The Life Cycle of a Gift

Bringing a gift to fruition from beginning to end is often a full team effort. It involves multiple departments, colleagues and activity, and it happens over time–sometimes months, sometimes years.

The following story describes the team effort involved. It spotlights colleagues being intentional, present in their role within the division, and providing the amazing customer services that our external and internal partners know and appreciate. Each of us is an important piece to connect, engage and partner with UGA alumni, donors, prospects, parents and friends. Don’t ever forget the role that you play and its importance in our success as a division and a university.

1. Talent Management recruits two amazing new staff for the division, one in alumni relations and one in development.
2. The alumni relations staff member receives a referral name from a current donor at an event that our Office of Special Events has planned.
3. The development officer asks research to provide research to qualify this person.
4. The email that is in GAIL is not accurate. Records finds an updated email address and phone number for the development officer.
5. Research creates a detailed report on the person’s capacity and affinity.
6. The development officer schedules a meeting with the prospect after she mentions an impressive UGA annual fund piece she received in the mail.
7. The intro meeting goes well and the development officer decides to put a plan on this person. Prospect Management assists with talking through the steps of the plan entered into GAIL.
8. The development officer invites the prospect to campus to meet the vice president, the dean, and students. They work with the VP’s office, dean’s office, and a handful of faculty and students to curate a great day with a few fun surprises.
9. The prospect mentions on her campus visit that her company would like to recruit student interns from UGA.
10. The development officer partners with the Office of Business Engagement and the Career Center to connect the company’s chief HR officer and head recruiter to the appropriate individuals and opportunities to hire interns.
11. The development officer schedules a second meeting with the prospect and invites a member of the Gift & Estate Planning team to discuss a retained life estate gift. The donor had mentioned briefly that they wanted to learn more about retained life estates.
12. The prospect has a friend’s daughter attending UGA next year. The friends are also great prospects.
13. The development officer contacts the Parent Giving team to encourage a colleague to meet with these new UGA parents.
14. The prospect is ready to receive an official proposal. The development officer works with DARCOMM, the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Athletics, and Public Service and Outreach to create a full proposal with an opportunity to create a new center benefiting the academic unit, athletics and PSO. The prospect has decided to hold off on the retained life estate gift for now and focus on an outright gift.
15. The development officer presents the proposal to the prospect.
16. The prospect and her financial planner have a few questions about the investment portfolio for the endowment.
17. The UGA Foundation and the development officer have a conference call to answer the prospect’s questions.
18. The prospect accepts the proposal after reviewing and discussing with her financial planner and family.
19. The development officer works with the UGA Foundation and the other areas benefiting from the endowment to draft the fund agreement and the letter of intent.
20. The development officer gathers the signatures on these documents within three months to ensure the endowment fund is set up and ready to receive the actual gift.
21. Gift Accounting enters the gift into the system and sets up the pledge payment schedule.
22. Donor Relations & Stewardship sends a thank you letter from the President to the donor.
23. DARCOMM profiles the donor for a ‘Why I Give’ feature in Georgia Magazine and on the giving website.