Journey Queen
Donor Communications Officer
Georgia Institute of Technology

1. What kind of organization are you doing donor relations in right now?
I work for one of the nation’s leading technological research universities located in Atlanta.

2. What’s a donor relations topic you’re always happy to talk about?
I’m always happy to talk about how to keep donor communications feeling personal at scale. It’s easy for acknowledgment cycles to become transactional, especially with high volume, but small adjustments can make each touchpoint feel intentional. I enjoy finding ways to make recurring communications still feel fresh and meaningful for the donor.

 

3. What donor relations practice did you stop doing, and why?
One practice I’ve moved away from is over-editing or holding onto communications too long in pursuit of making them perfect. Early on, I would spend extra time refining my language, which sometimes delayed getting messages out. I’ve learned that in donor relations, timeliness often matters just as much as polish. Now I focus on delivering clear, thoughtful communications efficiently, knowing that a timely message can have a greater impact than a perfectly worded one.

 

4. What’s one donor relations decision that didn’t work, and what did it teach you?
Earlier in my role, I tended to take an independent approach to drafting custom donor communications. While I was able to get the work done, I realized I wasn’t always capturing the most timely or personal details that could have made the message stronger. That experience taught me that strong donor communications are rarely created in isolation. Now, I take a more collaborative approach by connecting with development officers and others who know the donor well to gather insights before finalizing a letter. It’s improved both the quality of the communication and the overall donor experience.

Research Committee: Helping DR & Stewardship Professionals Turn Evidence Into Impact

Sarah Brickman
Research Committee, Chair

The ADRP Research Committee provides members with evidence-based approaches to donor relations that can be adapted for any shop. We aim to underscore the measurable value of donor relations through peer-reviewed research and benchmarking, and to empower ADRP members with the data they need to make confident, strategic decisions.

Currently, the committee is hard at work preparing for the 2026 ADRP International Conference in Reno. This year, we will lead a session where attendees can learn directly from researchers and experienced professionals who are using research in their work.

Aligned with the ADRP 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, we are also diving deeper into MyADRP and survey data to explore how research shows up in our members’ daily work, with the goal of offering new tools and resources to help ADRP members continue to elevate and lead through evidence-based decision-making.

How to Work With Us

Marian Johnson
2025-2026 President

Corey Smentek
ADRP Board Member
Senior Director, MIT Donor Engagement and Stewardship

Still full of beignets and soaring from the high of representing ADRP at the CASE Donor Relations Conference, it was energizing to connect with donor relations colleagues from across the country — and the world — in New Orleans.

ADRP was proud to sponsor this year's conference as part of our commitment to strengthening partnerships in the donor relations and fundraising profession. Throughout the conference, I spent time at the ADRP booth alongside Executive Director Scott Eichinger, meeting both current and prospective members. Some stopped by to learn more about ADRP for the first time, while others shared how they have benefited from webinars, conferences, MyADRP, and the many opportunities ADRP provides to engage with colleagues across the field.

That spirit was evident even before the CASE conference officially began. ADRP hosted My ADRP Live – New Orleans, bringing together donor relations and advancement professionals to share ideas and learn from one another. It was especially rewarding to reconnect with many of those same colleagues at CASE over the following days, picking up discussions that had started the day before.

What struck me was how many people were interested in learning more about ADRP and what it offers. Attendees were eager to discover resources, hear how others engage with the association, and explore the many ways ADRP supports professionals throughout their careers. Their interest highlighted the importance of having a professional home dedicated specifically to donor relations.

Marian Johnson
2025-2026 President

Marian Johnson
President, ADRP

Vanessa Carta
Sr. Director of Development
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester

1. What kind of organization are you doing donor relations in right now?

I recently joined Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester, a youth development and community service organization affiliated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

2. What’s a donor relations topic you’re always happy to talk about?

I passionately believe that thanking donors and showing impact are basic courtesies we owe our donors, aiming for seven gratitude touches before the next ask. Spending time and money on thoughtful stewardship is an investment well worth the costs.

Sticking Together to Bring Big Ideas to Life

Kathleen Diemer
Founder and Owner of KM Diemer Consulting
ADRP Past President and Board Member

In the last few months, as more stories of unethical and illegal donor behavior have appeared in the news, reputational risk clauses have again emerged as a hot topic in the fundraising industry. While such clauses may be necessary to protect organizations and institutions in the event of a naming or donor association gone wrong, there are several questions organizations and institutions should ask before utilizing reputational risk clauses:

1. Where and how are you addressing reputational risk, and how are you discussing it with your donors? 

2. Do you have a documented procedure or protocol outlining how your organization would respond in a possible reputational risk circumstance?

3. Are you only addressing reputational risk that may come to your organization based on the behavior of a donor, or are you addressing it as a two-party shared act of trust?

Marian Johnson
2025-2026 President

Our Shared Voice 

Every story we tell about donor relations shapes the profession. The language we choose, the impact we highlight, and the leadership we model all influence how our work is amplified, understood, and valued. 

During National Volunteer Month, I am especially mindful that our shared voice is strengthened by those who give their time and talent in service to this community. So much of what moves ADRP forward happens because volunteers offer expertise, perspective, and care beyond our day-to-day roles. Our leadership may not always be visible, but its impact lasts. 

We are also deeply grateful to those recognized through ADRP’s Volunteer Service and Founders Awards. These individuals helped shape ADRP in enduring ways, and it is a privilege to continue building on that foundation.  

Marian Johnson
2025-2026 President

The courage to keep learning… 

Some of the most effective leaders I know share one common trait: They never stop learning. 

In our profession, curiosity is not optional. It is an act of courage. The philanthropic landscape continues to evolve, expectations shift, and new ideas challenge long-held assumptions. Choosing to learn, ask better questions, seek broad perspectives, and stretch beyond what feels comfortable is how we remain credible and relevant.  

Angela Altamore
Associate Vice President
BWF

Throughout my 15-plus years as a donor relations practitioner, I spent a good chunk of my time researching and studying industry best practices. Who among us hasn’t been asked to research our “aspirational peers”? (If you haven’t yet, it’s only a matter of time!) One of the things I’ve always appreciated about the donor relations community is how generous we are in sharing what’s working, or in some cases not working, in their shops.

After years of various benchmarking requests across multiple organizations, my then boss used a phrase that still resonates and informs my approach in consulting with donor relations teams: “I am seeking effective practices, not best practices.” It was a small shift in phrasing that fundamentally changed how I approached benchmarking. I began asking different questions:

• Who are our relevant peers; not just our aspirational ones?

• If another organization has ten times the staff and five times the budget than we do, are they really a meaningful comparison?

Bridget Edmonds
Director of Donor Stewardship
The Nature Conservancy in Maine

1. What kind of organization are you doing donor relations in right now?

The Nature Conservancy is an environmental organization that works with communities to clear obstacles and find solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises.

2. What’s a donor relations topic you’re always happy to talk about?

How to surprise and delight a donor.

 

Building the Conference, Year by Year

The ADRP International Conference is our most visible program and represents the largest investment of volunteer time and staff support across the association. 

At the center of this enterprise is the International Conference Committee, volunteers who partner with the ADRP office to plan and execute the multi-day event. Our mission is simple in wording but significant in scope: deliver a conference experience that meaningfully serves ADRP members, non-members, and sponsors. Therefore, planning a conference of this scale requires structure, collaboration, and sustained effort over time.

Structured Committee Leadership

Macy Russell
Donor Relations Officer
University Advancement, Washington University in St. Louis

Jenny Wolkowitz
Executive Director of Development, Individual Giving
University Advancement, Washington University in St. Louis

Last summer, Jenny Wolkowitz began preparing for a meeting a century in the making. She was engaging the sixth generation of a prolific family to envision the future of their family foundation at WashU. While prior generations had practiced a quiet, steady form of generosity for decades, this newer generation expressed a desire to make more transformational investments. They weren’t just looking for new projects; they sought a philanthropic identity that felt uniquely theirs while remaining anchored in their ancestry.

Jenny worked closely with the Olin Business School to craft a menu of forward-thinking opportunities for the family’s philanthropy. Honoring a hunch that to move forward, it would be helpful to look back, she reached out to Macy Russell, a donor relations officer specializing in bespoke engagement, for help. Their initial plan for a one-page financial summary soon evolved into a genealogical detective story.  

University digital records only reached the 1960s, but Macy presumed a deeper connection than meets the eye. She worked with prospect research to dive into the archives, scouring microfilm and handwritten ledgers until she discovered the seed of the legacy: a $5 gift from a member of the family from the Class of 1925.

Brinton Vincent
Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship 
Augustana College

1. What kind of organization are you doing donor relations in right now?

I oversee donor relations and stewardship at a private, liberal arts college in the Midwest.

2. What’s a donor relations topic you’re always happy to talk about?

I'm always happy to talk about managing endowed scholarships and engaging students in our meaningful work.

• Southeast Regional Conference: New Orleans

• Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Conference: New York City

• There is no Midwest regional conference in 2026. We’ll see you next year, likely in the Chicago area.

Marian Johnson
2025-2026 President

The Strength of Connection… 

Connection is the heartbeat of our profession. Our work is about building relationships, listening closely, earning trust, and deepening engagement over time. It is in those intentional relationships that meaningful impact becomes possible. 

That same spirit of connection lives here within the ADRP community, across geographies, experiences, sectors, and backgrounds. What makes this organization extraordinary is not simply the knowledge we exchange or the programs we offer. It is the way we show up for one another. We share generously. We challenge thoughtfully. We learn from perspectives different from our own.