Member Spotlight: Lauren Schlesinger

Lauren Schlesinger
Assistant Director of Scholarship Stewardship
University of Georgia

ADRP Member for 6 Years

How long have you worked in donor relations/stewardship and how did you get involved in this profession?

I have worked in Donor Relations and Stewardship since January 2014. However, my first foray into the profession was when I was a student worker in the University of Georgia’s (UGA’s) Office of Development during college. I learned as much as I could about Development as a whole, and made as many contacts as I could. My first job out of college was in UGA’s Office of Student Financial Aid as a scholarship counselor. I worked on the awarding/student side of all the funds that I now currently steward. My experience in the development office impacted the work I was doing in financial aid by facilitating connections and having an understanding of the UGA Foundation side of Financial Aid’s work. When our donor relations office posted a position for a scholarship stewardship coordinator, I knew this was the perfect job for me.

Could you tell us something about the organization you work for?

Chartered by the State of Georgia in 1785, the University of Georgia is the birthplace of public higher education in America — launching our nation’s great tradition of world-class public education. What began as a commitment to inspire the next generation grows stronger today through global research, hands-on learning and extensive outreach. A top value in public higher education and research, the University of Georgia tackles some of the world’s grand challenges, from combating infectious disease and creating a dependable food supply to advancing economic growth and strengthening cyber and global security.

As Georgia’s flagship institution, the university is recognized for its commitment to student excellence through an emphasis on rigorous learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom, including hands-on research and leadership opportunities. These experiences contribute to the university’s exceptional rates in retention, graduation and career placement. Among public universities, the University of Georgia has been one of the nation’s top three producers of Rhodes Scholars over the past two decades, and its honors program is ranked as one of the top 10 in the country. The university is also home to the Peabody Awards, the most prestigious prize in electronic media.

What do you like most about being a member of the ADRP?

I enjoy the networking and conferences. We always go to conferences with a plan to bring back at least one new thing or idea to implement during the coming year. I have found so much inspiration from the amazing sessions and wonderful discussions. I feel that ADRP does a fantastic job having so many sessions to choose from at their conferences; you will always find something that fits your needs. The contacts that I have made have also broadened my network and allowed discussions to continue long after the conferences are over. The regional conferences are also fantastic and allow you to connect with your “neighbors.” These are the people that are in similar shops and going through similar experiences, so their input and advice is that much more impactful. 

What is your greatest donor relations/stewardship achievement?

There have been many amazing achievements that I have been so lucky to be a part of over the last six years, but the biggest one would be the celebration of the 30th anniversary of a very special scholarship. This story is a classic example of how stewardship can change the course of a relationship. This scholarship was first awarded in the fall of 1987 only a few years after the donor had passed. The donor’s granddaughter took up interest in her grandfather’s legacy and became highly involved not just with the scholarship but with the University as a whole. There was a very nice annual lunch that occurred with top university officials, the donor representative, and the scholarship recipients. After some time, this very nice lunch was scaled back to a box lunch, then an ice cream social, then the donor representative was completely forgotten. Needless to say, the granddaughter was very upset that she had been pushed to the side after all she had done for the University and this scholarship.

Enter Donor Relations and Stewardship! When our office was still in its earliest stages, our VP came to our senior director and asked if we could look into an upset donor. Granted the last luncheon had happened sometime around 2000 and this was now 2011! Our office slowly but surely built up our relationship with this donor representative and really listened to what her thoughts and expectations were. When I was hired as our scholarship stewardship coordinator, one of my first big projects was taking over the luncheon. Another coworker that made the reconnection with this donor had been handling this event for the last two years, but didn’t have the time to devote to fully working with scholarships. It was exciting to research everything that had happened and to be able to go in and create a plan for making this donor representative feel that her grandfather’s gift was appreciated again. Through my initial research I realized that the 30th anniversary for this scholarship was coming up and that we should be planning a reunion celebration instead of the normal annual luncheon.

Fast forward four years and four annual luncheons. We now had a fantastic relationship with this donor representative and she was now involved again with UGA. We wanted to make this anniversary celebration one to remember. We were able to host this event at the president’s house, invite all past recipients as well as the current recipients and their families, and really make this a memorable night. In addition to the actual event, we created a special impact book that had numerous thank you messages compiled from past recipients, current recipients, university administrators, past administrators, and other special contacts. This book was presented to the donor representative at the end of the evening and you could tell this book meant everything to her. She was blown away by the impact and so appreciative of us highlighting the legacy of her grandfather here at UGA.

When I think of donor relations and the good that we can do, this story sums it up. It shows how not having a focus on donor relations can cause problems and hurt your institution. It also shows how bringing the focus back to what our donors do can cause magical things to happen. I am grateful that I get to be a part of these special moments.

What is the most important professional goal you are currently pursuing, i.e., attaining a degree, preparing to give a presentation, launching an initiative at work or in your community, etc.?

I am currently working on standardizing scholarship stewardship reporting across our campus through our Gratitude Report mailing. Right now, every area does their own thing with stewarding scholarship donors. Depending on the area, some donors get personalized notes and one-on-one meetings with their recipients and some donors might not even find out who their recipients are. We want to ensure that every scholarship donor at UGA is at least getting a thank-you message from their recipient. Just like endowment reports are always mailed at a specific time each year, we hope to one day be able to do the same thing with gratitude reports. I am in the process of scheduling meetings with different areas that would like to participate this year and the response has been overwhelming! I had a goal for this year that I would get at least 3 areas (out of 17) involved and I already have meetings scheduled with 10! We are excited to see what this project is going to do for scholarship stewardship here at UGA.

How big a role does the use of social media play in your work?

Right now, we do not use social media for scholarship stewardship – FERPA regulations and the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act have made things a little complicated! 

What is the best piece of professional advice you have ever received?

Be like water. Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains. When there are stones in the path of water, what does it do? It rises above the stones and flows or it slowly works its way through. Similarly, obstacles will come in life; rise above the obstacles and move through them. Have patience and flow over them. If you have a door closed in your face or hear no, keep working and find another way. Be relentless in what you stand for and the work that you do.

Are there any particular stories, insights, etc., from your experiences in donor relations and stewardship that you would like to share with our colleagues?

Always look at ways you can collaborate with other areas inside development and outside of development, you might be surprised what impact can come from those relationships. 

If you are working with scholarships, you need to have a working relationship with your Student Financial Aid Office. Having that input and access to the knowledge of the people that are awarding and working with your scholarship recipients is invaluable. Allowing them to see the impact of the work they are doing helps them understand Stewardship and Development better and makes them a partner as opposed to a barrier or hurdle to jump over.