Fundraiser with a Love for Books
Peggy Titterington
Peggy Titterington has made her career in helping individuals fund organizations in education, in the arts and in healthcare. Her degree in Economics from Denison University and deep interest in the arts provided her a gateway to funding non-profit organizations. Over the course of her career, Peggy honed her fundraising interests to focus on major gifts.
Peggy offers donors a bridge to reach communities of need that may otherwise be inaccessible to them. Her work centers on developing the value of the donor’s involvement. While the donors often begins with a monetary contribution, they reap experiential rewards that continue long after their initial gift. As they connect with the community and the changes they’ve made possible, the work Peggy began deepens and touches many lives.
Peggy has held roles in organizations that sustain traditions in music and culture such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Music of the Baroque. Peggy currently uses her talents to promote healthcare in her role at Alzheimer’s Association. Her shift into healthcare came as aging family members faced health challenges and, true to her educational roots, the economics of the impact of US healthcare costs became a more public conversation.
Peggy’s gift for understanding the essence of human connection may be a product of her attuning to literature and the arts. She holds a lifelong value for education, the arts and public libraries. You can often find her enjoying music, theatre and searching for the next great read. You may see one or two mentioned in her responses to the following questions I asked her regarding her career.
Please describe the work that you do. I am a fund raising professional. Though the bulk of my career has been raising money in support of the performing arts, nearly a decade ago I moved to the health care sector. I now work for the Alzheimer’s Association and raise support for not only Alzheimer’s research but for care and support programs as well.
What is your contribution to the world? I am not sure if I have made a contribution to the world! But I hope that my work in fund raising has touched lives – both the individuals served and the individuals making a philanthropic investment.
How, specifically would you like to have touched the lives of those making a philanthropic investment? From your experience, what have you observed to be the benefits for donors? Ultimately, I want my donors to feel good about their philanthropy. I want them to see first-hand the impact of their gifts and understand that by partnering with my organization, together we can make the world a better place.
“I define my success in building relationships with my donors.”
Was there an event that occurred early in your career that signaled to you that you were on the right track? I have a B.A. in economics and within a year of graduating from college, I realized I could use my liberal arts degree to work in the non-profit sector. I was living in London working in an Italian restaurant and spending as many nights as possible each week attending theater and classical music performances.
You realized that you could use your degree to work in non-profit. What was it that intrigued you about working in the non-profit sector? I wanted to work in the non-profit sector because I felt I could be more passionate about my job in the non-profit arena. Early in my career, my passion surrounded the arts. I am now passionate about helping individuals and families touched by Alzheimer's as well as advancing the research. How cool would it be to help raise funds for a project that might provide a break-though in understanding Alzheimer's and dementia?
Have you gotten advice that you continue to follow? Treat every donor as though they can make a $1million gift.
How do you define success? Has the definition changed over the course of your career? For much of my career, success was defined by how much money was raised and if budgetary goals were met. In my role now, while I do have metrics based on dollars raised and pipeline growth, I define my success in building relationships with my donors. It is a very personal and emotional commitment people make when supporting Alzheimer’s. It can be humbling to hear the donors’ stories and help them align their philanthropy with the Association’s mission.
What competencies, characteristics and choices have been key to your success? I believe in my work it is critical to be inquisitive and a good listener. I always prepare for my donor meetings by trying to learn as much as I can about the person in advance and have questions about their interests and family.
Whom would you like to meet? Not very original but Barack and Michelle Obama.
What do you most appreciate about the people with whom you have worked? I value colleagues who are willing to share their best practices and obstacles they are working to overcome.
What advice would you give your 25 year old self? Do a better job of prioritizing your work and stay away from the office drama. I once read that you should plan your workday as though you were leaving for a two-week vacation the next day. This forces you to get the most important work done on a daily basis. And by following this advice, you naturally stay away from the drama.
What was the last wonderful book that you read? Educated by Tara Westover (Tara Westover's coming-of-age story follows her upbringing in a survivalist family, and her decision to leave that life behind.)
Find out more about Peggy’s career on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-titterington-0b6b65b/