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 About
Gena Walton - Gena has been with the
IWK Foundation for 10 years, working in various
development roles. In the fall of 2003 when
the Foundation's strategic plan identified a
need for a donor relations program, Gena became
their Manager of Donor Relations. Gena is also
the Canadian Director of ADRP. Prior to working
at the the IWK Foundation, Gena worked with
the United Way and a fundraising consulting
firm.
Gena has spent the past four years working
with IWK to build and implement a comprehensive
donor relations plan. With the launch of their
new strategic plan in 2007, the Foundation will
continue to focus on acknowledgment, recognition
and relationship management with an emphasized
focus on stewardship.
 ADRP
International Conference
- The Fourth Annual Conference of the Association
of Donor Relations Professionals will be held
at the Omni La Mansión del Rio in San
Antonio, Texas, December 4-6, 2007 (Tuesday-Thursday).
Pre-conference Institutes are slated for Monday,
December 3.
ADRP is the authoritative organization and
advocate for the donor relations and stewardship
profession. The organization supports the development
community by promoting the professional status
of donor relations and stewardship offices through
educational, professional development and networking
opportunities.
To learn more about the Association
of Donor Relations Professionals please
visit: http://www.adrp.net
Interview by
George
Williams, Communications
Specialist, PlannedLegacy Planned
Legacy: Can you tell us about the Association
of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) and
what your work as a Director for ADRP in Canada
involves?
Gena Walton:
ADRP is the authoritative international organization
and advocate for the donor relations and stewardship
profession. It supports and enhances all aspects
of fundraising and development by promoting
the professional status of donor relations and
stewardship offices through education, professional
development and networking opportunities.
Specifically, I am working with my colleagues
to market ADRP and increase membership in Canada,
and to enhance the value of membership. I'm
excited to say that when I began my term with
ADRP, we had only a handful of Canadian members.
That has grown to 25 at last check.
Planned Legacy:
What do you like most about being a donor relationship
professional? What is the most satisfying part
of your job?
Gena Walton: I
enjoy working in donor relations because it
really spans across the entire organization.
No stone is left unturned when developing a
great donor relations program. Collaboration,
creativity and strategic thinking are key and
it allows me to work closely with everyone in
the organization.
Also, who wouldn't want to be in the business
of thanking people? It's extremely rewarding
to meet the many people who make our organization
a success and to learn how humble many of them
are.
Planned Legacy:
What is your typical day like?
Gena Walton:
No day is typical. This is also something I
love! I could be planning a donor recognition
event for a significant donor, writing a thank
you card to a child who donated their birthday
money, seeking approvals for signage, creating
a donor list of 1,000 names, strategizing with
development staff on a customized stewardship
approach for a donor/prospect.....it really
goes from one extreme to the next.
Planned Legacy: The profession of donor relations is becoming
increasingly more important and formalized.
Can you give us some insights into why this
is occurring?
Gena Walton:
I believe our donors are becoming more sophisticated
and with this, rightfully so, their expectations
grow. Organizations must be accountable to their
constituents on how dollars are being spent.
Having an organizational focus on donor relations
ensures that everyone conducts business through
the lense of a donor. It's customer service
at its best.
Planned Legacy:
How do donor relations and donor recognition
tie together?
Gena Walton:
Recognition will be a pillar in any donor relations
program. It's important to ensure relevancy
and consistency in recognizing your donors.
Ensuring that all donors at certain levels are
provided the same level of recognition is paramount.
Planned Legacy: Many
non-profit organizations now have a dedicated
PR professional. How does this tie in with donor
relations?
Gena Walton:
We work with our communications team as closely
as we do all our other teams within the Foundation.
As we become more customized, our reliance on
communications is definitely growing. If having
your own PR professional is not an option from
a resource perspective, identifying someone
from the existing communications team to work
almost exclusively with donor relations offers
a great compromise.
Planned Legacy:
Many donors claim that they don't want any recognition,
but in your experience what is the truth in
general?
Gena Walton:
I think all donors want to be appreciated. This
appreciation can be as little as providing them
with information about your organization, to
listing their name on a donor wall. We recently
began hosting donor events in various communities.
It's extremely rewarding how many people come
out to hear about the work we are doing. It's
not a costly endeavor (this is what donors don't
like) but goes very far in building relationships.
Planned Legacy:
What are some of the most important things donor
relations professionals can do when working
with donors?
Gena Walton:
Listen. Capture the information. If donors contact
you and indicate they only want one mailing
a year, make sure you code them appropriately
to ensure they only get one mailing a year.
Use your database wisely and to its maximum
potential to communicate with your donors the
way THEY want to be communicated with.
Planned Legacy: How
is your donor relations program organized?
Gena Walton:
The donor relations program at the IWK Foundation
oversees both core donor relations activities
and gift processing. We work very closely with
our development staff (Relationship Managers)
who execute much of the ongoing donor relations
activities. It would be impossible from a resource
perspective otherwise.
Planned Legacy:
Can you provide some insights into the type
of donor relations provided for different programs?
Gena Walton:
We have on-site recognition for all donors at
$500+. Customized stewardship plans include
events, personal visits, updates, site recognition
etc. for major donors. We have a stewardship
checklist for annual fund donors that ensures
relationship building "touch points"
are defined each month. A stewardship report
is published that recognizes donors of $1,000.
We send holiday greetings, newsletters (with
content specific to who we are sending to) and
invitations to events to various segments of
donors.
Planned Legacy:
How does the practice of donor relations differ
depending on the level of giving for a particular
donor?
Gena Walton:
I think the largest variance is customization.
For our larger donors, we are very strategic
with how we steward them throughout the year
and who we involve in that process. A welcome
package is sent to all first-time donors to
"welcome them to the family".
Planned Legacy: What
are some of your favorite ways of saying thank
you? Which are the most effective?
Gena Walton:
We use an acknowledgement card, which is sent
with income tax receipts as a thank you for
gifts under $250. The card has a patient story
and a picture of the patient. We find this is
very meaningful to these donors and it is very
helpful in streamlining the process of acknowledging
these donors.
Our community events have been very successful
because they feature a real cross-section of
people. You may have a large corporate donor
or an individual who has included us in their
estate. It's a very warm and meaningful way
to say "thank you."
Planned Legacy: What
are some best practices when it comes to moving
donors from one level of giving to the next?
Gena Walton:
We have a sophisticated moves management program,
with a committee that meets monthly. This is
an excellent forum for discussing donor growth.
Planned Legacy: What
are the most important things donors want from
a non-profit organization?
Gena Walton:
Information about their dollars at work. Prompt
acknowledgement.
Planned Legacy: Have you found any types
of recognition to be especially valuable to
your organization?
Gena Walton:
Whenever we involve a benefactor of donations
(caregiver, patient,
family) to tell their story of impact, it's
always very positive. We do this as much as
possible.
Planned Legacy:
With the advent of the Internet and electronic
technology, is providing effective recognition
easier or more challenging?
Gena Walton:
This is new territory for us and will be a next
step in evolving our donor relations program.
Planned Legacy:
Are there any particular methods or systems
that work best for donor relations management?
Gena Walton: Raiser's
Edge action tabs work very well for us to capture
donor activity.
Planned Legacy:
Do you have any recommendations regarding skills
and education for new and aspiring donor relationship
professionals?
Gena Walton:
Talk to your colleagues. ADRP provides an excellent
resource to do this and the annual conference
is extremely beneficial to donor relations professionals.
Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and ask
others about their programs. We're in the relationship
business....we like to share ideas.
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About IWK
Health Centre Foundation
 Established
in 1996, the IWK Health Centre Foundation is
a charitable foundation dedicated to helping
the IWK provide the best care possible to Maritime
families by encouraging financial contributions
from the private sector.
The IWK Health Centre, while located in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, is an essential resource for women,
children, youth and families from across the
Maritimes and beyond. Women come to the IWK
for care of complex gynecological issues, high-risk
pregnancies and to give birth. The IWK provides
a broad spectrum of care to the region’s
children and youth. World-class emergency, surgical,
mental health and inpatient care is provided
to families from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island, and in specialized cases,
Newfoundland.
In addition to the thousands of patients who
require inpatient care at the IWK, tens of thousands
more visit our ambulatory clinics for outpatient
management of conditions such as arthritis,
diabetes, cystic fibrosis and asthma.
The IWK’s care touches Maritimers far
beyond the walls of the Health Centre. Through
traveling clinics, children in communities throughout
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward
Island visit with IWK physicians and nurses
at their local hospitals.
Clinical specialists at the IWK also participate
in Telehealth – a network that allows
care teams to consult with patients, families
and other health professionals throughout the
Maritimes using telehealth technology. As a
result of the outreach to communities outside
of Halifax, patients can often receive care
closer to home and reduce the stress and cost
of traveling to the IWK.
For more information please contact:
Gena Walton
Manager of Donor Relations
IWK Health Centre Foundation
B220-5855 Spring Garden Road,
Halifax, NS
B3H 4S2
Phone: (902) 470-8085
Fax: (902) 470-8000
Web: http://www.iwkfoundation.org/
E-mail: Gena.Walton@iwk.nshealth.ca
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