Reach for the Stars!
In 17 years with JNF, Diane has cultivated a remarkable record of decades-long donor retention. Twelve years ago she took a fairly new donor to Israel, and the donor chose to fund a park with a $250,000 gift. That supporter continues to fund projects today; her son is heavily involved in JNF; and her grandson has begun to attend JNF meetings.
At one point, Diane took a mission of only two people to Israel when others said she should cancel. The trip resulted in an initial gift of $250,000 and two subsequent gifts of $500,000 from the same person. Today, that donor has refurbished a project originally dedicated by his father and has taken his grandson to Israel to see the legacy continue. Diane also is responsible for forming JNF’s women’s giving arm — eight years ago, only 20 women gave $5,000 or more annually; today that number is 300 — and the Century Club, now closing in on 400 people who have given $100,000 gifts.
Kathie Sheehy
Donor relations specialist
Bill Wilson Center
As a 30-year-old agency with a long history of relying on grant funding and government contracts, less than 5 percent of the Bill Wilson Center’s revenue came from individual donors. According to nominator Lisa Sarmiento, BWC grants manager, Kathie Sheehy worked to drum up existing and new contact leads, taking people on tours of the shelter as a point of entry, and nearly tripled revenue from individual donors in three years. As part of this effort, Kathie heads up an annual luncheon, which has grown from 250 guests to 600 in 2007 and has matched revenue from new pledges each year. BWC also has significant follow-through from donors on their pledges. “Kathie is the key linking these successes,” Sarmiento says.
ONLINE STARS
Human Rights Campaign
www.hrc.org
