The Development Debrief

Colin Donovan Wyatt is the Director of Development at Santa Barbara Middle School. This week, I talk with Colin about the “other duties as assigned” that independent school professionals often find themselves doing. However, it’s not just duties—as we engage with our schools outside of development, we are able to be better at the work of storytelling and making a case for support for our instituti...

Welcome to Season 5!  I am so happy to be at this point, almost two years into the Debrief. I continue to be amazed by this community and the bonds that are forming within our network.  I am honored to be featuring Jim Husson (Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Boston College), in this episode. Jim and I thought it would be fun to talk about identity as an opener for thi...

Today is our final episode of the Returning to a Sense of Place Mini Series. While we will continue to discuss the topic of working from the office and home in its various forms, our study with BWF and our guests has come to a close. Since July, we have been asking the questions about what is working and what isn't. Today, Josh Birkholz and I wrap up what we have learned over the past several mont...

A few months ago, I was asked to put together a presentation of lessons learned on the podcast as well as major giving best practices. I decided to record the presentation shortly after giving it so that I could share it with all of you. This episode is a rare one-- there is no guest speaker. I am not reading from a script but rather recounting my presentation and thought process.  I took six...

This week we learn from Josh Schaier about JELF (Jewish Educational Loan Fund). JELF helps Jewish students earn their degrees through interest-free loans. Josh talks about moving to JELF from higher ed and ways he has grown the team through data organization, story-telling, and educating recipients about their loans. Josh says, “We have history we are reflecting backwards to look forward.” Josh Sc...

Don’t Assume Anything. Our guest, Sara Sargent says this term at one point in the conversation, but I wanted to highlight it by using it as the title. I speak with Sara, a bright activist and scholar…who also happens to be a child of wealth…5 generations of it.  Sara (Resource Mobilization Director at United for a Fair Economy) speaks candidly about how she manages her inherited wealth and ho...

In Part 4, we hear more from Karim Kafray and Kelley Morris. They will share some stories about donor work they have done both in person and remotely. Plans continue to change as we look into the fall but I am hoping this episode encourages you to stay positive during a time where so much is unknown.  This episode is sponsored by BWF. BWF is a full-service philanthropic consulting servic...

Kris Putnam-Walkerly wrote the book, Delusion Altruism as a way to help funders make better decisions about their philanthropy. I talk with her about how fundraisers can learn from her book and the donor experience through her writing and teaching.  For over 20 years, top global philanthropies, ultra-high net worth donors, celebrity activists, foundations, wealth advisors, and Fortune 500 com...

This week I talk with Dee Robinson about coaching, her training course T.R.U.E leadership, and her personal opinions on diversity and potential. Dee says, “We’ve got to expand the field of qualified leaders in order to get more women.” Dee is passionate and experienced on her views of leadership within our field. Dr. Deborah “Dee” Robinson has developed The T.R.U.E.™ Leadership Path Project to pro...

Today we hear more from Willie Jude (Vice Chancellor for Advancement at University of Wisconsin-Parkside) and Allison Baker (Senior Director of Development, Women's & Children's Health at Johns Hopkins Medicine). Now that we know them a bit better from Part 2 which aired on July 22nd, we will hear about their plans and personal outlook for FY22.  This episode is sponsored by BWF. BWF is a...

Today we talk with Sam Duplessis about his career change from MGO at the Wharton School to Director of Advancement at the Pennsylvania libraries (both positions within the University of Pennsylvania). He discusses the differences he both expected and didn’t between being an individual contributor and leader of a team. We also have the treat of learning more about the libraries at Penn and the repu...

Our conversation today is dedicated to annual fund work. Rebecca Clendenen (Assistant Director of Annual Giving at DePaul University) talks to us about balancing an inclusive environment within the annual fund while using societies as a tool. Rebecca believes that every alum should feel comfortable giving to their annual fund at whatever level is best for them. She is also a strong proponent for m...

Do you want to hone your development writing skills or think more about reputation? Are you tasked with communications in your role and want to be more effective? This episode is for you. I ask our guest, Ben Feller about brevity in communications, how his experience in the White House has changed his view, and how development is critically intertwined with communications. Ben is a Partner at Merc...

Hello! Thank you for tuning in to our very first miniseries. Today you will be hearing Part 2. If you haven’t already, please see Part 1 which aired on July 8th, a few weeks ago. Today’s episode features four dynamic professionals in different parts of the country and holding different positions of leadership. In today’s episode the questions will center around who these professionals are, and wha...

Do you remember what it was like to begin your career? This week, I interview Michele Ripka about her desire to join the fundraising field and we learn about what she is looking for in a career and how she views our work. This episode is a fresh take on the field. Michele reminds us about the importance of mentorship and working together.  Michele Ripka is a recent graduate of the University...

Hello everyone! I am thrilled to share with you a project that has been in the works for sometime. I am pairing up with BWF consulting to do my first ever sponsored program. "Finding a Sense of Place" the miniseries, will be a several month study, looking at the complexities around returning to the office--- or not. Our professionals featured are all over the country, representing different levels...

Happy New Year! Happy 4th of July! I am so excited about what this season has in store for the Debrief.  On this episode, Elizabeth shares her perspective on how to prepare for your new year from the greatest place of strength. This is important as we navigate another big year of changes personally and professionally. We talk empathy and ambition, revisiting your case for support and building...

Hello friends! Today I share with you the Final episode of season 3. Although this is the last episode for a little while, there are still two more ways for you to engage with the Debrief before Season 4. Tomorrow, at 5pm eastern, I will go live on Instagram @devdebrief with Lisa Greer to talk about her book and answer any questions you have from this episode. If you can’t join us there, I highly...

Jill Lasman, Senior Executive Vice President at Lois Lindauer, and I talk about executive search. We toggle back and forth between the perspective of the firm, and the candidate. Jill shares her expertise on how she is placing people, what areas have become even more important in the search process, and how things have changed since the pandemic. Certain skills are now more valuable than ever befo...

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...