The Development Debrief

Fred Van Sickle (my Dad) and I sat down together to reflect on 2020. The first year of the Development Debrief was perhaps one of the most exciting, scary, and intense, in our field and our lives. My Dad, who works in development at Cornell University asks me questions about the podcast process and then I ask him what he has learned as a leader in the field.

Thank you to the wonderful guests this year and the amazing debrief who community for being part of this podcast! Enjoy the holiday and don't worry- season 3 will be coming in late January.

Please follow on instagram @devdebrief or get into touch via email [email protected]

This week I speak with Jonah Nigh (Chief Development Officer, The Jewish Museum) about his transition to a leadership position right after the initial COVID hit. We compare and contrast his experience in higher ed with fundraising in the arts, the dangerous future of free content, the retention of members in the museum space, and using membership as pool for prospecting. Jonah does a great job talking us through his work and what makes his institution special.

This week we have our first episode focusing on Independent School fundraising. I have always been curious about this slice of the pie in our sector. What is it like managing parents and alums? How do these small communities work together? What is the culture like? I ask these questions of Julie Lucas, Chief Advancement Officer at Darlington School. Darlington School is a co-ed, independent boarding and day school in Rome, Ga., for students in pre-K through high school.

Special thank you to Carson Raymond who recommended Julie as a guest!

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank YOU for tuning into this podcast and supporting the Debrief. This week’s episode features Brent Grinna, Founder and CEO of Evertrue. The theme of our conversation is gratitude and we talk about it from several different angles. Brent shares his personal story of going to Brown on scholarship, how that bleeds into his origin story for his company Evertrue, and several other touching stories and ideas he has come across along the way.

Check out his podcast: https://www.evertrue.com/raise-podcast/

The episode we reference is here: https://www.evertrue.com/raise-podcast/?wchannelid=4jq5h5puib&wmediaid=svt9ymufef

**Correction: Brent is a proud Brown alum

Today’s episode features a brilliant and creative mind. A colleague who is always thinking outside of the box and questioning the status quo. This week, I pick the brain of Brian Chapman (Deputy Vice President for Analytics and Business Strategy in the Office of Alumni and Development at Columbia University). The conversation is not specific to higher ed and can be applied to all roles in the field. Brian and I would meet on a semi regular basis (before we went remote) and I would ask him questions over coffee or lunch like I do today. A few examples we unpack today.... is a larger gift a better gift? How do we assign value to gift impact? How should fundraisers be evaluated? Why have we trained donors to follow certain patterns?

This week’s episode is a true testament to the power of networking and relationships within the field. Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, a previous guest, recommended that I invite Nina McNeely Diefenbach (Senior Vice President and Deputy Director for Advancement, Barnes Foundation) and Whitney W. Donhauser (President and Ronay Menschel Director, Museum of the City of New York) to do an episode together about arts and culture. You can feel the friendship between Nina and Whitney as they share their views and experiences. The two worked together at the Met and you’ll notice the episode starts when we are getting acquainted. I couldn’t help but keep their admiration for one another within the episode. Nina and Whitney talk about their respective institution’s struggles and successes since March. They emphasize collaboration and the power of digital media.

This week we talk about land conversation. I to pick the brain of Andy Zepp, the Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Andy is has a calming force as he talks about his plans for the land trust and his perspective on fundraising. We highlight the differences and similarities between higher ed and cause based fundraising.

Veronica Martini (my boss at Columbia)invited Howard Stevenson (one of her mentor's) to speak at our team retreat this past summer. We have recorded the conversation as a live Debrief Episode. Howard talks about his experience as a donor and fundraiser as the Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. His main message is to talk about philanthropy as the solution to root problems through various institutions.

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Suzanne Hilser- Wiles, (President at GG + A) helps us understand diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges in our field from a consultant's expert perspective. She then shares her own challenges as a woman in a historically male-dominated field. She offers stories, data, and insight to back up her thoughtful ideas and viewpoints. Hopefully this conversation will help you think about some real changes you can make in your own organization. This one is a real treat!

Connect with me- instagram: @devdebrief email: [email protected]

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 philanthropy.

https://www.georgedevgroup.com/

Connect with me on IG: @devdebrief or email: [email protected]