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We are in the middle of awards season – the time of year we always ask ourselves why we put so much effort into submitting nominations. It can feel like a lot of work for what may seem like uncertain rewards. Through Ophelia, Shakespeare tells us in Hamlet, “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Awards are a way for us to push ourselves beyond our current limits and strive for greatness. From the Educational Advertising Awards to the CCAE Prix d’Excellence and CASE Circle of Excellence, our commitment to excellence is reflected, at least in part, by the awards we enter.

Submitting award nominations can have many benefits. For one, it allows us to reflect on the quality of our work and identify areas for improvement. It can also act as a motivator, inspiring others to throw their hat in the ring next time. And when someone on our team wins an award, it’s a win for all of us. It means that our hard work has been recognized and that our collective morale and confidence as a team are boosted.

But awards have external benefits as well. By becoming an influencer in the sector, we attract talent, demonstrate our commitment to excellence, and raise the profile of Queen’s Advancement, which is one of our strategic goals. Winning awards can also be a helpful marketing tool, putting our name out on social media, at conferences, and in conversation. And as we strive to develop a high-performance culture, awards provide a useful benchmark of how we're doing.

So, as we get into high gear for awards season, let's remember the words of Shakespeare and push ourselves not only to achieve excellence, but to be recognized for it. We may not know what we may be, but by submitting award nominations, we give ourselves the opportunity to find out.

Let the celebrating begin

We’re still putting the finishing touches on the CASE awards submissions, but we already have some exciting news to celebrate. The 38th-annual Educational Advertising Awards announced their winners last week. They received more than 2,000 entries from universities across Canada, the U.S., and beyond. I’m excited to share that Queen’s took home 19 awards, including six golds. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the winning entries!

Here’s a look at this year’s winners:

Gold

•    ALTogether Now newsletter redesign, Best Email Marketing – Single or Campaign
•    Cause & Effect podcast, Best Streaming/On Demand Content
•    Cause & Effect podcast, Best Search Pieces
•    Homecoming promo video on TikTok, Best TikTok content
•    QAR Newsletter, Best E-Publication
•    QAR Newsletter, Best Newsletter
•    Queen’s University Lecture Series (PPT), Best Special Event Campaign

Silver

•    ALTogether Now Newsletter, Best Publication, Internal
•    Endowment Report, Best Online Publication
•    QAR Newsletter Redesign, Best Email Marketing –Single or Campaign
•    QAR Website, Best Search Pieces
•    QAR Website, Best Website

Bronze

•    Thank You for Making Your First Gift, Best Digital Video Ad – Less than 2 minutes
•    Annual Giving Campaign Stationery, Best Logo/Letterhead Design
•    Homecoming 2022: United at Last, Best Special Video
•    A Mile in Their Shoes: Truth, Empathy, and Reconciliation: Best Equality & Diversity Promotion

Merit

•    School of Medicine Building Thank you, Best Digital Ad – Less than 2 minutes
•    Spring on Campus, Best Special Video
•    A Mile in Their Shoes: Truth, Empathy, and Reconciliation, Best Integrated Marketing Campaign

Measuring our impact

Awards aren’t the only measure of our influence in the sector. The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education just released a report highlighting its impact in 2022. The report includes a dashboard highlighting Queen’s participation and investment in CCAE last year. The dashboard shows that we were active, influential members of the Canadian advancement community, serving on boards, committees, and judging panels, presenting at conferences, and winning awards.

An impactful partner

The relationship between Queen’s and the Baders is so significant that almost every advancement professional at Queen’s speaks about or works directly on supporting the relationship in some capacity. I predict that everyone can name Isabel and Alfred Bader as significant benefactors of the university, but does everyone have the same level of familiarity with Bader Philanthropies, Inc.? Following the recent Agnes Reimagined announcement, the  is a great way to learn more about this special partner, and all the incredible ways they are making a tangible difference in the lives of the people and programs they support. We are so grateful to be counted amongst the charitable priorities of an organization that is making such an extraordinary impact.

2023-24 planning update

Last Thursday Advancement’s management group met for the “2023-24 Planning Launch,” which wasn’t really a launch because so many planning conversations in and amongst Advancement units had already been happening. 

To anchor the meeting first up was Forward, Together our five-year strategic plan. We have two years left and we have completed 55 per cent of the plan. Our time was spent reviewing the work that still needs to be done. The individual most responsible for each objective provided an overview of the end goal or vision and what needs to be done in 2023-24 to move the objective forward. 

Next, we looked at the annual plan for 2022-23.  Over and above core operational work, we had identified 14 objectives to be completed in 2022-23.  We are on track to complete 12 of the 14 by the end of the year.  This is a huge accomplishment. 

We ended the meeting identifying seven objectives that Advancement will, as a whole, work to move forward in 2023-24:

•    Campaign Planning
•    CASE aligned philanthropic counting
•    Fundraising Priority Setting Process – round 2
•    Donor Relations review implementation
•    Gift Planning review implementation Employee Engagement Survey action plan
•    Participate in Phase 0 Enterprise Engagement Tools
 

These priorities must be layered onto the ongoing core, operational work of Advancement or work that is repeated year-over-year. Homecoming will happen in 2023. There will be annual events to repeat, lists to be run, and reports to be generated. We will have a fundraising goal to meet that will require mass solicitations, research, proposal writing, and communications. Ad hoc requests, data governance requirements, and gift-processing requirements will have to be met, and there will be vacancies that need to be filled. None of these things will be reflected in the 2023-24 annual plan, but they must be taken into consideration as we flush out the plan for the year.

Next steps: This week planning teams will meet under three pillars: fundraising, alumni engagement, and internal operations. Teams will work together to turn the above priorities into S.M.A.R.T. objectives and plan how we can achieve them. (I:\ADV Common\2020-2025 Advancement\2023-24 Planning)

Employee spotlight

The Employee Spotlight celebrates the arrival of our new staff by profiling responses they share through a fun and informal survey that will help us get to know them better. Be sure to review these profiles and use these fun facts and tidbits to find commonalities, embrace differences and spark a conversation!  Two weeks ago, we welcomed two new members to Advancement:

Anastazia Krneta in the position of Associate Director, Development and Alumni Engagement, Smith.  and what languages she speaks! 

Kelly McElrea in the position of Development & Communication Coordinator, Faculty of Education.  and the best piece of professional advice she has ever received!

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.