Foundation Giving and Payout: What Changed in 2021? - Candid

Benefits of a Private Foundation - Foundation Source

Gates Foundation to Boost Payouts 50% Over Pre-pandemic Levels - The NonProfit Times

Information Literacy - What Is It and Why You Should Care - Marcy Phelps & Associates

Getting All the Calculated Fields from a Tableau Workbook - Ana Milana

Donors of Color with Hali Lee - Nonprofit Lowdown podcast

Commentary: Charitable Impact, Regulators Eye Stock Donations - The NonProfit Times

Jeff Jowdy on Prospect Research and Teaching the Joy of Giving in Major Gifts - ChatBytes

Giving USA 2022 - The First Day Podcast from The Fund Raising School

Culture Building: Standards of Collaboration - Apra Connections

Millennial Donors: Thoughts for the Future of Fundraising - CASE

Tainted Donations: Can You Do Good With Bad Money? - Philanthropisms podcast

The Ultimate Guide to Purposeful Productivity (Your Mental Health Will Thank You) - Fast Company

Tammy L. Davis, Development Research and Stewardship, Capital University

What was your first job?

I was a volunteer at a hospital and then became a hostess/front end register operator at Sister’s Chicken & Biscuits (if any of you remember that restaurant  J). Following graduation from college, I accepted a position to manage a Pathology billing office and was there for about ten years.   

How did you get into fundraising and/or prospect research?

I began my career as an administrative assistant for Annual Giving after moving to Columbus.  This position transitioned into splitting my role and assisting our director for Corporate and Foundation Relations.  My love and connections with our alumni and the business world moved me into my current role as assistant director for Development Research and Prospect Management.  

Where’s the next place on your bucket list? 

Within the U.S., I would love to travel up the east coast to Maine, or explore the west coast Washington State or Alaska.  I visited California and Hawaii a few years ago (pre-pandemic) and wouldn’t mind revisiting again.  Anywhere overseas would be exciting…..Iceland, Italy, Greece, Scotland, France, etc. 

What skill would you like to master?

I have always wanted to learn to fly a plane or become a pilot.  

Is pineapple an acceptable pizza topping?

Absolutely, YES!! I have a Hawaiian pizza quite frequently. J

Erin Weaver, Assistant Director, Data Quality, Prospect Development, University of Cincinnati Foundation

What was your first job?

Working on the grounds of a golf course; being hit by rogue golf balls or getting struck by lightning were daily dangers!

What piece of advice would you give to yourself at the beginning of your career?

When interviewers ask, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Really think it through; 5 years can go by very quickly

What do you listen to on your commute?

First half: Pete the Cat & Toy Story

Second half: True crime podcasts

Do you think iced coffee should only be consumed in the summer or all year round?

I will drink hot coffee in 95-degree weather

What is your favorite dessert?

Cheesecake

Nancy Sowders, Prospect Research Analyst, Kenyon College

What was your first job?

I worked summers during college at Star Island Conference Center, which is located on an island 7 miles off the coast of NH and Maine. Around 90 college kids staff the hotel and other buildings with jobs ranging from housekeeping to carpentry workers. Each week staffers entertain the conferees with a talent show. 

What’s your favorite thing about what you do or where you work? 

I like discovering and bringing information to our development officers that help them make a connection with a possible donor or volunteer. It's a whole team effort and it's great to know I had an important part when the team gets a WIN!

What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? 

Budgeting and saving money by running your home like a business. We are so busy these days that we forget to take the time to plan a household budget – and stick to it! If we implement routine maintenance for our homes (appliances, HVAC, roof, etc.) and our vehicles we're not constantly playing $$ defense when a disaster hits. So many people don't save or save enough, for retirement, too. We need to bring the goal-setting tools, tips, and tricks we use to streamline our work lives into our home lives.  (Hmmm, apparently I could go on and on and on.)

Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why? 

I want to visit all the lighthouses on the eastern seaboard. I plan to climb to the top of the lighthouse observation decks in as many as possible.  I climbed the 219 steps of the St. Augustine lighthouse last year – whew! America's early maritime history is found in the stories of our many lighthouses. And, well, they're all by the ocean – who doesn't love that?!

Elon Musk and 9 Others Who Gave Away $15 Billion in Just One Year - Barron's

Americans Gave a Near-Record $485 billion to Charity in 2021, Despite Surging Inflation Rates - The Conversation

Prospect Identification as a Tipping Point to Hire for Research - Apra Connections

How to Get Your Nonprofit on MacKenzie Scott's Radar: A Love Letter - Graham-Pelton

Have You Received Charitable Donations From Russian Oligarchs? - LAPA Fundraising

Doing Good Index 2022 - Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society

One Privacy Law to Rule them All? - Vorys

You Can Go Home Again - The Epic Journey of Krista Slade - DonorSearch Masterminds podcast

Companies Are Fibbing About Their Charitable Giving, Study Finds - devex

Steve Blankenship, Donor Research and Database Manager, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio

What was your first job?

For a Bookkeeping Service company that handled small businesses and partnerships.

How did you get into fundraising and/or prospect research?

Landed a computer programming position at the U.C. Foundation.

What's the best career advice you've ever received?

Always arrive early.

Is pineapple an acceptable pizza topping?

Only if it is included with Banana Peppers, Ham and Bacon.

What’s always in your refrigerator or freezer at home?

Bottles of water.

Cheryll McCarty, Prospect Management Analyst, Cleveland State University

What was your first nonprofit job? 

Cleveland Metropark Zoo- Event planner

How did you get into fundraising and/or prospect research? 

I have always been a fundraiser at heart. Every organization, whether it was for personal or work related, I was the first one to spear-head any fundraising needs of the organization. But my true passion is prospect research- I just love the prep work and strategy that goes into preparing a prospect for an ask by one of our professional fundraisers.

What’s a random fact you recently learned? 

That Cleveland, OH has the same amount of rainfall as Seattle, WA: 38 inches of rainfall per year.

Favorite guilty pleasure?

Scrolling on Tik-Tok

What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? 

How to Plan an Event

What skill would you like to master? 

Learn to play the cello (and to read music)

Who’s your go-to band or artist when you can’t decide on something to listen to? 

Grateful Dead

Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why? 

Finland- b/c my great grandmother was from there and I want to see the town she was born in.