Message From Your Chair

Annual giving has long served as the foundation of fundraising programs, in part because we reach out to the entire institutional community. Our success in these efforts has a profound and immediate impact on our institutions and also sets the stage for future gifts. Over the past eighteen months, the need for current-use dollars has increased as the value of endowments (and the income they provide) has decreased. This shift has put additional pressure on annual giving to produce, just as the economic environment has introduced new fundraising challenges. 

Come to the conference to gain insights into the tried-and-true techniques of annual giving that remain effective and learn about new approaches to raising money in a changing economy. You will leave with ideas that you can implement, peers you can call on for advice, and a renewed sense of excitement about what your annual giving program can achieve.

Tammie L. Ruda, Conference Chair
Executive Director of Annual Giving
Brown University

Tammie Ruda is the executive director of annual giving at Brown University. In this role, she oversees a robust annual fund program that includes class campaigns, direct marketing, student philanthropy, high-end annual giving and recognition programs, and a parents program. She serves as a member of the development office's senior staff, ensuring close collaboration between the Brown Annual Fund and other fundraising areas.

A member of the Brown University development staff since 1993, Ruda has held other positions within the annual fund as well as the directorships of prospect research and advancement information services. Prior to joining the staff at Brown, Tammie worked in the Radcliffe College Development Office.

She is the author of two chapters in Donor Relations: The Essential Guide to Stewardship Policies, Procedures, and Protocol (CASE, 1999) and is a frequent conference presenter. She previously served a three-year term as president of the Annual Giving Directors' Consortium. She received her bachelor's degree in history and science from Harvard University.

Francine A. Cronin
Senior Associate Vice President, Annual Giving
Emory University

Francine Cronin brings more than 21 years of experience working in the world of higher education fundraising to her role as senior associate vice president for annual giving at Emory University. She is active on the Development and Alumni Relations Leadership Team and the university's Administrative Council. In the more than six years that she has been at Emory, the annual fund has grown from $3.6 million in fiscal year 2002-03 to $10.2 million in fiscal year 2007-08. This represents an increase of 184 percent. During this same time period alumni participation has grown from 25 percent to 36 percent.

Cronin's desire to work in the development and alumni relations field was sparked during her senior year of college, at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she served as a committee member of the college's first-ever Senior Gift Campaign (Class of 1987). Upon graduation, she began her career at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), first as assistant director of the Telefund Program and then as director of the annual fund. While working full-time she attended night classes part-time at RIT and in 1993, she earned her master's degree in career & human resource development with a concentration in organizational development. She played an active role in RIT's $100 million five-year capital campaign, "Access to the Future".

After spending six plus years in a large private university setting, Cronin moved back to her hometown of Utica, N.Y., and worked at a small public university-SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome (SUNYIT). She served as director of development & alumni relations at SUNYIT for more than eight years until she moved to Atlanta in June of 2003 to lead Emory University's Annual Giving Program.

Allen Rosso
Director of Philanthropic Affiliation
University of Chicago

Allen Rosso has made a career in development for the past 16 years. In his current role as senior director of the Office of Philanthropic Affiliation at the University of Chicago, he manages the annual giving program for twelve schools and units, the development and programming volunteer network of the Reunion and Class Council program and the planning and execution of university signature events.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Rosso spent five years at Vanderbilt University first as the assistant director of development for the School of Nursing and then as director of the Vanderbilt Fund.

From 1993 - 2000, he worked on numerous local, state and federal political campaigns across the country. He served in diverse roles including finance director, campaign manager, research director and campaign consultant.

Allen is a graduate of North Central State and Franklin University.

Kate Troelsta
Senior Director of Development for Major Gifts
Clemson University

 Kate Troelstra is the senior director of development for major gifts at Clemson University. She manages a team of 20+ development officers and oversees the prospect management system. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, she began her development career there as a phonathon caller and later phonathon supervisor.

Troelstra has been in development for more than nineteen years spending seven years in annual giving before moving into major gifts. She has experience in a wide range of fundraising settings including liberal arts colleges, public research universities, professional schools and independent schools.

Prior to her move to Clemson, Troelstra was at Providence Day School for ten years - first as associate director of development/director of major gifts and then as assistant headmaster for development where she was responsible for all development, alumni and communications programs. Prior to assuming her new responsibilities as assistant headmaster, she managed a significant portfolio of major gift prospects, was responsible for all campaign events and directed all prospect and volunteer management. Her experience prior to Providence Day includes managing a team of 1,500 volunteers as associate director of annual giving at Rutgers University and implementing a volunteer structure for both annual and major gifts as a major gifts officer at the Dickinson School of Law.

Troelstra is active in CASE, having served two terms as treasurer for District III and is currently conference co-chair for the 2011 Joint District III/IV Conference. She has spoken at the Summer Institute in Educational Fundraising, District III, CASE/NAIS, Workshop for Newcomers in Development and Campaign Strategies conferences on topics including campaigns, volunteer management and the annual fund.

Stephanie L. Truesdell
Director of Development
Milton Academy

As the director of development at Milton Academy, Stephanie Truesdell is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school's development programs including campaign planning and implementation, annual giving, alumni relations, leadership gifts, planned giving, stewardship, research and information services. In November 2008, the Academy celebrated raising over $85 million during the previous five years.

Prior to joining Milton in 2004, Truesdell was at Harvard Law School for seven years. During her tenure at HLS she was the director of the Law School Fund, leading several record-breaking annual and reunion campaigns before joining the Law School's leadership gifts team. Preceding that, she spent five years in the development office at Brown University where, as a member of the annual fund team, she was responsible for annual fund leadership giving and young alumni programs including reunion giving.

A frequent presenter at CASE and AFP conferences, Truesdell serves as a board member for the Boston chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She holds a master's degree in education from Harvard University and an bachelor's degree from Brown University.