Grace and Grit

Barry Crossno
Fundraising manager, Pendle Hill

Barry Crossno was nominated by Eleanor Harris, director of development and outreach at Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat in Wallingford, Pa., specifically for his work on the organization’s 2008 annual campaign. We were impressed by Barry’s creativity in using a unique format — a flip book — as a medium for demonstrating Pendle Hill’s mission to transform its visitors and their lives. The book uses the organization’s tree logo, which sprouts leaves that in turn transform into butterflies before readers’ eyes. The campaign is getting lots of positive response and is on par with last year’s campaign in terms of donations — remarkable in this very different economic climate. We think this campaign is pretty clever and that Barry, its creator, has the creativity and motivation that are at the heart of what it means to be a true fundraising star.

Elizabeth Dale
Senior vice president for institutional advancement, Drexel University

Ken Goldman, associate vice president, major gifts, at Drexel, says that in the two years Elizabeth Dale has been there, “she has transformed the tone, style and structure of fundraising” for the Philadelphia university. In that time, the department has grown 60 percent in personnel and increased its focus on essentials such as donor relations and communications. This growth has enabled the university to launch a comprehensive campaign with a working goal of $500 million (the largest ever for the school), achieve a 50 percent increase in funds raised from FY07 to FY08, and resulted in the largest single commitment ever made to Drexel ($25 million). “Dr. Dale talks a lot about transformation in terms of ‘transformational gifts,’ but she also accomplished it in terms of dramatically changing the way Drexel conducts its fundraising business,” Goldman writes. “The change has been breathtaking.”

Tabetha Leinweber
Manager of direct marketing, Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Tabetha Leinweber was nominated by Ron Bell, founder and president of Target MarkeTeam, for her “passion for building a donor-centric program, communicating with donors efficiently and effectively, attention to detail, and overall knowledge of the industry.” She joined Komen in 2007, and since then, Komen has experienced a 6 percent increase in its active donors — a trend that has continued through 2008. In an article in the Oct. 16, 2008, issue of The NonProfit Times, Tabetha was quoted as saying, “Donors know what customer service means. They know what it means to be treated with respect and expect a certain level of service when they deal with businesses. That carries over to the nonprofit world. They want to be treated fairly and treated right. It’s the transparency they want, and they should get it.” We think that awareness is a pretty good indication of a true fundraising star.

Heather Mansfield
Owner, DIOSA | Communications

We love what Heather Mansfield is doing in terms of helping nonprofit organizations communicate with donors, potential donors and other supporters online. Most importantly, it’s her commitment to helping nonprofits speak to the Gen X and Gen Y (and younger) sets on social-networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Change.org that got our attention. Let’s face it, organizations don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to these vibrant communities, but they have to join the conversation or they risk bypassing important opportunities to connect with the next generation of donors and volunteers. Aside from her consulting work, Heather’s profiles on these sites are chock-full of no-nonsense strategies that help organizations establish a presence and make the most of the time their staffers spend there. Her DIOSA Web site also is a treasure trove of information, there for the taking. She is a true champion of the work of the nonprofit sector.

Pam Palumbo
Director of development, Homeless Solutions Inc.

In 1999, the Morris Shelter “brand” was somewhat weak. Many people thought it was a county-run shelter for animals, when in truth it was a nonprofit organization serving the homeless (human) population in Morris County, N.J. According to the organization’s president, Elizabeth Hall, the first challenge its new director of development faced was “reintroducing the organization to the public.” Pam Palumbo organized a series of focus groups to brainstorm a name change, and then networked until she found a professional ad agency to donate time and talent to help select a name. Armed with the organization’s new name — Homeless Solutions Inc. — Pam set out to build a development program. Her accomplishments since then include increasing annual-fund giving from $276,000 in 1999 to $1.3 million in 2007; completing two capital campaigns that brought in a combined $6 million; attracting individual major gifts in the $5,000 to $500,000 range; introducing two major events; and increasing holiday-appeal giving from $60,000 in 1999 to roughly $350,000 in 2008.

Barron Segar
Director, Southeast Region, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

In a year of nationwide scale-backs in corporate giving, Barron Segar successfully led the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s cultivation of relationships with numerous corporate entities — partnerships that reached new heights in 2008, according to Robert Thompson, senior vice president for development for the U.S. Fund. The UPS Foundation’s annual gift to the organization increased by 20 percent to $250,000; Delta Air Lines made a record-breaking in-kind contribution of more than $500,000, and Delta SkyMiles members donated more than 11 million charity miles; and corporate philanthropic funds from Turner Broadcasting Systems enabled the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to launch one of its largest grassroots volunteer-mobilization initiatives around access to clean water. Barron also secured an invitation for UNICEF supporters to attend a live taping of a telecast focused on issues facing survival of the world’s children. In 2008, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF also got the largest single gift in the Southeast Region’s history and the second largest gift by any living person to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “Barron is a consummate professional who uses his charm, good humor and strategic thinking to raise resources and awareness,” Thompson writes. FS