Message from the Chair

Over the past decade, the field of annual giving has experienced a period of great transformation and maturity. Once perceived simply as a pipeline for major gifts, annual giving has become essential to the long-term success and sustainability of nonprofit organizations and their advancement programs. New media, information technology and a changing economy have created challenges as well as opportunities for annual giving programs to better engage donors and build stronger communities.

This conference will address the key issues facing annual giving managers today. Through lectures, group sessions and individual discussions, participants will come away with an appreciation of the impact that annual giving has across their organizations, an awareness of the professional opportunities that exist in their field, and a toolkit to them help take their programs to the next level.

I look forward to seeing you in Phoenix!

Dan Allenby, Conference Chair
Vice President for Annual Giving
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
Former Director of Annual Giving Strategy & Operations at Tufts University

Dan Allenby has over 15 years of experience in annual giving, marketing, and development. He is currently the vice president for annual giving at Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), an international philanthropic consulting firm.

Prior to joining GG+A, he served as the director of annual giving strategy & operations at Tufts University during its $1.2 billion campaign. While he was there, the annual fund grew by 21 percent and completed its most successful year in history. Earlier in his career, Allenby served as the director of marketing at Georgetown University where he helped grow alumni participation to record levels. He has also led annual giving and marketing programs at Boston College, National Geographic and American University.

Allenby holds a master's degree in business administration from Boston College, a bachelor's degree from James Madison University, and a certificate in the Management of Community Organizations from Tufts University. He serves on the Board of Directors at The Friday Forum, a Boston-based organization that develops philanthropy education programs. He is also the author of a popular blog for fundraisers called "The Annual Giving Exchange."

Beth Gardner Braxton
Director of Annual Giving
UNC-Chapel Hill

Beth Braxton has more than 18 years experience in development. She has been in her current position as director of annual giving at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than six years where she has been responsible for coordinating the central development annual giving program including direct mail, e-solicitations, phonathon, leadership giving, student, young alumni and diversity initiatives as well as social media. Prior to accepting her current role she served in a variety of positions at Carolina, including assistant dean for development and alumni affairs at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of major gifts at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

UNC's central office annual fund has seen an increase of 40 percent in dollars since fiscal year 2004. UNC has also increased overall alumni donors by more than 10 percent in the past three fiscal years.

Before returning to UNC, she was a fundraiser for community hospitals in North Carolina.

Braxton has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (advertising concentration). She consults with Chapel Hill-area nonprofits regarding their development efforts and facilitates "The Breakfast Club," a networking and mentoring program for professional young women who work at UNC and the Chapel Hill area.

Ivy Clift
Director of The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education
Stanford University

Ivy Clift is the director of The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University, where she has worked since 2007. The Stanford Fund is the primary annual fund of the university, bringing in nearly $20 million annually from undergraduate alumni, parents and friends. Within The Stanford Fund, Clift manages the young alumni and student philanthropy team, the Stanford undergraduate reunion program (which brought in approximately $200 million in major gifts in 2009), and a direct appeal team that provides services to the entire Stanford campus.

Before coming to Stanford, she served as assistant athletic director at U.C. Berkeley, where she led an overhaul of the structure, marketing and benefits of the annual giving program that resulted in a 20 percent increase in revenue for the Department of Athletics. She has also worked in development at the University of California San Francisco, Tehiyah Day School and The Red Cross. Over her 17 years of experience in fundraising, she has had responsibility for development operations, events, major gifts, board development, corporate and foundation giving, and stewardship.

Clift received her bachelor's degree from U.C. Berkeley. She is an active member of the Ivy+ Annual Giving group and the Annual Giving Directors' Consortium, as well as a fundraising volunteer for a number of charities in her hometown of Oakland, California.

S. Mitchell Harris
Assistant Vice President
University of Arizona Foundation

S. Mitchell Harris joined the University of Arizona Foundation as assistant vice president in 2007 following several years at Arizona State University. With all of his fundraising experience in annual giving, Harris is dedicated to advancing this area of our profession.

Harris' annual giving philosophy centers on comprehensive programs focused on donor renewal, reactivation and acquisition. These elements drive "Program Health," which he considers one of the most important measures for annual giving programs.
Over the past two years he has repurposed the direct mail program at the UA. Formally focused on renewal, acquisition and database cleanup, the revamped program is primarily a renewal vehicle. In the first two years, direct-mail expenses decreased by 25 percent while net income increased by 289 percent. To complement those efforts, the annual giving program has developed increased reactivation and acquisition efforts within its call center and championed more cost effective ways to maintain data health. Other focus areas include e-mail communications, social networks, personal solicitations, student giving, matching gifts and overall data health. Harris believes that as the annual giving area of the development profession continues to evolve it will become an increasingly more essential part of successful institutions.

Harris holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from St. Cloud State University and a master's degree in public administration degree from Arizona State University. He also earned a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from ASU. He serves on the Board of Directors for CASE District VII.

Brian Kish
Assistant Vice President for Advancement
Salve Regina University

Brian Kish serves as the assistant vice president for advancement at Salve Regina University, where he oversees all advancement operations including development, advancement services, and alumni/parent relations. He also is a part-time consultant for Campbell & Company based in Chicago, Ill., serving both national and international clients in elevating their development, and more specifically annual giving, operations. Kish is also working with Integrity Communications to launch a new telemarketing service dedicated to nonprofit organizations.

Kish began his development career as a student caller and then student supervisor at Ohio University. Upon graduating with a degree in political science, he accepted a position at the Iowa State University Foundation. There, he moved up from assistant director to associate director, and then finally to director of annual giving programs.

In 2002, he moved to Southern California to develop a new position at the
University of California, Irvine. At UCI he served as the senior director of development and oversaw the Chancellor's Club, the Major Donor Development program, UCI Medal Event fundraising, UCI Medical Center Grateful Patient Program, and all annual giving initiatives. After developing and growing all of these programs, he was asked to serve as the assistant campaign director of UCI's first-ever capital campaign-The Campaign to Transform Health Care. As the assistant campaign director, Kish oversaw all campaign operations and closed several major gifts for the UCI Medical Center.

He is a frequent speaker for CASE conferences having served as chair or faculty on 25 national development conferences and making over 82 professional presentations. He has been awarded the CASE Crystal Apple for teaching excellence; the youngest person to ever receive this honor. Additionally, he hosts collaborative benchmarking meetings for Target Analytics. Kish is a member of CASE, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and was previously granted the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive.

Kyle McGowan
Senior Director of the Annual Fund
Georgetown University

Kyle McGowan is senior director of the Annual Fund at Georgetown University, where he has worked in various advancement roles since 1999. The Georgetown Annual Fund encompasses all of the annual giving programs for the five undergraduate schools, the law center, medical center and athletics programs at Georgetown University. These programs utilized direct marketing, volunteer management and direct solicitation efforts to generate $26.0 million from 30,000 donors last year.

In addition to his annual giving experience, McGowan managed the fundraising and operations for a $7.5 million renovation of alumni house, overhauled the division of advancement's measurement and analytical capabilities, repositioned the board of directors of the athletics annual fund program to focus on fundraising and outreach, created the Georgetown Fund, the Georgetown University Travel Society and Loyalty Society programs, and performed numerous other advancement duties at Georgetown University.

He also volunteers his time as a member of the board of directors for a local Montessori school and as a fundraising volunteer for his parish elementary and middle school. He is an active member of the Annual Giving Director's Consortium and is currently serving as chair of the planning committee for the 2010 annual conference.

McGowan holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Oregon and a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

Guest Speakers

Paul Barry
Senior Director, Development Services
Perrone Group

Paul Barry is a nationally recognized higher education direct marketing thought leader, having specialized in annual giving integrated direct response for more than 15 years. Together with his colleagues, he oversees the annual giving direct marketing efforts of more than 50 colleges and universities across the country.

Barry is a frequent speaker on the subject of integrated direct marketing and fundraising, most recently at the University System of Maryland Foundation Annual Giving Conference and the 2009 CASE Essential Direct Marketing Conference. He is a past contributor to Mal Warwick's newsletter, a member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP) and the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA).

Chris Bingley
Vice President and Senior Consultant
RuffaloCODY

Chris Bingley joined RuffaloCODY in January 2009 as vice president and senior consultant for the MASTERS Division in the Great Plains states from Texas to Canada. He has extensive experience in all aspects of development; including personal solicitation, phonathon, direct mail, grant writing, leadership annual gift programs, major gifts, data analysis, campaign planning/preparation and program development. His advancement services and IT experience provides a unique perspective on annual giving and the use of data and information systems in development.

Prior to joining RuffaloCODY, he served as vice president for annual giving and advancement services at Washington State University (WSU), where he led a comprehensive annual giving program and the advancement services unit, which included prospect research and information technology.

Development has been a central element of Bingley's work for the past decade. He first became involved in fundraising as a student at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. After earning his degree in English, he taught high school and coached football and wrestling. He subsequently earned his master's degree and went on to direct the annual giving and advancement services units at the University of Idaho.

Active in CASE and district activities as a presenter and volunteer, Bingley also serves on the alumni board for Rocky Mountain College and remains active in local nonprofit efforts.

David Lotz
Director, Higher Education
Convio, Inc.

David Lotz leads the higher education practice for Convio, Inc., overseeing product direction, service, strategy and sales for the company's higher education clients and partners. Lotz serves on the CASE Industry Advisory Council, speaks and writes frequently about online trends, and has more than 16 years of development, alumni relations and technology experience managing external relations for universities.

Most recently, he served as assistant dean for resource development at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, where he was responsible for the school's fundraising efforts as well as alumni, donor and corporate relations. Prior to working for the University of Texas, he served as director of major gifts at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He also previously served as area director of development for Baylor University and as a senior consultant for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) after earning a business degree in marketing and management from Baylor University.