Friends and Colleagues,

I am thrilled to announce that Anne Wieber has been promoted to Associate Director, Gift Planning Advancement. During her nearly six years in Development, Anne has played a central role in the success of our Gift Planning work, particularly in her integral role in the relaunch and ongoing leadership of the Love Thee Notre Dame initiative since 2019. As all who have worked with Anne know well, she is an incredible partner, a consummate team player, and has excelled at everything she has been asked to take on.

In her new role, Anne will serve as lead on all Gift Planning and Storytelling collaborative work, will work side-by-side with Jessica Brice on the launch and implementation of our new LTND-U training program, will serve as lead on the planning and execution of all Love Thee Notre Dame sponsored events, will maintain and increase her role in facilitation of and engagement with our Gift Planning Advancement Committee, and will lead efforts in maintaining, synthesizing, and updating Gift Planning fundraising data (in collaboration with colleagues across Development).

Please join me in congratulating Anne on this well-deserved promotion.

TJ Pillari

If you are interested in joining us for our next UR Walks with Sara Liebscher, please fill out this form. We will meet at noon at the ESC front desk on Tuesday, February 14. As there may be some non-pavement, trail walking, we advise that appropriate footwear be considered. Signing up also helps us to contact those who are interested just in case we need to cancel at the last minute due to inclement weather. We look forward to seeing those in person for this fun exercise. Happy trails!

Dear Colleagues,

The first spring renewal mailing (renew #1) is dropping in mailboxes starting Friday, February 10 to all our unrestricted and giving society benefactors. As a reminder, this mailing is sent to all assigned and unassigned benefactors whose annual giving is less than $25,000, asking them to renew their previous calendar year gift by their respective fund owner. This mailing is being sent to over 9,600 households and will be followed by email reminders in the weeks to come. If you have any questions regarding our renewal strategy, please reach out to the appropriate fund (Sorin, Rockne, Law, etc.) owner on the annual giving team and they can assist.

Thanks!
Annual Giving Team

Friends and Colleagues,

I write to share the news that Amelia Thompson will be leaving Notre Dame to pursue an exciting professional opportunity, one that brings her closer to home in Tennessee. Her last day at the University is this Friday, February 10.

In the nearly two years that Amelia has been a valued member of this team, she has built and grown a number of important relationships on behalf of the University. She has had an unmistakable impact on Notre Dame, this team and the benefactors with whom she has worked.

Please join me in thanking Amelia and wishing her well as she embarks on this exciting next chapter in her career.

All the best,
Ryan

Dear Colleagues,

Please see below for updates on registrants, invitations, and access to these events.

Notre Dame Investment Team Endowment Update

On Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 11 AM ET, we will host the Notre Dame Endowment Update with Mike Donovan and his team. This private, invite-only event is for participants in Notre Dame’s charitable remainder trust and donor advised fund programs. The event is an opportunity to learn more about the University’s Endowment and participate in a question-and-answer session with Mike Donovan and the Investment Office team.

A final reminder email will be sent to benefactors who have not yet registered for this event on Tuesday, February 14th.

The current list of participants for this event can be found here. This file is updated as registrations come in up until the day of the event.

To join this event, please contact Laura Walker. A zoom link will also be published closer to this event.

Badin Guild Naples Cocktail Reception

On Thursday, March 2, 2023, from 5-7 PM ET the Badin Guild will host a stewardship reception at the Ritz-Carlton Naples. This reception is hosted by George and Ginny Mammola and Tom and Bridget Black.

• Badin Guild Members

  • An invitation with event details was sent to all Badin Guild members on Thursday, January 26th and reminders will be sent on Thursday, February 9th, and Tuesday, February 21st.

  • The current list of participants for this event can be found here. This file is updated as registrations come in up until the day of the event.

• Prospects

  • Benefactors who are not in the Badin Guild but have a preferred or seasonal address within 50 miles of Naples and lifetime giving of $250K, or have been previously requested to be invited by a regional director, will also receive the invitations that will be sent on Thursday, February 9th and Tuesday, February 21st.

  • If you have a prospective planned gift benefactor that is not on this list that you would like to invite, please contact Laura Walker.

• Regional Directors

  • If you have a benefactor coming to this event, you are most welcome to attend as well.

 

If you have any questions regarding any of these events, please contact Laura Walker.

The University Relations Administration team is now searching for an Advisor to the Vice President of University Relations. In this role, the incumbent will be responsible for advising the Vice President on all aspects of University Relations strategic operations. This opportunity also includes management of special projects, serving as a liaison to academic and administrative units, and drafting and executing correspondence to internal and external constituents on behalf of the Vice President. Please see the job posting for the full description Advisor to the Vice President for University Relations. Adria Logan, Associate Director of Organizational Strategy will be the primary point of contact for this search. If you have any questions related to this exciting opportunity, please reach out to Adria before the post closes on February 16th.

The Stewardship & Donor Relations team is now hiring for an Assistant Director, University Stewardship Initiatives. In this role, the assistant director is responsible for project management of impact reporting, acknowledgments, communications, recognition, and stewardship events in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs and Department of Athletics. Rosie McDowell, who manages Undergraduate Financial Aid stewardship, is the hiring manager for this position. Please let Rosie know if you have any questions about this dynamic, student-focused role. The role will be posted until February 19th. 

Colleagues,

Please join me in wishing Brooke Wenzel all the best as she departs the Notre Dame family to start a new career at ExtraHop, a cyber-security company based in Seattle, doing process improvement projects for their marketing department. She will continue living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota close to her family and with her dog, Honeybear.

Brooke moved to South Bend and joined us in 2013 after working for Thomson Reuters as a legal research associate in Washington, DC. She spent 5 years with the Gift Planning team beginning the launch of the DAF portal program, 3 years with the CCPC team working directly with benefactors and fundraisers in the NY Metro and East Coast regions, and has spent the last two years continuing her partnership with George West and Ryan Brennan to grow portfolios and onboard many new fundraisers and teammates. She is passionate about her work and has made a huge impact with her strategic mindset, insight, and creative ideas.

Please join us in gratitude and congratulations to Brooke as we say farewell for now! Her last day will be Friday, February 10th. We will be posting shortly for a new Prospect Management Consultant position, so please contact Jonathan Retartha if you know of any interest in the role.

Here is Brooke’s personal contact information – please keep in touch!

Email: Brookewenzel01@gmail.com

Cell: 651-278-6074

 

Thank you Brooke!

-Jonathan Retartha

Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in February! We love working with you!

2/2 – Kim Biagini
2/3 – Alyssa Strbjak
2/3 – Shelby Carroll
2/4 – Rebekah Kincaid
2/8 – Davida Kozlowski
2/10 – Cat Edmonds
2/10 – Jessica Reasons
2/12 – Aaron Wall
2/13 – Christa LeeVan
2/16 – Matt Abernathy
2/17 – Allison Griffith
2/20 – Riley Koval
2/21 – Ashley Moeller
2/21 – Kara Primmer
2/23 – Heather Moriconi
2/24 – Shannon Longo
2/27 – Amy Schell
2/27 – Hilary Ott
2/29 – Bill Kempf

The newest episode of “The Grace of Giving” podcast is out featuring AVP for Advancement Services, Brian Diss! In this episode we discuss new year resolutions, why pie is always better than cake, and Brian’s dream job of being a host on The Today Show! All this and more in the Grace of Giving! Listen now! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and fill out this form to appear as a guest.