is a beacon of hope for how we can make change in our communities. Development holds power and is just as relevant to DEI as any other arm of our schools and institutions.  This week, David Smith, Director of Development at Saint Ann’...

Jennifer came into significant wealth in her early 30's. Over the years, her wealth has grown to a number she never could have imagined. She chose to write her memoir to share her story, and encourage others to talk about wealth. Her story is disarming, honest, and a delight to read. As a fundraiser, I was enlightened by her honest recount of giving big gifts for the first time, and her own identi...

Leadership can be so elusive and hard to quantify. This week we drill down on what makes a leader and how you can sharpen your own leadership skills. Guests Mike Eicher, (Senior Vice President for Advancement and President of The Ohio State University Foundation) and Justin Fincher Ph. D., (Vice President for Advancement, Strategy and Administration) tell us it needs to start with your own relatio...

My friend Elizabeth and I met volunteering together at the YWCA of New York City. I was immediately drawn in by Elizabeth’s passion for service and smart thoughtful contributions to our strategic planning. In this episode, Elizabeth answers the question for us, what is an emergency? We talk about advocacy, education, being in touch with those you serve, and her participation as a founding board me...

This week I speak with William Christopher "Chris" Clarke, the Associate Vice President for Campaigns at Duke University. I ask Chris about his fundraising experience at engineering schools. Chris explains how engineering fundraising is unique and how it fits into the larger picture of a research University. Later, we talk about Chris’s professional training in singing and performance. All of Chri...

The week I sit down with Alison Traub (Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations at University of Cambridge) and Chris Cox (Vice Principal at The University of Edinburgh). Our guests talk candidly about the cultural differences between fundraising in the US vs. the UK. Alison and Chris are perfectly positioned to discuss this given their respective backgrounds. We talk structure, acad...

I had the absolute pleasure of spotlighting a great friend for this episode. I compare the similarities between working with high end donors and working in real estate. If you like New York City, real estate, or have an interest in social media, you will enjoy this episode. I am exploring an idea here- how do other industries relate to our development work? Robert is a real estate broker at Compas...

I am so lucky to have storytelling expert and communicator Esther Choy as our guest this week. She talks with us about her newest study called "Transforming Partnerships with Major Donors-- Aligning the key values of first generation wealth creators and fundraisers in the age of “Winner Takes All”" We talk about the dichotomy of abundance and deprivation among the privileged, the disproportionate...

How do athletes go from multi-million dollar contracts to making a difference? What happens in retirement for athlete’s whose identity has been focused on their sport? What motivates athletes to give and why is it unusual to see major giving in higher ed from pros? This week's guest, Braylon Edwards addresses these questions in an unscripted conversation about his philanthropy and leadership. Bray...

Today’s guest Blake Davis (Assistant Vice President for Development at Southern Methodist University, located in Dallas, TX), started networking from a young age. He opens with telling the story of his early networking in college and then we move on to talking about navigating hierarchy through networking and get as granular as talking about effective cold emails for outreach. Blake tells us, ulti...

I am so glad you are here! Please follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram @devdebrief. There, you can get updates on the podcast and learn more about our guests. I hope you will find me any enjoy this week’s podcast. Today’s episode features Karen Isble, the Vice President for Advancement at Kalamazoo College. We talk about her recent arrival to the role (last fall) and her journey getting there. Karen...

Are you working up the courage to start interviewing or in the throes of a job search right now? Keep listening to hear John Toolan (Vice President of BRYANT GROUP executive search) give the inside scoop on preparing for a strong interview. He even suggests that if you aren’t looking you should still be practicing and thinking about your own professional narrative. Learn: Fatal mistakes to avoid T...

Welcome to Season 3. Our first episode of the season is called "Pressing The Reset Button". A term that Patty Hill Callahan used when she told me she was taking time off from work and leaving her role as Vice President of Medical & Health Sciences Advancement at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The first ten minutes of this episode is reflecting on Patty’s career to date. It didn’t...

As I sit here in my studio apartment looking ahead to the next three months of winter I know it will be a slog. I am reading more books, and working more than ever on the Development Debrief. On the episode I share: 1. A poem called "2020" and talk about the projected vibes for Season 3. 2. An instagram live event that will be taking place tonight (1/14 at 8pm). You can find my collaboration with...

Fred Van Sickle (my Dad) and I sat down together to reflect on 2020. The first year of the Development Debrief was perhaps one of the most exciting, scary, and intense, in our field and our lives. My Dad, who works in development at Cornell University asks me questions about the podcast process and then I ask him what he has learned as a leader in the field. Thank you to the wonderful guests this...

This week I speak with Jonah Nigh (Chief Development Officer, The Jewish Museum) about his transition to a leadership position right after the initial COVID hit. We compare and contrast his experience in higher ed with fundraising in the arts, the dangerous future of free content, the retention of members in the museum space, and using membership as pool for prospecting. Jonah does a great job tal...

This week we have our first episode focusing on Independent School fundraising. I have always been curious about this slice of the pie in our sector. What is it like managing parents and alums? How do these small communities work together? What is the culture like? I ask these questions of Julie Lucas, Chief Advancement Officer at Darlington School. Darlington School is a co-ed, independent boardi...

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank YOU for tuning into this podcast and supporting the Debrief. This week’s episode features Brent Grinna, Founder and CEO of Evertrue. The theme of our conversation is gratitude and we talk about it from several different angles. Brent shares his personal story of going to Brown on scholarship, how that bleeds into his origin story for his company Evertrue, and several othe...

Today’s episode features a brilliant and creative mind. A colleague who is always thinking outside of the box and questioning the status quo. This week, I pick the brain of Brian Chapman (Deputy Vice President for Analytics and Business Strategy in the Office of Alumni and Development at Columbia University). The conversation is not specific to higher ed and can be applied to all roles in the fiel...

This week’s episode is a true testament to the power of networking and relationships within the field. Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, a previous guest, recommended that I invite Nina McNeely Diefenbach (Senior Vice President and Deputy Director for Advancement, Barnes Foundation) and Whitney W. Donhauser (President and Ronay Menschel Director, Museum of the City of New York) to do an episode together about...

This week we talk about land conversation. I to pick the brain of Andy Zepp, the Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Andy is has a calming force as he talks about his plans for the land trust and his perspective on fundraising. We highlight the differences and similarities between higher ed and cause based fundraising.

Veronica Martini (my boss at Columbia)invited Howard Stevenson (one of her mentor's) to speak at our team retreat this past summer. We have recorded the conversation as a live Debrief Episode. Howard talks about his experience as a donor and fundraiser as the Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. His main message is to talk about philanthropy as the solution to ro...

Suzanne Hilser- Wiles, (President at GG + A) helps us understand diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges in our field from a consultant's expert perspective. She then shares her own challenges as a woman in a historically male-dominated field. She offers stories, data, and insight to back up her thoughtful ideas and viewpoints. Hopefully this conversation will help you think about some real ch...