Advancement team wins state excellence award

The University of North Georgia (UNG) Advancement team earned the Overall Institutional Excellence in Advancement Award from the Georgia Education Advancement Council (GEAC) at the group's annual conference in November at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Thanks to the generosity of UNG’s donors, over $74 million has been given to support students, programs and facilities over the past six years — a 181% increase in giving and a 33% increase in donors over the previous six years.

"Through the COVID pandemic, our Advancement team exemplifies what it means to turn adversity into extraordinary achievement," Jeff Tarnowski, UNG vice president for Advancement, said. "Over the past six years, this team has not only weathered unprecedented challenges but has transformed them into opportunities that produced remarkable results."

The award is "presented to institutions demonstrating outstanding achievement and commitment to the field of higher education advancement," according to the GEAC website.

Critical to this donor pipeline success was the work of the Alumni Relations and Annual Giving team. Like the development team, COVID-19 didn't stop the alumni team — even the spring 2020 Alumni Weekend occurred, just virtually. Tracking engagement, the majority of alumni who attend an alumni event become donors as well. Alumni events lead to giving, and as such, they drove much of the donor growth these past six years.

"In an era when many advancement teams struggled simply to maintain pre-pandemic performance, UNG's team nearly tripled their fundraising results while working shorthanded. During a global crisis the team sincerely deepened donor relationships," Tarnowski said. "They proved that a culture of doing things right, energy and creativity, coupled with an authentic commitment to mission, can overcome any obstacle."