Brightening up 'Blue Monday'

You may have heard that today is Blue Monday, reputed to be the most depressing day of the year. In truth, it is nothing but a marketing tactic dreamed up by a travel company to encourage people to fly south. Nevertheless, here is a little video sent to us by a very good friend of Queen's that I hope brightens your day (apologies in advance for the ear worm). 

Podcast premiere coming soon

The great thing about having such a big community of alumni and friends is that we have a seemingly endless reservoir of stories to tell. And now we have a new way to tell them. Our first-ever Queen’s Alumni Review podcast is getting ready to launch later this  month.  

In Cause & Effect, Senior Development Writer, Deborah Melman-Clement, sits down with our donors to learn about the motivation behind their gifts to Queen’s and the impact they have on the world. It’s an innovative stewardship opportunity we can offer to our donors, and it enables us to collect information that will deepen our understanding of what motivates philanthropy. Just as importantly, it’s an opportunity to share a great story with anyone who’s willing to listen.

If you know of a donor with a story to tell, be sure to let Deborah know.

The official launch is slated for Jan. 31. In the meantime, here’s a little taste of the Alumni Review podcast.

Moving into 2022

By Jodi Snowdon

I am not one for new year's resolutions. By this time in January, they are already often "dead and gone and buried" as Taylor Swift might say. However, I have always been one for setting goals and intentions. Almost two years into a pandemic, the goals I would typically set are now moot. As a recreational runner of many years, I have to ask myself if I am willing to train for a race that might go virtual (again). Or plan a "race-cation" that might be cancelled (again). The truth is, the finish line keeps moving on all of us. This year I found myself thinking that setting goals might just be a jinx. I figured I shouldn't articulate or put anything out into the universe, but just tip-toe quietly into 2022 and go with the flow. How to do that is the magic question; I don't have a magic answer. 

What I did find was a 30-day yoga challenge on YouTube with a very simple goal of making it to your mat every day. Now, to be honest, even that felt like a lot. Time is a weird thing in a pandemic, but it is safe to say that even when it slows to a halt, there is somehow still not enough of it. I did the first day of this yoga challenge and almost immediately decided to abort after the one class. It was hard, I was anything but graceful, and my monkey-mind was screaming while I tried to focus on my breath. However, in some strange and unexplainable coincidence, my younger daughter independently did the same practice that same day. Upon realizing, we decided to go back to the mat for day 2 together. And then we returned for day 3…and day 4…fast forward through some baby cobras and downward dogs and we’ve now finished day 16. 16 days of yoga has not magically made the poses any easier and, sadly, has not made me any more graceful. Sometimes I am still thinking ahead to upcoming meetings, worrying about what to make for dinner or bracing myself for the next government announcement. But, during a time of chaos and unpredictability, it has been something I can count on. No matter what else is thrown at us, I know that my day will start on my mat. That won’t be cancelled. I will stretch and move and breathe by my Christmas tree, which remains up and lit because we need to embrace the light where we can find it. It has become a routine of comfort, when routines keep changing in often uncomfortable ways. And, as a bonus, it’s a great excuse to start (and continue) the day in yoga pants!

If you’d like to join me, try a class or two. Or start your own challenge, on your own timeline. Give yourself a little bit of time and space to move into this new year. It doesn’t have to be through yoga because, as you have likely figured out by now, this actually has little to do with yoga. Maybe I won’t be setting any ambitious goals this year, but I am starting each day with an intention. And maybe that is enough right now. For me and for you too. Namaste, friends. 

CASE and CCAE release 2021 survey findings

Last week, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) released the findings of the 2021 Support of Education Survey of Canadian post-secondary institutions. Key findings included:

• More than $1.7 billion in total dollars raised from just over 250,000 donors
• Median new funds secured ranged from $1.9 million for colleges and institutes to $71.4 million for medical/doctoral universities
• Institutions that reported for 2019 through 2021 experienced a small, aggregate decrease of 5% in the number of donors during those years. Given the impact of the pandemic on many fundraising activities, this is a positive outcome.
• Staffing for fundraising and alumni relations were remarkably stable given the disruptions brought by the pandemic, reflecting the priority institutions place on sustaining strong relations with alumni and other supporters.
• At primarily undergraduate institutions, total new funds secured for financial aid almost doubled from $13.6 million in 2019 to $24.6 million in 2021. At medical/doctoral universities total new funds for financial aid rose from $157.3 million to $206.8 million. 

Ready, set, Zoom

By Jodi Snowdon

Donor Relations is pleased to offer complimentary registrations for our Advancement colleagues to the Donor Relations Guru monthly webinar series for 2022. One webinar each month will cover current donor relations issues featuring subject experts. The topics cover a broad spectrum of the work we all do in Advancement, and we promise there will be something for everyone.

We have created an easy-to-register link that will blanket register you for all webinars. Even if you can't attend one of them, you will get the recording and slides direct to your inbox within 24 hours of the broadcast to enjoy at your convenience. Cozy socks and popcorn encouraged!

We invite you to review the catalogue of webinars for a taste of what will be offered over the next year. If you would like to register for the webinars individually, please email Donor Relations with the month and topic you'd like to register for, or 
register now for the complete series and use "Queen's University" as the company.

We're on the CASE

Last week we told you about the CCAE Prix d’Excellence awards. This week we’re excited to announce that the CASE Circle of Excellence awards are also now accepting submissions for work completed between July 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021.

The CASE awards are looking a bit different this year. In previous years, they’ve had global and district awards programs, but this year, they’re consolidating everything into one big program. So although we can still win at both the global and district levels, we only need to apply once.

There are lots of new categories this year, and lots of opportunities for us to highlight the amazing work we did over the last 18 months.

Submissions are due to Kate Bearse on Mar. 9 for submission by the CASE deadline.
 

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 Ferreira Rodrigues or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.