In our fundraising class today we were fortunate enough to have a panel of 5 professional fundraisers speaking to us about their experiences in fundraising. We had discussions about methods that are effective, and new methods such as ‘texting to donate’ campaigns and where they can be the most useful and where they’re less appropriate.
This panel featured Christina Prinzo, Community Program Specialist, City of Vaughan, Andrea Cheng Baker, Senior Manager, Direct Response Marketing, Anja Arvo, Corporate Relations Officer, Shaw Festival, Kathryn Liedeman, Development Officer, Philanthropy & Sponsorship at TVO, and Ellen Bayley, Development Officer, Major and Leadership Giving, Foundation at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.
In the words of our professor they were “just the breath of fresh hair the arts management students needed”. The candid and thoughtful remarks paired with the informed advice they shared were incredibly helpful. We would welcome them, or other professionals to come back in the future years of this program. The most useful part of the discussion in my opinion was when we broke off into separate groups and so our smaller group got to pair with one of these fundraising women and get specific advice for our individual fundraising projects.