Caitlin Lamont, Director, Strategic Events, University of Calgary
Audrey Taylor-Bereznicki, Associate Director, Alumni Leadership Engagement & Recognition, University of Calgary
PIVOT – a word that, for many of us, has been used more in 2020 than ever before. While the pandemic has changed the way that we work and live, it has also had an enormous impact on the way that we celebrate and come together. For the University of Calgary, 2020 was meant to be a year of celebration and gratitude – we closed the third largest campaign in Canadian history – with a grand total of $1.41B on June 30 and were planning the 36th Annual Arch Awards to recognize some of our most visionary alumni on September 10. Both of these celebrations began with a vision of bringing our community together physically and engaging our alumni, donors and friends in high touch social gatherings where the best of UCalgary was right in front of them; however this was not to be. COVID-19 has challenged programming and event specialists all over the world to rethink their work and create virtual experiences that still leave audiences feeling connected. In this webinar, learn how UCalgary transformed two high profile in-person celebrations into high impact virtual experiences.
Patti Lauzon, Director, Alumni Relations, University of Windsor
Rob Janisse, Alumni Coordinator, Special Projects, University of Windsor
Launching, leveraging and loving volunteerism in your alumni relations department. Learn about the steps to take to ensure you develop a healthy, ethical volunteer program that your alumni, donors and community will want to be involved in and help promote. Grow your alumni engagement and connect prospects and donors to your institution.
Alison Holt, Managing Director, Senior Consultant & Principal, Offord Group
Cathy Yanosik, President, Foundation, Toronto French School
Boards really make a difference to an organization’s ability to raise funds, engage donors and volunteers and raise sights. Learn how to make that case to board members, how to build a culture of philanthropy on the board and get members actively working on the organization. And find out what board members are looking for in their staff partners.
Jon Bruhm, Donor Relation, Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation
On Valentine’s Day in 2019 & 2020, the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation held its Thankathon – a multi-pronged donor relations initiative intended to show some love to its donors. Find out how this small shop expressed gratitude to thousands of donors in just one day… without “thasking,” and on a shoestring budget.
Kathryn Davidson, Philanthropy Director, Lakehead University
Josh Levac, Associate Registrar, Student Awards and Financial Aid, Lakehead University
Canadian post-secondary philanthropy departments play an important role in helping to fund many of the projects that their institutions undertake. One major component is the solicitation of funding from donors to help establish scholarships, bursaries and awards. In many cases the responsible departments are silos, understanding only their work, and the lack of communication can result in frustrated employees and donors. Over the past 5 years, Lakehead University has started to break down our interoffice barriers, communicate, and develop an internal methodology that can help other siloed institutions to develop synergies and create an open dialogue and understanding of processes.
Janine Linthorne, Special Events Coordinator, St. Francis Xavier University
Shanna Hopkins, Director of Alumni Affairs, St. Francis Xavier University
In summer of 2021, StFX made the decision to have in person classes, resulting in community members becoming understandably nervous about the potential importation of COVID-19. The University needed to create a program to support students quarantining and reassure the community. Neighbours Helping Neighbours was born, with over 100 Community members supporting students by delivering groceries, prescriptions, and other essentials. Other alumni volunteered to call students, forging connections and relationships that simply would not have occurred in a regular year. The community’s became part of the solution and by working together, there was no community spread of COVID-19 during the fall semester.
