NAADD released its 2021 Award Winners back in February. In lieu of being recognized in person at the NAADD Convention, TIm Rice will be recognized as the NAADD University Fundraiser of the Year recipient during the NACDA & Affiliates Virtual Convention at the end of July. We are pleased to provide a Q&A with Tim below; we hope you will take a few minutes to read about a leader in our profession below!

University Fundraiser of the Year Recipient
Tim Rice
Senior Associate AD, Development
San Diego State University
Twitter Handle: @TJRice
 
Statement of Thanks:
First and foremost, I owe everything to my wife Kerstin, she is an incredibly supportive partner to me, mother to our boy, and not to mention a full-time working professional architect.
SDSU Director of Athletics, John David Wicker, whose leadership and vision for Aztec Athletics sets the tone. Vice President for University Relations and Development, Adrienne Vargas, who is a wonderful colleague and partner to Aztec Athletics.
The Aztec Family, starting with my current and former Aztec Club teammates, this is a team recognition. Every staff member at SDSU Athletics, all of the unsung heroes, any success is due to the positive culture of our department and operating with class and integrity. 
Every Aztec Club member for their passion and generosity, none of this is possible without you.
The NAADD Executive Committee for providing me with this honor. That call from Ryan White really hit home for me, especially after the year we just went through.
My father, who always pushed me to be better.

1. What about athletics fundraising interests you? To date, what are you most proud of in your athletics fundraising career?
SDSU's legendary retired head men's basketball coach, Steve Fisher has a saying, "close your eyes and dream, and dream big." To me, the very best fundraisers do just that, they are dreamers, listeners, collaborators, communicators and storytellers. What makes me "want to," not "have to," is the impact on the lives of student-athletes. This is not a job, it's a calling, and it's fulfilling to witness the student-athletes grow, win, graduate and transition into the world with the foundation that an educational experience provides.
 
The work we do changes lives and can make a positive impact on entire institutions and communities. Sometimes called the "Flutie Effect," it refers to the impact that athletics can have on brand value and applications. Intercollegiate athletics can enact civic change whether it be economic impact, jobs, or just bringing people together from all different walks of life. There is nothing like the pageantry and pride of intercollegiate athletics.

On a personal level, I am proud of my network of colleagues, coaches, former student-athletes, supporters, and friends in the industry. I am grateful for the kindness that has been shown to me over the years.
 
2. The 2019-20 Aztec Club campaign set an all-time school record under your leadership, with not just total pledges and commitment ($33.6 million), but also annual cash gifts ($6.1 million). Can you tell the NAADD membership how you went about setting these new records and getting your donor base to exceed 5700+ members?
The Athletics Development team maximized opportunities from annual fund, premium seating, and major gifts, and it all came together. We had clear expectations on metrics-based activity and measurable outcomes, and we stuck to the fundamentals. Some of which include promotion of the annual giving levels, priority point ranking, renewal deadlines, while always managing our portfolios and researching to discover new prospects. 

It is more than being "busy," in athletics development you need to know when to stop and celebrate the victories, which is easier said than done, especially when you have high aspirations. Our work can be consuming but healthy work-life balance is crucial to being the best that we can be. It also makes a big difference when you can hold educated conversations with donors on topics outside of athletics, such as the markets, real estate, travel, or most importantly your family and theirs. To this same point, I try to take time every day to stop what I'm doing and think big picture, what are the top priorities and is our activity moving those items forward?
 
At San Diego State we are well positioned with an electric basketball atmosphere and a world-class stadium project that has served as a beacon for our community. The momentum we have is the result of the hard work and dedication of talented administrators, coaches, staff, and student-athletes over many years. What's also exciting is the 200K+ SDSU alumni living in San Diego County, there's still much more potential to be realized.
 
We focus on balancing our portfolios and creating written philanthropic strategies. Our metrics-based activity system is the baseline for tracking progress. Building great cross-campus relationships reaps rewards down the stretch. The 12-month annual fund calendar serves as a guideline throughout the year.
 
Finally, the key facet is teamwork and communication within the development staff and external units. I have approached the annual fund with a small business mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, own it!
 
3. Since your time at San Diego State, you played a leadership role on the campaign for their new stadium. Can you talk about how you went about this campaign?
A campaign of this magnitude requires visionary leadership and here at SDSU we are fortunate to have an AD and President who are aligned. The campaign for SDSU Mission Valley and the new Aztec Stadium has been years in the making, there are many individuals and organizations responsible for helping us get to where we are today. My area of focus on the new stadium is fundraising which consists of philanthropy and premium sales, we have taken a calculated approach to our revenue generation efforts. Starting with feasibility studies and the utilization of world-class partners, consultants, and experts. 

We analyzed data from the Aztec Club base and designed a tiered outreach plan based on priority point ranking, which is made up of various factors including lifetime, annual, consecutive years of season ticket purchase, etc. Our goal has been to engage every one of our current members before going to the public and after a year or so we are now moving onto new business.
 
We created a state-of-the-art "Aztec Stadium Experience Center" in Mission Valley, this space utilizes technology and a user-experience that gives guests the look and feel of the new stadium. We developed print and digital tools, and then we began to reach out with invitations to visit the experience center or for a virtual presentation to understand the project and select their seats and / or discuss philanthropic interest.
 
I am glad to share that the experience center coupled with a strategic approach continues to show signs of success. As I write this, we are 438 days from stadium opening and we are sold through 16 Luxury Suites and 3 of 4 total Founders Suites (4^th is in contract phase), we are also making significant progress with Club Seats, and Loge Boxes are selling at a very high rate. Philanthropically we have made great progress and continue to engage our current supporters and San Diego difference-makers who have a passion for the community and the future of higher education. Again, starting with leadership, this campaign has been a masterclass on teamwork; from the design team to the builders, revenue generation, community leaders, marketing, and our campus colleagues. The key to continued progress has been the "one SDSU" approach.
 
4. Can you share with the NAADD membership the technology or platforms that you and your team at San Diego State are using both internally and externally?
We utilize a wide-variety of technology platforms and tools, a few examples below:

• GRAVTY – artificial intelligence prospect management tool, serves as a useful annual fund tool that generates new leads and helps with prompts and ques.
• GIFTMAP – software that maps out naming opportunities and tracks prospects and proposals. This is a new one for us and I am excited to get it rolled out.
• LINKEDIN SALES NAVIGATOR – great tool to discover successful alums in different regions and industries, many of whom may not have been identified in our own CRM.
• SUMMIT ATHLETICS MEDIA – I have always been appreciative of their response times and creative digital work.
• MARKETSMART – planned giving and major gift survey tool. In one mass survey we were able to identify over 30 major prospects and individuals with undocumented bequests.
• CHANNEL1 – This interactive virtual presentation and sales tool was huge for us in 2020 and the shift to digital.

5. In addition, can you tell the NAADD membership about the largest individual ask you yourself have made? Tell the story, were you successful in closing the gift? Why or why not?
I would like to start this by saying that to each donor there is a different story, and for some a gift of $5,000 can be as meaningful as a gift of $500,000 is to someone else. Which reminds me of the inspirational story of Oseola McCarty, a Mississippi woman who saved dollars and coins her entire life and left it all to the University of Southern Mississippi. Great story that you might appreciate: https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/people/hall-of-fame/detail/oseola-mccarty
 
The most successful strategy I have been fortunate to be associated with is the Mrs. Dianne Bashor relationship. Not just because of the high impact nature of the gift, but because of the special bond we have developed with her along the way, including with her advisor, David Malcolm, and his wife Annie.
 
Initially Vice President, Adrienne Vargas, and I were discussing community philanthropists in our 1:1 and we recalled a recent conversation where someone mentioned Mrs. Bashor as someone who has made an impact on the San Diego community through philanthropy. We connected the dots and found that Adrienne had a long-time relationship with a trusted advisor of Mrs. Bashor, a gentleman named David Malcolm.
 
I wanted to qualify the interest before bringing in my AD and when the time is right bringing him in to share the larger vision. The idea of "scarcity of time" is important when managing up, you always want to keep their time high level to protect one of your best development tools. We brought in our AD and the timing was such that his vision and presence made a significant impression.  
 
As the conversation continued to progress Mr. Malcolm brought the very classy and thoughtful Mrs. Bashor to the table, and that is when we invited in a special guest. A notable community leader, alum, and the son of a former SDSU President, he spoke from the heart in a way that only someone with his life experience could. It was a powerful moment, and this is an example of the right natural partner at the right time.
 
After the expected back-and-forth we landed on the $15,000,000 figure for a philanthropic naming of "Bashor Field" at Aztec Stadium. It's important to note that the field naming is separate from the larger stadium naming rights package thus preserving that opportunity while securing a significant lead philanthropic gift to the stadium.

Mrs. Bashor was so excited at this point that it seemed she could not wait to sign the gift agreement, and when she did it was heartfelt. She is a non-alum and new donor to SDSU, but the impact on our community meant so much to her, and now she is a proud Aztec for life.
 
The lead stadium gift announcement was important, we made a special announcement during The Campanile Foundation Board meeting and then held a larger event afterwards. This wonderful commitment was front page of the San Diego Union Tribune the next day along with sweeping media attention, kudos to our media relations team and campus efforts.

Since then, we continue to build a relationship with Mrs. Bashor, along with David and Annie Malcolm, and it is a result of an intentional, authentic, and collaborative approach.
 
6. You got your first start in athletics at a division II institution, before working at various Division I institutions in development. Can you speak on all those opportunities and how they all differ or are similar?
I was a student at Grand Valley State University with a passion to do some good in the world. Initially I was studying to become a social worker, until I realized the impact I could make from within higher education and intercollegiate athletics. Thank you to Doug Lipinski who not only gave me an internship but made me "Director of Laker Nation." This was the student organization we built from the ground up, becoming the largest in university history. We had to be creative with little to no budget and we had a lot of fun. I recall the early mornings and late nights creating banners, hanging signage, and setting up game-day activation during frigid DII Football December playoffs. That is the stuff that thickens up your skin and it set the tone for me moving forward.  I have great memories at GVSU, shoutout to Doug and Tim Selgo, two of the best.   

My first day as a Graduate Assistant at Cal was the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco with Cal vs. Miami. I was so fortunate to be learning from great people who have now gone on to incredible careers. As a GA I was assisting with a major stadium campaign and other aspects of the department from annual giving to the endowed scholarship program.
 
At San Jose State I always took the approach of an entrepreneurial spirit and having a chip on the shoulder, which comes naturally for me. SJSU has a tremendous history as the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state of California and sitting right in the heart of the worldwide cradle of innovation, Silicon Valley. I gained a unique perspective on cross-campus collaboration at SJSU having served in two different capacities, once under the athletics umbrella and then later reporting to University Advancement.
 
During my time at Northern Illinois University, I had the opportunity to work closely with Sean Frazier, industry veteran and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leader. We had a small shop with high expectations, we rolled up our sleeves and got it done, "The Hard Way." Here I found myself involved with just about everything from setting up tailgates during the polar vortex, running the annual fund, and building and presenting eight figure gift and corporate naming proposals in downtown Chicago. Shoutout to Kristin Gobberg (now at Villanova) who was right there with me setting up those chairs and tables.
 
Here at San Diego State, we are fortunate to live and work in a locale where we have generous individuals from all over the world, 80% of our top supporters are not alumni and there are over 200K SDSU alums here within the county. The city of San Diego is buzzing about the Aztecs and our stadium project, it just feels like we are verge of something special, not just for SDSU but for the entire community. It truly is an honor to be here during the historic moment.
 
I've learned that each program is special with their own unique story, traditions, culture, and most importantly the people. No matter where you are the work we do matters, for the student-athletes, coaches, and the communities we serve.  
 
7. Given the current circumstances of this past year, how have you changed your approach and strategy to provide the best experiences for donors and your team?
We were able to pivot quickly to digital utilizing Channel1 and zoom. We began holding virtual happy hours and events with coaches, alums, and staff for supporters. We created the "Together We Rise" campaign and offered donors options to continue support, including a Priority Point Bonus Program to entice cash gifts this fiscal year. 
All tactics and campaigns aside, my biggest takeaway from the past year in a professional sense is the importance of showing people that you care. Just walking around a Padres game last week and seeing smiling faces brought me a sense of gratitude and appreciation of community.
 
8. What is your recommended resource that you use to be 1% better tomorrow than you were yesterday? (i.e., books, blogs, podcasts, webinars, etc.)
I find that stepping outside of the college athletics "bubble" is positive in terms of mental health and relaxation, for example, reading the newspaper (yes, an actual printed newspaper), exploring my interests for art and design, a night out with my wife, taking my boy to the beach, or just having a random backyard BBQ for neighbors and friends. This career can be consuming, so I try to remember not to become a reflection of the job, but have the job become a reflection of me.  

9. In conclusion, what is the one piece of advice you would give on how others can leave their mark and continue to succeed at their institution in development? 
Always remember your "why." This is a marathon not a sprint, keep learning, be present where you are and do your job with pride.