FACES OF WID- June 2021

Congratulations to our members who have recently changed positions:

Congratulations to our members who have recently moved to new positions:
Danielle Kempe, Development Manager Northeast for Dogs for Better Lives
Erica Leung Lawless, formerly Senior Individual Giving Officer, Celebrity Series of Boston, now Associate Director of Development, Major Gifts, FAS - Harvard University

FACES OF WID- July 2021
Name: Felicity Beal
Title & Organization: Director of Development at Somerville Homeless Coalition
WID Role: Member
Hometown: Derby, England (no I haven’t met the Queen but I have seen her in the flesh!)
Lives Currently: Arlington, MA 
Education: University of Lancaster, England
Hobbies: Jigsaw puzzles and hiding from my teen daughter and pre-teen twins!

We welcome our newest members:
Dipanwita Bhattacharyya, Perkins School for the Blind
Abigail Dusseldorp, Groundwork USA
Christina Gordon, Women's Foundation of Boston
Caroline Grassi, Boston Medical Center
Elizabeth Green, Three Sisters
Morgan Herman, Cure Alzheimer's Fund
Katherine McKay, College of the Holy Cross
Sarah Rose, SouthCoast Community Foundation
Bianca Sigh Ward, ACLU of Massachusetts
Heather Sullivan, Boston Architectural College

On Thursday, June 10^th Women in Development of Greater Boston hosted our Annual Spring Meeting over Zoom to an impassioned audience. After a moving opening from outgoing WID President Kellen Epstein, during which she thanked the legacy of women who came before her, she introduced the incoming WID President, Katie Quackenbush Spiegel. Katie charted the direction for WID, with a focus on growth, movement, and accessibility.

FACES OF WID- June 2021


Name: Katie Quackenbush Spiegel
Title & Organization: Senior Director, Integrated Marketing and Communications, Massachusetts General Hospital
WID Role: President. Formerly VP, Brand; Co-Chair, Marketing & Communications Committee; board member; and regular member since 2004
Hometown: Canton, NY (way up in the North Country, near the Canadian border)
Lives Currently: Milton, MA
Education: BA English, Creative Writing at Boston College; MS Print Journalism at Boston University
Hobbies: Travel, running (and since COVID, Peloton), painting, skiing, cooking and then eating it 

Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Diverse Talent

Systemic racism continues to impede progress for people of color in every profession, including fundraising. Recent studies show that just 19% of employees at nonprofits identify as people of color while 30% of the US identifies as people of color – and only 13% of the Association of Fundraising Professionals members identified as non-white.

We welcome our newest members:
Cai Menyuan, Women's Lunch Place
Christine Casalini, Life Science Cares, Inc.
Denella Clark, Boston Arts Academy Foundation
Lori Correale, Rockport Music
Hannah Esbrook
Tricia Foster, Women's Foundation of Boston
Caroline Grassi, Boston Medical Center
Greta Hagen, RESPOND, Inc
Angela Haynes, The Carroll Center for the Blind
Kim Hodlin, Ipswich River Watershed Association
Stephanie Lowitt, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Peri Onipede

"Why Do We Shape Our Stories from a Donor-Centric Perspective? Shifting Our Lens to Community-Centric Storytelling and Fundraising"

When we think about best practices in philanthropy, we often focus on how external stakeholders will receive our messages -- including donor appeals, grant proposals, and event programs. But why is this the appropriate approach and do these practices honor the stories of the communities we serve? To further advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the funding space, nonprofit organizations and philanthropic institutions must re-examine how we communicate. Here are a few easy-to-implement changes that you can make in your organization today:

FACES OF WID- APRIL 2021

Name: Chloe Kimball
Title & Organization: Sr. Associate of Annual Giving & Events at Women’s Lunch Place
WID Role: Member
Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL
Lives Currently: Brookline, MA
Education: BA, New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL)
Hobbies: Printmaking, apartment gardening, pasta making

We welcome our newest members:
Carolyn Bachman, Museum of Science
Stephanie Cogen, Future Chefs
Gianna Ferrini, Sacred Heart STEM School
Elizabeth Jones, The ARC of the South Shore
Hillary Leahy, Wellesley College
Alexandra Mahar, Scandinavian Learning Center
Shelly McPhail, National Consumer Law Center
Edith Millard, Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth
Elisa Vokt, MassBay Community College
Katie Welch, Cambridge Public Library Foundation

WID Asks Why? Series: Pay Inequity

On April 14, 2021, a panel of non-profit professionals came together on the virtual stage to engage in a discussion on the important topic of pay inequity.

Faith Eutsay, Senior Consultant at Lindauer Global, thoughtfully moderated the discussion and asked the panel—Patricia D. Keenan, Vice President of Advancement, Community and Equity at Ellis, Ahmed Mohammed, Director of Talent Acquisition at Harvard Medical School, Andrea Silbert, President at Eos Foundation, and Sharon J. Stanczak, CFRE, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the Whitehead Institute—tough questions on the matter to shed light on the systemic problem of pay inequity.

Ethics in Fundraising

On April 27, 2021, a panel gathered to discuss best practices for developing gift and donor acceptance policies, making ethical decisions on how to work with donors, and how to graciously decline gifts from controversial funders. This program was generously sponsored by CCS Fundraising.

Congratulations to our members who have recently changed positions:
Michela Davola formerly Senior Development Manager, Boston Society of Architecture now Fundraising and Development Manager, Tufts School of Medicine, Center for the Study of Drug Development