DAR Brings Home Silver in Stewardship

The CASE Circle of Excellence Awards recognize hundreds of institutions annually for innovative, inspiring, and creative ideas in the advancement of education.This year over 600 organizations submitted 2,800 entries for this year’s awards, and judges selected just 400 for honors. Donor Relations and Stewardship is thrilled to learn that we earned Silver in Stewardship for the Woodruff Scholarship 30th Anniversary!

This submission was a true collaboration, with Lauren Schlesinger taking the lead on the event held in April 2018 and Melissa Lee managing the production of the personalized stewardship book that included messages from more than 30 people, including university presidents and scholarship recipients past-and-present.

In addition to stewardship, UGA Marketing and Communications was acknowledged for Coastal Fisheries and Academic Excellence videos, and UGA Visitors Center took home Grand Gold for Transforming Communications to Improve the Visitor Experience.

Additions to UGA’s growing trophy case are not the only noteworthy part of the 2019 CASE Awards. Donor Relations and a collection of Team Stewardship members throughout our schools, colleges, and units served as the judging panel for the Collaborative Programs category this year. Laura Wilkerson, Mary Alston Killen, Frances Beusse, Amanda Qubty, Nancy Butler, April McDaniel, Kimberly Whitten, DeVin Taylor, Shearron Hamlin, and Melissa Lee reviewed applications and offered honors to the following universities for excellence in collaborating university-wide to solve challenges in advancement: Alma College, Dartmouth College, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Texas-MD Anderson.

Donor Relations and Stewardship began applying for CASE Awards in 2017. Since then, we earned recognition for the following programs:

Team Stewardship

General Advancement: Professional & Staff Development (Gold, 2017)

Donor Relations and Stewardship Overview and Matrix

Advancement Services: Donor Relations (Silver, 2017)

Dawgs Suit Up! (with UGA Career Center)

General Advancement: Collaborative Programs (Bronze, 2018)

Faculty, Staff and Retiree Stewardship

Fundraising Programs: Stewardship (Bronze, 2018)