Deborah K. Swanson

Oh Deb U Taunt

Deborah K. Swanson — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:11:33 +0000

Read my other blogs: Oh Deb U Taunt, There you’ll find links to stories in print, updates to IWOSC (Independent Writers of Southern California), and other fun.

www.altadenaaboveitall.com covers the joys and issues of living in Altadena.
See you there!

Results

Deborah K. Swanson — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:29:59 +0000

I’ve begun writing direct mail fundraising programs for Caltech and I’m glad to say we’ve been having some great results. The alumni are coming through!

Participation rate is one of the measures by which universities are ranked, with Princeton being at the top. That’s because they’ve been at the annual fundraising game for a long, long time, with generations of families attending, creating a strong bond with the institution. Their annual giving program is a powerful machine with a huge alumni base. Caltech is a tiny university in comparison to, well, to just about anywhere. Our alumni base is small, under 20,000, even though the school was established in 1891. Most of our students receive substantial financial aid and the frequency of generational attendance is small.

I’m glad to say we are ahead of our goal for this year as of the end of July. Our fiscal goal is 30%, and we’re nearly there. More to come on this subject, various types of direct mail appeals, and more. Thanks to my pal Noel for his guidance and advice, as well as the AGPN crew and my coworkers.

Communication

Deborah K. Swanson — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 01:44:41 +0000

Is technology helping or hurting your communication efforts? Are you typing more and talking less? Exchanging lots of information but lacking “connection”? Or do you connect with more BECAUSE you’re using technology? Even so, are there times when you can’t stand to be on the keyboard one more second? I don’t think you’re alone.

Copy. Right.

Deborah K. Swanson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:07:17 +0000

Here’s where I’m going to talk about writing, PR tips, and the best/worst things that catch my eye.

Today, let me just alert you to proofread menus and signs. This can be a riot. One of my favorites was a sign in Koreatown near downtown L.A. A couple of letters had fallen off and the result was “1 HOUR HO .” I’m sure you can figure out the missing letters, but the fun is in what was left! And we can only wonder what kind of business the store got…