Spice up your presentations with Animoto

This presentation service can be used for many applications of athletics development.

Presentations are a typical tool for almost all business situations. Whether it is a board room, an external operations meeting, or a major gifts ask, the presentation is a crucial part of athletics development.

That is where Animoto can come into play. Rather than make a simple PowerPoint presentation that is plain and uneventful, Animoto claims to be the end of all slide shows, making pictures video oriented with narration and editing capabilities.

The applications for this tool for development are many. For one, it could be used to display a new and exciting facility to get the ball rolling on a capital campaign. The photo effects could be utilized as a student-athlete piece to describe the importance of giving back. One could even use it as a way to recap a successful donor event where attendees can remember the special night by viewing the presentation.

Click here to view a quick demonstration video that shows just some of the capability of this tool. Quick and easy to learn, Animoto can be used as a unique presentation avenue to stir the creative juices in development offices around the country.

Ponder's operating principles from FOAD

Today Rob and I attended the Fundamentals of Athletics Development (FOAD) session at NACDA. During this time we were able to dicuss the art of development with young fundraisers as well as hear some best practices from successful industry professionals. More posts on the knowledge shared during this session will come later, but here is a small sample.

Stephen Ponder, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Development and the Sun Devil Club at Arizona State University and , spoke on the first steps taken after breaking into the industry. In the conclusion of his speech, Ponder highlighted some of his operating principles, which follow:

• Be passionate about what you are doing
  • Ponder stated that as a fundraising professional, you cannot raise money if you are not passionate about your job. People will give to those who can display their passion for the school and also the position.

• Follow up with people
  • This was interesting as he commented that not only should donors be sent a follow up thank you, whoever gave you the contact should recieve one as well. This increases the lines of communication and keeps everyone on the same page.

• Know your priorities
  • Every development professional should be cognizant of what they are supposed to do every single day. Whether it is notes, calls, visits, or other duties, a fundraiser should know what they need to do.

• Customer service
  • Ponder emphasized that this is a crucial part of the operation, but it did not mean always telling the donor yes. It also means treating everyone with respect and in a way that shows you care. If a certain benefit occurs at one level, don’t bend the rules and provide it to lower levels. It diminishes your brand.

The Power of Who is great for professional development

Bob Beaudine's book is full of great information for development professionals.

I recently finished reading the book, The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine and would highly recommend it for any professional in the development industry. Beaudine, who is the president and CEO of Eastman & Beaudine, runs one of the top recruiting firms in the United States and frequently places athletics directors in positions around the nations.

In his first book, Beaudine introduces an innovative approach to networking and growing your professional network. By instituting the “100/40″ strategy, he recommends everyone write down their 100 personal and professional goals and the 40 people who will help them achieve their dreams. Instead of making contacts and networking with random professionals, this approach will help his readers focus and concentrate on the people who care about them and are willing to help accelerate their career.

Additionally, Beaudine encourages his readers to make life lists, coaches them on traits of successful people (he would know from his executive placement firm), and helps them create their own brand. Taking a conversational tone, he relates many stories that help develop the story and keep reader interest. To get the full effect, be sure to read the book and take his words to heart.

Beaudine also operates a blog where he continues to promote his ideas and applications of the book. Check it out here.

The following are some interesting quotes lifted from the text:

• “If you want to have somehting that you’ve never had before, you’ve got to be willing to do something that you’ve never done before.”
• “Presentation is everything. If you’re fully prepared when you walk into the room and confident enough to answer any questions or challenges, you’ll win.”
• “The choice of what will happen to you is the result of all the little decisions you make every day”

Dr. Kevin White speaks on the current state of college athletics

Dr. Kevin White spoke to students at the 2009 Ohio University Sports Administration Symposium

During this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 Ohio Sports Administration Symposium. The annual event held every year invites alumni back to campus for a round of speakers and networking opportunities. This year’s weekend saw speakers such as Alice Petzold, Consultant at Wasserman Media Group; Dr. Kevin White, Director of Athletics at Duke University; and 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Len Perna, President and Chief Executive Officer, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment.

From a college athletics perspective, Dr. Kevin White provided a good deal of knowledge stemming from his 37 years of experience in the industry. Instead of focusing on a specific topic, Dr. White addressed many aspects of the college athletics industry. Speaking with a deep passion for the student-athlete, Dr. White spoke on the importance of “delivering what you sold them.” He commented that current student-athletes are savvy consumers who get offers from many schools and compare visits throughout the nation. Therefore, it is crucial to provide for your current student-athletes the experience that was promised them in recruiting as current student-athletes sell the school to prospects.

Hidden in this observation is the ability for development to impact a student-athlete’s experience. As coaches tell the recruits about the university and the current direction of the program, the ability to enhance their time on campus with new facilities, gear, and nice travel amenities will be crucial to attracting top recruits.

Dr. White also spoke specifically to students and young professionals, commenting that everyone should put in three to five years of solid work at their first job. If they do this, working hard every day and delivering of their employer, they will never need to apply for another job. People will recruit them away from their current position.