The Development Debrief

The following episode is a live conversation that took place in person at the Yale Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. This interview is with Julie Braverman and Mathwon Howard, both Associate Vice Presidents at Yale. This is a fun pairing because they compare and contrast their experiences that have brought them to where they are now. If this was your first episode, please connect on LinkedIn and instagram at devdebrief. Please like, share, and subscribe. Thank you to Kathy Townsend who made this interview possible! Say yes, go forth, and be in control of your own journey!

Welcome to today’s conversation with Joel Malina. Together,we talk about communications and we dive into what it means to find balance in your career, while also having big impact.Joel shares his transition from Cornell to Brunswick, what it takes to define a crisis—and respond effectively usingreflections on October 7th 2023 as a major example. You’ll hear why listening is the most important thing you can do, how to consolidate information in high-pressure situations, and why having the right messengers matters most in the hardest times.Joel advises Brunswick’s Foundations, Education& Global Health and Energy & Resources clients on a range of matters, including public affairs, issues and reputation management, profile raising, crisis, media relations, and stakeholder engagement.

Welcome to Season 16! We’re kicking off a brand-new season with a fantastic lineup of episodes ahead, and I’m so glad you’re here.It’s been a wonderful summer in New Haven—I spent time with family, snuck away to Vermont, and reconnected with friends. One highlight was attending the Parents Fundraising Conference at NYU, hosted by Cory Williams. I had the honor of presenting during a plenary session alongside Claudia Taylor Overstrom, chair of Yale’s Parents Leadership Council.Claudia and her husband Gunnar have led the PLC for the past year. A Yale alumna with a J.D. from Georgetown Law Center, Claudia also serves as President of the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.In this first episode of the season—recorded live—we talk about how we work with parents, what partnership really looks like, and why these relationships matter.Let’s dive in!

This episode takes a deep dive into the organization Year Up. Year Up United equips students with the skills they need for success through tuition-free job training. Through access to hands-on experience and skills-first training, they help young adults achieve the future they dream of, while impacting organizations from day one. When it comes to fundraising, Year Up stands out because they take the approach of a multi year unrestricted capital campaign every five years. Our guest Susan tells us why this has been successful for them. Their work seems quite applicable to education and there is a lot to learn from their strategy.  Susan Murray leads Year Up’s revenue teams and servesas an officer of the company and a member of the executive team. She is responsible for creating and executing a strategy to fund Year Up’s operations, growth, and innovation, working closely with Fortune 500 companies and philanthropic investors. She joined Year Up in February 2011, first as Senior Philanthropic Advisor. She led the development team for 8 years and assumed leadership of Year Up corporate engagement team in 2023.Susan and the development team raised nearly $800 million in philanthropy 2011 – 2023, connecting more than 42,000 young adults to quality jobs and partnering with more than 200 major employers on their talent strategies. As the head of corporate engagement, Susan oversees a talent placement business that connects more than 4,500 young adults annually to employers in need of talent. Prior to Year Up, Susan raised capital for the University of Pennsylvania, served as a Director of the Columbia University College Fund, and was part of the NYC2012 team that led New York’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics. She co-founded a youth lacrosse program in Brooklyn and has served on the Domestic Violence Project board. Susan earned her BA from the University of Rochester and her MPA from Columbia University. She is a mom to 3 daughters and lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Happy Valentine’s Day! This week, we have a fun riff onYou’ve Got Mail! Our guest Ashley Budd explains why we only have 2 seconds to get someone’s attention in email. Not only does she explain the context of our high volume phenomenon, but we then talk about ways to work around this reality. Ashley has created an AI tool to help us gift officers and the two of us talk about ways I have applied it in my own work. We are hoping that by the end of this, we will all be irresistibly clickable!Ashley Budd is senior director of advancement marketing atCornell University. She is based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., working remotely for the university and consulting with colleges, universities, and other nonprofit organizations. Known for her creative and innovative marketing campaigns, Ashley is one of the most influential voices in education marketing and fundraising. She is author of the popular newsletter Ashley in Your Inbox and co-author of the bestselling email marketing book Mailed It! A Guide for Crafting Emails That Build Relationships and Get Results. 

Welcome to season 15! There are some fun episodes in store this season. This week, we will listen to Tina Bernot reflect on the centennial campaign planning, strategy, and execution for Murray State University. She talks about how she trains her team, raises sites, and stewards big gifts. Dr. Tina Bernot is currently the executive director of advancement at Murray State University.  She has more than twenty-five years of professional experience in planning, leading, and executing development efforts for universities and non-profit organizations.  Most recently, Dr. Bernot has co-led the planning and execution of the University’s Centennial Celebration.  She is also leading the University’s comprehensive capital campaign, Be Bold – Forever Blue & Gold the Centennial Campaign for Murray State University.  In 2022, Dr. Bernot also established the Murray State Women’s Philanthropy Society, an organization that believes high-quality educational opportunities build the foundation for personal and professional growth and thereby invests in the development and empowerment of women leaders.  Tina holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Edgewood College in Wisconsin, a master’s degree in organizational communication and a doctorate in P-20 and Community Leadership with an emphasis in post-secondary education.  Both graduate degrees were earned at Murray State University – as a working professional, wife and mother.  Tina and her husband, Gary, love living on beautiful Lake Barkley in west Kentucky with their two dogs and cat.  They are empty nesters with three children.

Yesterday, the much-anticipated Philanthropy 50 by The Chronicle of Philanthropy went live. This list profiles America’s 50 largest donors including their location, wealth source, and top cause. Previously, I thought this list was for principal gift officers and Vice Presidents. Luckily, I was able to interview the reporter, Maria Di Mento and quickly learned that this list is for all of us. Maria has been writing about wealthy philanthropists and key trends and insights related to high-net-worth donors for nearly two decades and leads the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual Philanthropy 50. I hope this interview inspires you to think bigger and more broadly than ever. There is so much opportunity in our industry.  To learn more about The Development Debrief, connect with us on Linkedin or on instagram @devdebrief. I would love to hear from you! I’ll be back, same place, same time next week. (Special shout out to Bob Lasher who made this interview possible!)  Here is the list: https://www.philanthropy.com/article/the-philanthropy-50/?cid=gen_sign_in#id=browse_2022

Today’s episode marks the beginning of Season 10! If you’ve been here from the beginning, thank you for sharing this journey—if you are new to The Debrief, we have been running for just over three years and have content with industry experts in nearly every corner of the fundraising profession. One thing I have always been curious about is the dynamic between the Chief Development Officer and the Board Chair. How do they talk to one another? Who ultimately makes the call?  But those conversations are often had in private. I am honored to open this season with Bob Lasher, Senior Vice President for Development at  Dartmouth College and Laurel Richie, Marketing, Communications, and Management Executive as well as former Dartmouth Trustee and Board chair. In the following 45 minutes, we will talk about wins, stalls, pain points, and women in philanthropy all during a multi-billion dollar campaign. To Learn more-- follow us on instagram @devdebrief and connect on LinkedIn, I can't wait to hear from you!

Almost a decade ago, I met Karen Osborne at my first ever CASE conference. Today, I have privilege of picking her brain on two very important topics—board diversification and stewardship. Karen and I agree that the overall thread we continue to pull in this episode is about being planful with everything you do. Karen believes in the power of philanthropy, generosity, and service. She built her career around these passions not only as a major and principal gifts officer, vice president, speaker, teacher, consultant, and coach, but also as a donor, volunteer, and board member. For eighteen of Karen’s forty-four professional years, she held leadership positions–Director of Major Gifts, Director of Development, and VP for College Advancement–at colleges and universities. For the past 26 years, Karen served first as President and now Senior Strategist at The Osborne Group, an international management, consulting, and training firm. Karen enjoys a rich volunteer life. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awarded her the Crystal Apple for Outstanding Teaching and Public Speaking, and the Ashmore Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession. In addition to volunteering for professional organizations, she serves on the governing board of Easterseals Florida. Karen is a suspense and mystery writer. Getting It Right, Akashic Books, published in June 2017. Award-winning and best-selling Tangled Lies, Black Rose Writing, launched July 22, 2021. Reckonings, Black Rose Writing, released June 16, 2022. Her weekly video Vlog, What Are You Reading? What Are You Writing? showcases authors and other creatives.

This week’s episode is steeped in data thanks to Patrick Schmitt, co-CEO of FreeWill. I ask Patrick about bequests, effective stock giving, crypto—he tells us about ethereum, QCD’s, and some data points on inheritance and millennial giving trends. This conversation is face paced, exciting, and informative! Patrick Schmitt is co-CEO of FreeWill, which he and fellow FreeWill co-CEO Jenny Xia founded at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2016. FreeWill’s charitable giving platform makes it easier for nonprofit fundraising teams to unlock transformational gifts, and to date has generated over $6.6 billion in new gift commitments for thousands of nonprofit organizations. Patrick hosts FreeWill’s popular webinar series, educating thousands of nonprofit fundraising professionals each month about planned and non-cash giving strategies. If you missed it, we did an "instagram live" with Patrick which you can find on my instagram @devdebrief. Feel free to find that and watch for more tidbits and information. https://www.freewill.com/

Welcome to Season 9! I am thrilled to open with a conversation focused on Prospect Research, featuring Steve Grimes. In our conversation we talk about the important role both researchers and fundraisers play as they work together towards a common goal. Steve reflects on experiences throughout his career and shares how they have shaped his approach today. Steve is the Associate Director of Data Insight at the Helen Brown Group. Most recently he was the Assistant Director of the NYC Mayor's Office of Data Analytics (MODA). Here, he provided guidance and supervision to the Office’s data scientists and analytic portfolio. As the City's center for data analytic excellence, he regularly interacted with City leadership, other Mayor’s Offices, City agencies, and NYC’s data science community. Previously, he was the Director of Development Analytics and Strategy at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) producing reporting and analysis needs for senior leadership. Before JALC, he joined the ACLU as the Prospect Research Analyst working with the Principal Gifts team in the national office at the beginning of the Trump administration. In a previous life he pursued academia as a doctoral fellow at Rutgers University, focusing his research on labor relations, intimacy, and visual sociology. When the time allowed, he taught various courses on social inequality, social research, and the sociology of emotions. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY at Old Westbury, a master’s degree in sociology from St. John’s University, and a second master’s degree in media studies from CUNY at Brooklyn College. He currently sits on the board of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, he is director for NEDRA, served as a director of APRAGNY and on various  APRA committees, and was co-host of a now defunct podcast on prospect research. He is a fan of video games, nature, and history.

Do you wonder what really needs to be done in preparation for an ask? I talk with Amanda about the work she has done in the last year plus in her role created and designed to work with all parts of the advancement team. Amanda has had success keeping constituents engaged at all levels. She compares her work to setting the table before a meal.  Amanda Pulawski is Director of Constituent Engagement at The Taft School, an independent boarding school in Watertown, Connecticut. Prior to her current role at Taft, she was a member of the Annual Fund team and served as Director of Special Events. A passionate and creative professional, she works with each part of their Advancement team to connect the schools constituents to the institution through events, communication, engagement, and stewardship. Amanda works closely with volunteers of the school to ensure that their practices are relatable and engaging across generations and relationships. She is a volunteer herself, working as an advisor to The Red Rhino Fund a 9-student board tasked with raising funds to grant awards to local organizations in support of education, literacy, and the arts, is a member of the Connecticut Community Foundation Women's Giving Circle, and serves as Board President at her children's school. She graduated from Albertus Magnus with a degree in Humanities and attended Boston University's Center for Professional Education for Fundraising. She and her husband, Artie, have two boys Jack (5) and Owen (3). Subscribe to my website www.devdebrief.com or follow for more info on instagram @devdebrief 

This week, Herb Soles and I talk about independent school fundraising. We cover working with trustees, the value of a feasibility study, and what is means when we say "culture beats our strategy every time". Herb Soles is a consultant for ISM. Independent School Management is dedicated to advancing school leadership to enrich the student experience. Rely on 45+ years of research and insights to strengthen your school and deliver your mission with excellence. From numerous virtual and in-person workshops to weekly webinars and newsletters, our resources ensure you’re doing what’s best for your faculty, staff, and students. Join a community of 900+ private schools to develop new skills, explore research-based approaches, and feel confident in your role as a private school leader. Learn more at isminc.com. Herb provides consulting services in the areas of development and fundraising, with expertise including extensive knowledge of endowment and planned giving as ways to increase donors’ capacity to give at leadership levels. Herb has coached advancement teams that have been recognized twice by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in the Achievement in Mobilizing Support Award competition. He has received seven other national awards for alumni participation, publication improvement, and fundraising management. Herb has also been a member of the CASE Alumni Relations Commission, the Development Advisory Committee for the National Association of Independent Schools, and the Development Steering Committee of the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington. He is a former Program Chair and President of the Planned Giving Study Group of Greater Washington. In Helen Colson’s book, Philanthropy in Independent Schools, Herb authored the chapter on planned giving. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Virginia and has done graduate work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Hello! It’s great to be back. Season 7 was a whirlwind of landmarks for the Development Debrief. We surpassed 50k downloads and 100 episodes, we are officially an LLC, and along the way, I have been working on a partnership with EverTrue which will last the duration of FY23. I am so excited to be part of EverTrue Studios- aligned with colleagues I respect and trust. My partnership with EverTrue is the reason I am currently at the CASE Summit in Chicago. Check out my instagram @devdebrief for live updates on my story and posts of the amazing leaders who are convening as you are listening now. I wanted to start Season 8 with Lydia Fenet because her story transcends industries and generations. As I read Lydia’s book and knew I wanted to share her story with all of you. Lydia is a global thought leader and Christie’s Ambassador who has led auctions for more than six hundred organizations raising over half a billion dollars for nonprofits globally. Lydia is represented by CAA and travels internationally as a keynote speaker helping people unlock their sales potential and empowering women in the workplace. She was named one of New York’s most influential women by Gotham magazine and has been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Crain’s, and has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Town & Country. Her widely acclaimed book, ‘The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You’ was published by Simon & Schuster and optioned for TV by Netflix. Lydia’s second book Claim Your Confidence will be published in March 2023. To learn more, you can find me on LinkedIn or get in touch through my website. I look forward to hearing from you! 

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 services firm. BWF serves large- and medium-sized nonprofits in the areas of campaign management, high-net-worth fundraising, organizational consulting, data science, digital marketing, and technology. Clients include universities, health systems, arts & culture organizations, and NGOs throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and the Pacific Rim. As a truly comprehensive fundraising consulting firm, BWF has a team of consultants with expertise in every facet of philanthropy. For more information please visit bwf.com. Please connect with us @devdebrief

Rob Scott and I talk about his role at MIT that evolved out of an idea. Rob actually wrote the job description for his role and has been able to live out his vision. Rob gives great advice on working with senior leaders and explains how he has executed his ideas and goals. Robert D. Scott, senior advisor to the Chancellor for Academic Advancement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a career fundraising professional, advancement leader, and veteran of four multi-billion-dollar campaigns. He has held various leadership positions in resource development at MIT during the past twenty years, and before coming to MIT Scott served New York University as a development professional for five years. He entered the fundraising field in 1989 at Cornell University, his alma mater.  Over the course of his thirty-year career, Scott has held national and international volunteer leadership roles within the professional advancement community. If you want to continue this conversation, please join me and James Barnard of BWF to talk about this innovation series with a larger group of professionals. We will be hosting a webinar on March 29th at 11am ET. Please reach out if you would like more information or have questions you would like us to address. Next week is our final episode of the season. See you then!

Jason Briggs and I have a wonderful conversation this week about everything from Tibetan Buddhism to entrepreneurship. He tells us how he decided to make specialist knowledge more accessible through Pyro Talks. Jason Briggs is Co-Founder of PyroTalks CIC, as well as Consulting Partner for BWF Europe. and Fellow for Halpin Partnership. Previously, Jason was Director of Development at Cavendish Cancer Care, leading on all income channels. Whilst Jason was at The University of Sheffield he headed up their fundraising research & insight function, raising the value of their prospect pool value from £4.2m to £62.5m, and sat on the senate’s academic Research Ethics Committee. He also worked as a Consultant at Graham-Pelton specializing on campaign planning.

This week, Leti Light takes the mic. She continues the conversation we had last week with Matt Hutter about strategic initiatives and principal gifts. The conversation moves from east coast to west coast as we go from Durham North Carolina to Berkeley, California. Leti emphasizes that giving at the highest levels is not about the dollars but about the idea itself. She also reminds us that partnership is critical at all levels of this kind of work. Leti is the President and co-founder of SIGAP—Strategic Initiatives Group for Advancement Professionals. Leti Light is a leader in higher education fundraising for transformational philanthropic partnerships, often in the form of cross-cutting, multidisciplinary initiatives. As Executive Director, Principal Gifts & Strategic Initiatives at UC Berkeley, Leti and her team partner with a wide range of academic and program leaders and work with the world’s leading philanthropists to achieve their vision through partnerships with the university designed to make Berkeley’s highest aspirations possible. Over the last 20 years, Leti has led philanthropic development efforts at Cornell University, UCLA, and now UC Berkeley. Follow us on instagram @devdebrief Today's episode is sponsored by BWF. 

BWF is the proud sponsor of Season 6, Innovation and Impact. I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Sue Cunningham, the CEO of CASE. Sue’s long relationship with CASE as well as her international experience really set her apart as a leader and visionary. We talk about her career to date, and then drill into CASE’s most recent strategic plan. Sue tells us how she facilitates joining the dots globally, expresses pride in her staff, and talks to us about the six key areas CASE will be focusing on as they recalibrate the organization into the next 5 years. CASE is truly a community of volunteers and leaders aiming to evolve and grow the profession. Sue says it herself in the episode that she would love to hear from you and add you to the growing community that is CASE. We will be ending this season with a Webinar on March 29th. Mark your calendars to join us and keep the conversation going! More on that soon, but in the meantime, please connect on social and have a great week!  Instagram: @devdebrief  LinkedIn: The Development Debrief 

Several months ago, a listener of the Debrief reached out and asked if I would please feature today's guest-- Daren Batke. She said, "Daren leans into his individuality and uniqueness more than anyone. He shares of himself first, before asking that of others. He sets the example that you don't need to be a blank slate or adopt a flat, robotic affect to be deeply donor-centric." So it feels fitting that at the end of the year, I ask Daren to reflect on his career journey and personal leadership style.  Daren Batke is the Chief Advancement Officer for the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He has nearly 20 years of experience as an administrator of higher education, having served in leadership roles in advancement and external relations at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. He began his career in advancement at the University of Michigan's Law School. He received his bachelor of arts degree with distinction from the College of Wooster in Ohio, and completed graduate study at the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, where he hopes to complete his doctoral work focusing on the intersectionality of philanthropy and pro social behaviors at colleges and universities. In 2017, Batke was a fellow at the Institutes for Higher Education at Harvard University. He volunteers for a number of not for profit organizations across Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, and serves as an advisor for a small investment management group.