The Development Debrief

This week we hear from our very first married couple. Our guests, Meg and Phil George (co-founders of George Development Group) have built a full service consulting firm together and talk with us about their process and approach. Their core competency is the implementation of major gift programs and we have fun learning more about that and hearing their predictions for the next generation of phila...

Kathi Warren (Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Rice University) and I talk accountability, approachability, and the importance of team culture. Kathi explains how her STEM background sets her apart and opens up about being one of the few African American leaders in the industry. Listen to learn more! Connect on @devdebrief or email me at devdebrief@gmail.com

On this special episode of the debrief I will share some of my personal experiences with virtual visits. I walk through how I am securing meetings and share how I prepare, execute, and close meetings virtually. We can do this if we support one another and embrace the change! Shoutout to my Columbia teammates who are my closest collaborators who helped inspire this episode! I am hoping this will st...

Matt Lachs (Development Officer at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology) has realized a childhood dream. Being in development was something he always wanted and it hasn’t let him down yet. He oozes enthusiasm and as he talks about his career and the change philanthropy can make both within society and on the most personal levels. Matt talks about his experience in Corporate and Foundation...

Today I speak with Tamara Rogers, the former Vice President for Alumni affairs and development at Harvard University. In the first half of the conversation I asked her to talk about her career- candidly and with reflection from her first job to her last. In the second half, She shares her thoughts on management, mentorship, and campaigns. Tamara lead The Harvard Campaign whose public phase was 201...

When you hear principal gift- what do you think? I tend to think of named buildings, billionaires, and hushed conversations behind closed doors. Today, I was lucky to snag the brilliant and bold Ben Porter (Associate Dean of Advancement for Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management) to de-mystify principal gifts for this week’s podcast. Ben gives us the inside scoop on his book The Pr...

Fundraising in a field based on connections. We need to make connections with our donors and within our institutions. The same is true for the field. As fundraising professionals, how can we give back and help our colleagues who have been either laid off or furloughed during this uncertain time? How will we build and grow the talent pipeline for our field? Featured are Brooke Schostak and Bonnie T...

This is the trailer for Season 2. The first official episode will be out on 9/9/2020. Join us for more conversations about development as our field continues to change and grow. Music by Susan Van Sickle.

After 28 weekly episodes, I am ending Season 1 and taking the rest of the summer to plan for Season 2. The last 7 months of this podcast have been a fabulous journey. I will share my experience recording and my key takeaways from the season. Enjoy the rest of the summer and I look forward to continuing our conversation about creative fundraising and finding joy in our work. As Oprah says, "the pow...

Happy FY21! This year comes at us with a new set of challenges and opportunities. We are tasked with continuing to rethink our donor relationships and building new ones. At the beginning of this season, I interviewed consultant, Craig Smith. Craig is a business partner of today’s guest- Dan Shephard (Principal of The Shephard Group). The two work together on sharing and teaching The Four Decisions...

Happy 4th of July! In honor of the holiday weekend, I have decided to feature Abigail Smitka (Regional Director, Major Gifts at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University)a close friend, confidant, and peer mentor. July is always an opportunity to get grounded and reconnect with our motivations and goals. Abbie has always helped me get grounded—starting with my very first develop...

As an academic, Kevin Hallock (Dean and Professor of Strategy and Business Economics at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business) has the ability to make complicated concepts relatable to students. Today’s podcast allows us to be Kevin’s students as we hear him talk about the financial structure of higher ed, why tuition continues to rise, and he explains the uses for endowment. I plan to use so...

Today I talk with two of my peers in our field Thomas Moore, Director of Individual Giving at New York Road Runners and Britani Griffin, Associate Development Director at the Be The Match Foundation. They are rising stars, currently in leadership roles at their institutions. They share their optimism for the future and gratitude for the national conversation and acknowledgement across colors of ra...

By now, most if not all of us have gotten an email from our institutions and leadership denouncing the heinous crimes we have seen take place in our country against people of color. But the question is, now what? My conversation with Birgit Smith Burton, (Executive Director of Foundation Relations, Georgia Institute of Technology)only scratches the surface of an issue Birgit has been working on fo...

What changes will remain from Covid-19 for Higher Ed development? Dennis Barden (Senior Partner at WittKiefer) and I talk about his predictions regarding June 30th changes, permanent online shifts, and the ethical nature of making a move during quarantine. The good news is, Dennis says the demand for good fundraisers will only increase as we enter a new "Golden Age of Philanthropy"….listen to lear...

Have you ever wondered how schools pull off large naming gifts or big institutional change? Michele Schiele (Senior Associate Vice President for Development, Stanford University)has been part of several historic development moments and challenging projects throughout her career. She shares with us what goes into this work and how best to lead it. Michele let’s us know that strong female mentors we...

Brilliant minds are fascinating and complex. One of the greatest gifts of our profession is the opportunity to work with highly successful donors and incredibly talented faculty and staff. I have always felt inspired by these individuals. However, working with them is not always easy. In this short bonus episode, Michele Schiele (Senior Associate Vice President for Development at Stanford Universi...

What is your purpose? How do you re-energize? In today’s episode, Phil Wilkerson, Industry Advisor at George Mason University, shares a bit about his own work, gives us some advice he gives his students, and then we get philosophical as he talks about the deeper meaning of life and what brings us all here. Phil practices what he preaches. He networked with me via LinkedIn and we connected virtuall...

Welcome to our special Mother's Day Episode! Whether your mother is with you in person, virtually, or in your heart, we are all marked by our mothers in some way. This conversation helps me realize, our mother’s don’t only help us grow, we push them to grow and better themselves too. Our guest for this episode talks about her experience of being a mother as a grateful patient, as well juggling a p...

This conversation is an interview, just like my other past episode have been. However, it can also serve as a template to think about your donor meetings moving forward. If you are interested in my thoughts on virtual visits, and take-a-ways from Tara’s comments as donor, keep listening after her remarks and I will share my reflections. Thank you for tuning in and for continuing to do such importa...

This conversation was recorded pre-covid and I have waited to share it because it didn’t feel as relevant when were all scrambling to transition to remote work several weeks ago. Now, I realize it’s more relevant than ever. Fritz Schroeder (VP for Development and Alumni Relations at Johns Hopkins University)and I start with an unscripted conversation about financial aid and the historic 1.8 Billio...

Talking with Shanna Hocking, Associate Vice President, Individual Giving at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, on this episode led to a major moment of clarity for me in my own work. We talk about the importance of a personal brand as a professional, and how we can grow and dream about the future while physically sheltering in place. Shortly after we stopped recording, I used her advice and...

Hindsight is such a bittersweet gift we have. How can we look back on our choices and learn from them? Did we do it right? Did we make a huge mistake? The nature of COVID-19 with it’s waves and regional timeline, gives us the opportunity to hear from a university leader who is 2-3 weeks ahead of those of us living on the east coast. Dan Peterson, Vice President for Development for University Advan...

How do we handle crisis communications during COVID-19? You are about to hear the alumni relations perspective from Michelle Vaeth, Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs at Cornell University. Drawing on her long previous Procter and Gamble experience, Michelle shares mantras that help her during crisis, defines the difference between regular communication and crisis communication, offers be...

You might be asking yourself, what does faith have to do with it? I am pushing the New York atheist envelope and daring to say that faith is a critical element of life right now as we grapple with the new realities of COVID-19. We are being stripped to the basics and forced to rethink what matters most. This episode is the Debrief’s version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. We talk about morning ritua...