Fundraising Stars

Rebecca Corbin
executive director
Burlington County (New Jersey) 
College Foundation

Michael Staff, senior development specialist at the Burlington County College Foundation, was working at another nonprofit when he met Rebecca Corbin. But her warm, welcoming energy left an impression.

Staff, who now works alongside Corbin at the BCC Foundation, lists her many fundraising successes, but we were most impressed with her ability to refresh and energize the BCC Foundation's board of trustees. "Never have I seen a board that is so active and dedicated to help an organization succeed as these fine trustees have, and by all accounts, this is in large part due to Becky's efforts to bring new people to the board, as well as motivate the seasoned individuals who have long-served the foundation," Staff says.

Board enthusiasm and involvement — or, rather, the unfortunate lack thereof — is a huge bugaboo for many organizations of all shapes and sizes. Rebecca's ability to engage BCC Foundation's board clearly qualifies her as a Fundraising Star.

Molly Duerr
associate director
American Diabetes Association/Minneapolis

Despite the sluggish economy, Molly Duerr not only has maintained her fundraising amounts from previous years, but she's increased them by implementing innovative and strategic approaches to her fundraising efforts.

Molly manages the American Diabetes Association EXPO and the American Diabetes Association Gala in the Minneapolis area. Since joining ADA in 2003, she has generated almost $4 million in contributed funds.

She did so by changing her focus from event-specific sponsorships to generating year-round packages in order to give corporations opportunities for broader, customized alignments with the organization.

"Molly doesn't believe in cookie-cutter packages but prefers to work closely with the corporate community to develop targeted sponsorship packages that serve their needs as well as the needs of the American Diabetes Association," says Sybil Freeman, director of corporate development for the American Diabetes Association/Atlanta.

Duerr's creative thinking toward new giving opportunities and her savvy approach to the changing desires of corporate sponsors are why we're recognizing her as a Fundraising Star.

Margaux Pagán
executive assistant to the VP of development
International Fellowship of Christians 
and Jews (Chicago)

Margaux Pagán apparently is the queen of lapsed-donor renewal!

"Margaux single-handedly has been working with our outbound telemarketing vendor. The most successful campaigns have been during the Jewish High Holiday season (September), and the results have been above what we expected," says Rachel Katzman, marketing associate for DRTV and telemarketing at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

As part of an aggressive outbound telemarketing campaign Margaux orchestrated in 2010, the organizations's September deep-lapsed (24-108 months) campaign generated $153,770 from 3,560 gifts/donations. According to Katzman, when compared to a 2009 January deep-lapsed strategy, results included a 205 percent increase in total revenue over the 2009 January deep-lapsed campaign ($50,275 generated in 2009); 433 percent increase in total gifts received over the 2009 January deep-lapsed campaign (667 gifts in 2009); and a 396 percent increase in number of responses (single gifts and pledges) over 2009 January deep-lapsed campaign (6,349 responses in 2010; 1,279 responses in 2009). Sometimes the numbers really do just speak for themselves.

Pat Roberts
vice president for development and alumni relations
Hiram (Ohio) College

There's not much we could add to this nomination by Jenifer Warren, major gifts officer at Hiram College: "I am new in the profession … but in less than a year's time, I have hit the ground running, and I feel that it is in great part due to the leadership of Pat Roberts. Pat exemplifies positive attitude and enthusiasm. He seems to have undying energy. He is always 'on' and full of creative ideas on how to reach the folks who can make a difference for Hiram College. He instills an atmosphere where all of us want to achieve, always makes us feel appreciated and gives us the necessary support when we reach out for it (and sometimes when we don't). He is always vigilant and constructively guides each one of us, allowing us to enhance our strengths and strengthen our weaknesses. He leads by example, always willing to step in and help when needed, never asking us to do something he would not do. He respects our family, personal and professional needs and allows us to grow as we are comfortable. I am proud and thrilled to be part of this team. The success of his leadership easily translates into dollars generated, even in hard times. His experience, class-act leadership and genuine commitment to our organization are what set him apart."

To that we say, 'Nuff said!

Jeff Sprinkle
chief philanthropy officer
Y of Central Maryland

Jeff Sprinkle, chief philanthropy officer of the Y of Central Maryland, was a man on a mission to re-imagine the spirit and purpose of a 35-year-old annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that for many years generated less than $60,000 and struggled to break even after expenses.

Jeff led a group of volunteers and Y staff in honest, productive conversations about King, his legacy, the needs of the community and what the annual event should accomplish. The group eventually agreed to move away from a single breakfast event that gave attendees a "feel good" but did little to call them to put into action the values of service at the core of the Y and of King himself. Instead, a multipronged effort was planned that would engage thousands of community members and support the Y in providing high-quality programming to underserved families.

"With Jeff's passion, determination and dedication, longtime and new volunteers committed themselves to the effort, and in 2010 the fundraising record for the Dr. King tribute was blown away," says Heidi Paremske, grants manager at the Y.

The 35th annual tribute to King resulted in $150,000 cash contributions, $150,000 in-kind contributions and more than 500 documented volunteer hours committed to the project, but Jeff's success goes deeper than that. Fundraisers who are able to discern the need for change, and who have the courage to make the change and the vision to empower others to take part, are without a doubt stars in the industry.

Kristin Tripoli
director of development
All Saints' Academy (Florida)

At just 15 years old, the All Saints' Academy independent school in central Florida didn't have the broadest donor base when Kristin Tripoli took over as director of development. But according to school headmaster Tony Jordan, the "tireless, fearless and eternally positive" Kristin saw an opportunity to engage parents and teach them the value of giving. The result was "by far, the most effective annual fund in the school's history."

"The parent involvement, previously at 39 percent, rose to 66 percent under her leadership," Jordan says.

Kristin also took on the school's spotty data-management strategy and soon turned boxes of files, note cards and loose papers into an organized, digitalized system that made All Saints' Academy's development and friendraising processes much more effective and efficient.

"Kristin Tripoli is an outstanding model of today's development officer — bright, energetic, tireless and people-centered," Jordan says. "More importantly, she is a great person who makes you smile when you see her heading your way."

We have chosen Karen as a FundRaising Success Fundraising Star for her get-it-done attitude, her contagious spirit and her refusal to see stumbling blocks as anything other than opportunities.