Congratulations are in order for D-SIP’s two newest doctors—Molly Dobson and Shelley Strickland.  In December, Molly was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at winter commencement.  Her gifts of time, talent and money have shaped D-SIP into what it is today. Besides being the founding donor, Molly always volunteers to be a guest speaker in the Friday class to share her journey and thoughts on philanthropy with the summer interns. A specific gift of Molly’s allows D-SIP to place four of its interns into Ann Arbor community nonprofits.  Molly has always been a wonderful supporter of the program and is well deserving of her honorary degree.

It is no joke that Dr. Shelley Strickland defended for her Ph.D on April 1, 2013.  It is also not a joke that more than 20 D-SIPers were in the audience.  Shelley came to Ann Arbor to pursue her Ph.D in higher education and to develop the curriculum for the D-SIP program.  D-SIP has been benchmarked by at least 7 other institutions of higher education, and has been nationally recognized by the Council for Advancement and Secondary Education (CASE). Such success would not have been possible without the unique educational curriculum created by Shelley.  While there were many D-SIP alumni at Shelley’s dissertation, there were hundreds of others supporting her throughout the country.  Alumni demonstrated their support by donating to D-SIP in honor of Shelley.  Their gifts will provide more funding for Shelley’s educational class and curriculum.  We will keep you posted with how the money is used!

Congratulations to Molly and Shelley.  D-SIP is lucky to have such incredible individuals involved in the program, and D-SIP certainly would not be what it is today had they not been involved.

D-SIP alumni Kellen Sarb and Sophia Luong

This past year, four alumni were awarded.  Kellen Sarb, D-SIP ’07, and Sophia Luong, D-SIP ’07, were awarded the Chrissi Rawak Award for Distinction in Development.  Kellen was a fundraiser at the University of Boston for five years and recently just accepted a position at MIT’s Sloan Business School in fundraising. Sophia has committed herself to working in development at the University of Michigan, first working for the Ross School of Business and now currently fundraising on behalf of the Law School.  Both were recognized their commitment and excellence in the field which has led to multiple promotions for both.

Alana Font with her award in New York

The Block M of Honor for Community Impact was awarded to Alana Font, D-SIP ’11, and Rita Razalan, D-SIP ’11.  As a senior, Alana transferred her D-SIP skills by taking a lead in fundraising for the Ross School of Business Class Gift Committee.  Rita, as a senior, applied her skills and took a lead in fundraising at St. Mary’s Student Parish.  It is always rewarding to see D-SIP alumni impact the community, but as student philanthropy is a value held by U-M development, it is especially exciting that Rita and Alana fearlessly took on fundraising with their peers and the greater student body.

D-SIP granted these awards in pairs this year due to the unique friendships held by the winners.  Their friendships grew in D-SIP and remain strong today.  Through keeping in touch and sharing best practices, both pairs were able to maximize their efforts and push forward excellent fundraising practices that created tremendous impact for the receiving nonprofits.  Congratulations Kellen, Sophia, Alana, and Rita!

Our D-SIP interns have a great national reach.  Internationally, we have an alum in St. Petersburg, Russia, another in Olancho, Honduras.

But first, know that 2009 was not the only class to give to D-SIP!  The tradition of giving started the very first year, when the interns of 2007 decided to make a class gift to the general D-SIP fund.  2008 followed their lead and gave money to provide coffee for interns on Fridays during class (Interns usually go through 3-5 pots of coffee each Friday!). 2010 also gave to the general D-SIP fund. And, 2011 is still giving in order to sponsor a Friday lunch, where the 2012 interns can continue to bond.

In order to gain a deeper understanding into how this thought process came to be, let me backtrack a little. During my time in D-SIP as an intern for the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology Office of Development and Alumni Relations, I had the privilege to work on the 9th annual Movement for Life Golf Invitational. The annual event served as a major fundraiser in which proceeds benefit research in therapies for people with motor disabilities. From my work component I gained valuable skills including: marketing, leadership, collaboration and adaptability. Furthermore, through many successes and challenges experienced while planning this event, I was able to gain lasting lessons regarding professionalism and where I wanted to translate these newfound skill sets into a future work setting.

Originally when starting D-SIP I felt destined to become a businessman in the sport industry as an agent or a member of the front office for one of my favorite professional teams. However, since participating with D-SIP I have become open to working in the nonprofit sector for my favorite charity, as a development officer or even in athletic community relations because I still have an unwavering passion for sports.

Overall, this modification has taken me from solely thinking on an individual level, such as achieving economic independence, to also including more community based goals in which my accomplishments would benefit many.  I have come to this understanding from assessing my strengths gained from D-SIP. I now understand and value trying to afford others with the same opportunities that were provided to me. Additionally, it is now clear that I seek to work with others as a team to bring positive change through the work I do.

Since finishing D-SIP, and as I prepare to enter a career setting, I am now confident in my overall ability to present myself as a valuable addition to any organization. This confidence is the result of understanding the importance of proving myself every day. Whether it is by being on time or presenting my deliverables to supervisors, all of this can be attributed to what D-SIP taught me

Above all else, what I will continue to apply most from D-SIP is always remaining cognizant of how I can impact the world from a personal, professional and philanthropic standpoint.

Post by:

Kyle Nowels, D-SIP ’11

Stage 1: Online Application http://www.giving.umich.edu/internship/index.php?page=apply

• Applicant Information (name, major, etc.)
• Two Personal Statements
• What does philanthropy mean to you and how does this understanding impact your pursuit of this internship opportunity?
• How has a past work/volunteer experience shaped you as a student and/or professional?
• Three References (*only need reference, NOT a reference letter)
• Cover Letter
• Resume

*Alumni Hints to Succeed at this Stage*

1. Be creative in discussing your meaning of philanthropy.  The recruiters know what dictionary.com says about philanthropy.  The question states, what does it mean to YOU!
2. Do not make careless errors in your essays, cover letter and resume.  Use Sweetland Writing Center , the Career Center, or a trusted friend to review your statements. 
3. Dress professionally because this is your first in-person presentation to D-SIP.
4. Let your voice shine through in your application materials so that the reviewers get a good idea of what type of applicant you are. Program administers are looking for the ‘wow’ factor in this section. A good start would be asking your friends and family what they think sets you apart from other highly qualified individuals.
5. Ask your references if you can use their name before you put them down. This will allow them time to prepare what they are going to say about you instead of being caught off guard when the recruiters call, which will also result in a better reference for you!

Stage 2: Round I Interview

• Interview Component: You will participate in an individual 20-minute interview.
• Group Discussion: You will participate in a group discussion about a provided article discussing relevant philanthropic issues with five other applicants.

*Alumni Hints to Succeed at this Stage*

1. Something as simple as knowing what the term ‘development’ means in relation to this program should not be overlooked during this round. Seriously.
2. Send a follow-up email to your interviewer. This will show that you are committed to the position and appreciate them taking the time to speak with you. Plus you’ll show you know a little bit about “stewardship” (a facet of development) from the beginning!

Stage 3: Round II Interview

• Interview for a position within a specific University School or Unit, Office of Development unit, or Ann Arbor Community Non-Profit. Interviews are half an hour in length.

*Alumni Hints to Succeed at this Stage*

1. Make sure to research the unit with which you will be interviewing. For example, if you are meeting with the U-M School of Kinesiology, you might want to read up on their advancement team as current research initiatives and student perspectives.  And, you better know where the School of Kinesiology is located on campus!
2. Again, follow-up with your interviewer! The people you interview with in Round II are usually your summer employer, so let your excitement and passion shine through.  Don’t be afraid to sell yourself!

To prepare for the interview stages be sure to utilize campus resources like the career center, academic advisers and other alumni of the program you may know. Overall, aside from the lasting friendships you will forage, D-SIP will afford you endless opportunities to grow professionally because of the knowledge you will gain and the network and relationships you will build while participating in the program.

To continue learning more and to apply, please visit:
www.giving.umich.edu/internship
www.facebook.com/UMDSIP

Good Luck and Go Blue!

Mandi, Matt and Kyle (D-SIP ’11)

http://umdsipshowcase.wordpress.com/

As I mentioned before, some of your best resources are going to be networking with professionals, doing informational interviews, and volunteering in the community. However, there are a lot of opportunities available through the online job postings and they’re a great way to see what’s out there.

My strategy? Regularly search a variety of sites for job postings. By using the search tools I’m able to sort through the postings to find ones I might be interested in. Note that by using all of them, you may find postings that overlap, but it’s better to spend a few minutes looking over the same listing than missing one you’d love.

Job posting sites that I’ve found useful include:

• Idealist (idealist.com) has soooo many listings – make sure to use the advanced search options and narrow down the listings, but it’s really great for discovering jobs you wouldn’t have thought about
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy (philanthropy.com), which has an average 20 new postings each weekday, mainly focused on fundraising and foundations
• HigherEd Jobs (higheredjobs.com), a good starting place for positions with colleges and universities
• Philanthropy News Digest job board (foundationcenter.org/pnd/jobs), which is conveniently organized by state and provides a variety of job opportunities
• Local listings, such as the Michigan Nonprofit Association (mnaonline.org/jobs.aspx) and Crain’s nonprofit listings (crainsdetroit.com/article/20080515/STATIC/60406002/nonprofit-classifieds#) if you’re interested in staying in the area
• Individual regional foundation association’s job boards, provided in a list from the Giving Forum’s website (givingforum.org/s_forum/doc.asp?CID=17&DID=6817), even though it’s a pain to search each of them and not all links are specifically linked to the job page, they can be great resources for jobs in both foundations and non-profits
• Individual university websites (such as umjobs.org), which again are annoying to search individually but will often have more details and more entry-level positions than job search sites

Of course, there are a number of other job search sites – some targeted to non-profit and fundraising, while other sites post a broader selection of jobs – but these are the ones I like best. Also remember that there are many, many job postings in the philanthropic sector. Take time to reflect on what you want in a job, what skills and opportunities you need to build, in order to find a job that “fits” even if it doesn’t exactly look like what you expected – remember, job titles aren’t everything.

Now that I’ve given away my good secrets on philanthropic job hunts, I’ve got to continue working on my own search!

Post by: Katelyn Videto, D-SIP 2009