September 2020 - The Pulse
Welcome Back
Spring is all about new beginnings, but for those of us on college campuses, fall is when everything begins anew. While this academic year brings with it great uncertainty, fall remains an exciting time as campus comes alive with students’ return. I look forward to seeing many of you from six feet away—masks on!—as we return to the office. Thank you for your patience and feedback as UGA and DAR have navigated this time of transition.
Let’s continue to take care of ourselves and each other (don’t forget to use DawgCheck), and prioritize innovation as we virtually engage with students, alumni and donors. Amid that work, know that we remain committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. I hope you have explored DAR’s inaugural Diversity & Inclusion e-newsletter. If you have not yet taken the D&I survey, please do so. It’s important for the work we do with, and on behalf of, our alumni and donors.
As always, thank you for all you do. Go Dawgs!
SIC ‘EM,
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the UGA Foundation
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Learn from Experts Down the Hall
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Home office improvements for the Bulldog on a budget
by Clarke Schwabe
by Edwin Hammond
The Fresh Rinse of Alumni Awards
by Amanda Qubty
Continue sending your DAR site blog posts to any DARCOMM communications team member!
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DAR Kudos
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Between the Pages is a success
The UGA Alumni Association’s first virtual book club featured Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Trocheck [ABJ ’76]). Monica Kaufman Pearson (MA ’14) moderated the discussion for which there were 200 registrants and 80 in attendance. The September book is An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (M '98).
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Collaboration Spotlight
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AT&T Climate Resiliency Community Challenge
Illustrating the value of university-community partnerships and serving as an example of the benefits of campus collaboration, the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, in partnership with Athens-Clarke County, received $50,000 to analyze flood risks, prioritize opportunities for infrastructure improvements, and create maps and visualizations for expressing flood hazards to the community.
Celebrating Teamwork
During past Development meetings, we've highlighted successful DAR collaborations. While much has changed about how we work, the strength we find in working together has not. We invite you to still share collaboration stories on the DAR blog. Please send those stories to any DARCOMM team member; they’ll proofread and get it posted.
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
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A Path Forward
During the last few months, the university community has awaited details on how UGA will address race and equity on campus. In July, President Morehead announced a series of initiatives:
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Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity, and Community
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UGA Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence
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Community Conversations
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60th Anniversary of Desegregation at UGA
Over the next few months, we will hear more about these initiatives and their impact.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion work group
Thanks to everyone who applied to be a part of this work group. We are in the process of reviewing applicant submissions and expect to respond to candidates in early September.
Diversity & Inclusion survey remains open
We encourage anyone who has not taken the survey to please do so. Thank you!
Diversity & Inclusion Resource – WATCH
We are bombarded with sounds, but are we listening? We cannot appreciate others’ perspectives without good listening skills. This TED Talk recommends 5 WAYS TO LISTEN BETTER.
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Recent Events
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CFR-hosted virtual corporate alumni events
To remain connected while teleworking, alumni at The Home Depot participated in a virtual event featuring guest speaker Josh Brooks, senior deputy athletic director with the UGA Athletic Association. The event was a success with 65 attendees. Another virtual event was held with UPS alumni on August 5.
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Upcoming Development and Division Meetings
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Division Meeting
August 24 | 10-11:30 AM
Development Meeting
October 26 | Details to come
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Mark Your Calendars
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Ask Me Anything
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August 25 - Ellen Ritchey, Music Therapy in the COVID-19 Era
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September 1 - Nicola Sochacka, How are faculty and students at UGA experiencing the COVID-19 crisis?
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September 15 - Grace Gowda, COVID-19 Vaccine Development
UGA Virtual Part-Time Job & Internship Fair
August 26
12–3 PM | Online via Handshake
Managing Work Life at Home
August 28
1-2 PM | Zoom Webinar
Hosted by certified career coach Hallie Crawford
Mentor Skills Webinar – Communicating Effectively, presented by Dr. Erin Dolan
September 16 | 12-1 PM
Between the Pages – featuring An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (M ’98)
September 23 | 7 PM
Author Tayari Jones, who was enrolled at UGA in the late 1990s, is a member of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. Thanks to Leandra Nessel and the UGA Libraries for partnering on this edition of Between the Pages.
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Announcements
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BlackRock partnership creates GCS, opens recruiting pipeline
Stay Georgia Strong with DawgCheck – every day!
Check your symptoms with DawgCheck before you come to the office. Even if you’re not experiencing symptoms, responding to DawgCheck is critical to protecting the health of our campus community. Coming soon to the UGA app. For now, access DawgCheck online at dawgcheck.uga.edu.
Freshman Welcome for the Class of 2024
A traditional Freshman Welcome is impossible this year, so the Student Engagement team and DARCOMM produced a video of campus VIPs to speak to incoming students virtually. The video will premiere on UGA’s YouTube channel on August 19 at 7 PM. Join us in watching the video and giving a warm Bulldog welcome to the Class of 2024!
Regional Programs team makes region/city updates
Please reach out to a regional partner if you would like assistance in setting up meetings or virtual ‘trips’ with a regional partner.
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Parent Giving
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Fall 2020 Parents Leadership Council (PLC) Weekend
The Parent Giving team has canceled the in-person Fall PLC Weekend, originally scheduled for September 11-12. In October, there will be a virtual Parents Leadership Council Night, accompanied by a mailing and giveaways.
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Career Center
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“PAWSitive” Pivots
The UGA Career Center highlighted students who overcame challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in its inspiring #PAWSitivePivots series.
Fall 2020 Arch Ready programs released
The UGA Career Center released its slate of virtual Arch Ready programs for the fall semester. Arch Ready covers a variety of professional development topics, including resume writing, interviewing, choosing a major and pursuing a dream job.
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Corporate and Foundation Relations
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Access to Foundation Directory Online
The Corporate and Foundation Relations team has reduced the number of Foundation Directory Online user accounts to seven. For those who use FDO to conduct research, a shared general account has been created. Email Wendy Gaines for login information.
Collaboration opportunities
Don’t hesitate to contact the Foundation Relations team (Meghan Hauser, Matt Pruitt, Shannyn Smith) with questions related to foundation prospects. We look forward to collaborating with you on foundation opportunities this year.
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UGA Foundation
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UGA Foundation commits up to $10 million for innovation
The UGAF investment committee approved a financial commitment of up to $10 million for innovation at UGA during a June 15 meeting. The funds will allow the UGAF to partner with the Office of Research’s Innovation Gateway to bring new technology developed at UGA to the marketplace. Learn more.
UGA Foundation elects new trustees
The UGA Foundation approved changes in board positions in June. Twelve new trustees began their terms July 1, and six trustees were accorded emeritus status. Read more.
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Gift and Estate Planning
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Vision and generosity grow for generations
Triple Dawg and donor Dan B. Franklin is memorialized in a blog post.
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Engagement Center
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UGA Engagement Center gearing up for fall
Interest is high for student representative positions and the hiring process is under way. Know students looking for an opportunity to work on their marketing and communication skills? Encourage them to join our team.
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Research and Prospect Management
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RPM Refreshers
If you missed an “RPM Refresher” session, have questions or wish to learn more about topics like the new RPM Snapshot, FY21 Metrics, quarterly agenda items, contact reports, virtual meetings and more, our team is available for one-on-one meetings. If you’d like to schedule one, please contact Danielle Free.
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Alumni Relations
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Accepting Bulldog 100 applications
Businesses that were nominated for the 2021 Bulldog 100 have until October 1 to complete their application. Tax documents are due to accounting partner Warren Averett by October 20. If you nominated a company, please encourage them to complete the application process. All applicants will receive a “Proud Bulldog Business” window cling. Questions? Email Nyaboke Machini.
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Advancement Services
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Coming Soon: Fundraiser on the Go (FROG) updates
We are customizing Fundraiser on the Go so that it is more useful for fundraisers. This version will focus on the constituents who appear in a fundraiser’s “Prospects of…” group. FROG offers an easy way to file contact reports and complete interactions from a simplified interface that works great on your phone.
FY20 GAIL statistics
Check out the FY20 GAIL-based statistics that include constituent record updates, postal and email marketing efforts, phonathons, events, report requests, enhancement requests and more! Read the full report.
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Donor Relations and Stewardship
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FY21 special acknowledgements are digital
The following special acknowledgements switched from mailed cards to weekly emails in July. These emails are live and running weekly:
- First-time gift acknowledgement
- Second fiscal year gift acknowledgement
- Tag royalty gift acknowledgement
- PAW Society welcome acknowledgement
FY20 May-June catch-up acknowledgments arriving in August
Several critical stewardship pieces were halted this summer, but the following mailings will begin hitting mailboxes this month acknowledging gifts made from May to June:
- Presidents Club welcome packets
- Third Pillar acknowledgements
- PAW Society welcome packets
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Annual Giving
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Fall direct mail campaign
Our major fall direct mailing is projected to hit mailboxes in late September. This year’s mailing features a letter from SAC President Autumn Pressley alongside messages from students from across campus. These messages will be customized according to the recipient household’s degree affiliations. Email Chatise Smith with questions.
Retaining lapsing donors
We recently launched an initiative to retain soon-to-lapse recurring donors. At the end of each month, recurring donors whose gift is set to expire in the following month will receive an email encouraging them to renew. Questions? Contact Evan Tighe.
FY20 annual giving results
We will meet in August with schools and colleges about FY20 annual giving results. If you have questions about your annual giving numbers, email Evan Tighe.
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Communications
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Fall planning complete
In partnership with many DAR units, DARCOMM has finalized its project lists for July-December. The team will remain flexible during an uncertain semester, but these lists will help keep projects on track and ensure resources are in place for execution. View the lists: UNIT LISTS | VIDEO LIST | WEBSITE LIST
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Odum School of Ecology
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Odum’s summer EcoVoice e-newsletter
Learn more about successful alumni, ground-breaking research, important speeches and publications as well as a pending change of leadership for the school in the summer 2020 EcoVoice Update.
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Transitions
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- Farewell to Mick Cumbie, whose last day at UGA is August 21. Mick has served the Franklin College as senior director of development since 2016 and will be relocating to Macomb, Illinois.
- Abby Bryant, formerly Donor Relations & Stewardship, is now a development and alumni relations coordinator in the Terry College of Business.
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Do you have information that you'd like included in the September or October edition of the Pulse? Send it to Emily Munnell.
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