For those who don’t remember, Mar. 13 was our last day in the office, and tomorrow, Mar. 16, marks the first anniversary of the beginning of our radically different work experience, remote working.
While this isn’t necessarily a happy anniversary, it does give us a chance to reflect and look back over the year and how it has shaped us. COVID-19 has changed everything. On a macro level, it has shown us the best and the worst of humanity, and on a micro level, there has been a significant disruption, both good and bad, in our personal and work lives.
While this is a sombre anniversary, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We know that the post-pandemic normal will not look exactly like the old normal, but one year later, here we are, still moving forward, together.
On Friday, ALT listened to Office of Advancement staff walk through their dreams for our post-COVID work environment, and to say we were blown away would be an understatement! It was a fun morning, and we were amazed at the thought put into this exercise and the creative and amazing ideas that came forward, some of which we can move forward with right away:
o The need for office supplies was identified by some groups during their presentations. No one should be out of pocket for office supplies. Please connect with your departmental assistant or coordinator to get these ordered and delivered to your home:
• Kate Bearse, Office of the Vice-Principal (Advancement)
• Sarah Blayney Lew/Natalie Shearer, Alumni Relations & Annual Giving
• Kelly Colby, Advancement Services
• Benjamin Lawrence, Marketing, Communications & Donor Relations
• Peggy Shanks, Development
o Establishing meeting norms was another great idea we can move forward with right away. Some ideas included booking 25-minute meetings instead of half- hour meetings, or 45-50 minute meetings instead of the full hour. This allows people a break, especially if they have back to back meetings. Other ideas included the occasional camera-free meeting to ease the pressure of being "on," and/or making it clear which meetings are optional so people have more control over their day.
o Employee recognition was also mentioned in a number of presentations as an important element. ALT highlighted the need to determine a strategy for an entire employee recognition program and had already planned a discussion with the managers for next week.
Tomorrow ALT will continue our discussion of the themes we heard throughout the presentations, and how we will be moving the major elements forward.
Gift Planning Lunch and Learn
Did you know that 69% of Canadians hold a registered fund like an RRSP account? The Gift Planning team invites all development officers to learn how donors can make gifts from these vehicles and why they might consider it. Join us from 12:15-1 pm on Mar. 31 for a short presentation with many examples about how philanthropic gifts can be made from registered accounts. Bring your lunch and your questions. This is the first of several discussion topics that we will be hosting in 2021.
Advancement Data Challenge Results
By: Steve Hornsby & Rachel Deir
The Advancement Data Challenge was held last Thursday and provided a great opportunity for Advancement staff to showcase their analytical talents to the rest of their Advancement colleagues and our two special guest judges. The use of data and its application to inform real programmatic change was inspiring. I would like to thank our three judges: Jodi Magee, Josh Gilmore, and Karen Bertrand for their insights, questions, and the difficult decision of choosing our inaugural champion. Thanks again to all the presenters for stepping into the arena and taking the time to prepare. All the presentations were impressive.
Data Challenge Champion - Melanie Fortner, Leveraging New Tools to Make Gift Planning Data More Accessible
People's Choice Award (chosen by you) - Carlye Brash and Jaclyn O’Hearn-Jeffrey, Homecoming 2020: Leveraging the Data
For those that were not able to attend, a recording of the Challenge can be found here or in the multimedia folder (ADV Common\Advancement Data Challenge) on the I drive.
Thank you!
We want to thank everyone who submitted entries -- or worked with us to submit entries -- for the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards this year. We had 20 submissions -- what a way to highlight all the hard work you did in 2020, a truly unprecedented year! We will do this again next year for CCAE Prix d’Excellence and CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, so please start thinking about any projects you would want to submit for 2021.
Employee Spotlight
The Employee Spotlight celebrates the arrival of our new staff by profiling responses they share through a fun and informal survey that will help us get to know them better. Be sure to review these profiles and use these fun facts and tidbits to find commonalities, embrace differences and spark a conversation!
Last week we welcomed Jessica McCarthy to Advancement, in the position of Administrative Assistant, Annual Giving and Young Alumni. Click here to learn more about Jessica and the variety of places she lived while growing up!
Last week we also welcomed Sarah Blayney Lew to Advancement, in the position of Administrative Assistant, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Click here to learn more about Sarah and what she enjoys doing outside of work!
Jobs with Advancement
We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancies below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.
Applications (including a cover letter and résumé) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Carla or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.
Available Position:
| POSITION | UNIT AND DEPARTMENT | CLOSING DATE | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director, University-Wide Development | Development | March 21, 2021 | 12 |
| Associate Director, Regional Strategy | Alumni Relations & Annual Giving | March 21, 2021 | 10 |
| Development Coordinator, Faculty of Health Sciences | Department of Development, Faculty of Health Sciences | March 22, 2021 | 7 |
| Multimedia Producer | Advancement Marketing, Communications & Donor Relations | March 16, 2021 | 7 |
Fun Fact
Queen’s and the Harry Potter connection
According to Herstmonceux castle tour guides, the castle was used for some of the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets scenes. Rumour has it that J.K. Rowling also visited the castle once.
Another interesting fact, the 1923 Reading Room in the Douglas Library is more commonly known as the Harry Potter Room due to its striking resemblance to the film version of Hogwarts.