T. Topaz Spooner-Lay
Newark,NJ
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Manager, Individual Relations & Annual Fund Operations
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
01.2020 - Current
- Lead strategy and operations for the organization's national individual giving program, overseeing annual fund strategy, integrated fundraising campaigns, donor acquisition and retention, stewardship, planned giving, digital fundraising, data analytics, donor relationship management, fundraising technology, compliance, and vendor partnerships.
- Direct an annual individual giving program; generated more than $1.6 million through integrated, multi-channel fundraising campaigns.
- Managed 18,459 gifts from 6,825 donors, executing more than 5,200 stewardship and cultivation touchpoints.
- Develop comprehensive direct-mail acquisition, renewal, stewardship, and leadership giving campaigns reaching more than 250,000 households annually.
- Generated $517,725 in new planned giving commitments through strategic FreeWill and legacy giving initiatives.
- Expanded Heritage Circle stewardship program to over 850 legacy donors, enhancing long-term planned giving cultivation.
- Increased personalized direct-mail stewardship communications from 15 to 32 annual communications through enhanced donor segmentation.
- Launched SMS fundraising and donor engagement strategy, converting over 16,000 subscribers into a text-to-give platform.
- Acquired 14,290 new donor prospects through digital advocacy, online engagement, and fundraising initiatives.
- Developed customized wealth-rating and donor-segmentation models, improving leadership giving and major gift qualification.
- Secured executive approval for a $50,000 donor acquisition investment strategy projected to increase donor file growth by 47%.
Manager, Partnerships & Advancement
01.2013 - 01.2019
- Progressively advanced into a management role overseeing individual giving, donor acquisition and retention, direct-mail and digital fundraising, partnership relationships, advancement operations, donor stewardship, database strategy, compliance, and executive fundraising support within a national nonprofit environment.
- Managed external relationships with fundraising vendors, legal counsel, charitable registration representatives, and donation-processing partners, while overseeing contracts, budgets, compliance, and operational processes.
- Directed integrated direct-mail and online fundraising strategies contributing to a 20% increase in overall direct-mail revenue and generating 799 new donors through 2017 acquisition efforts.
- Managed annual fundraising campaigns with 260,000 mail pieces, coordinating creative development and vendor relationships, executing campaign performance analysis, and enhancing overall campaign effectiveness.
- Generated 11,188 new online donor prospects through integrated email, petition, social media, Facebook lead-generation, and house-file acquisition strategies.
- Strengthened donor acquisition, retention, and engagement through multi-touch stewardship and personalized communication strategies, fostering long-term donor relationships.
- Initiated a major Raiser's Edge data-cleanup and donor intelligence effort involving 109,294 individual records, identifying updated addresses, deceased records, vacant addresses, and significant prospect opportunities.
- Leveraged Raiser's Edge, Salsa, and prospect research tools to strengthen database integrity, donor segmentation, moves management, reporting, prospect identification, and stewardship.
- Oversaw charitable registration activity across 42 states, resolving licensing and disclosure issues and completing nationwide registration requirements supporting fundraising campaigns.
- Provided strategic support to Vice Presidents of Major Gifts, Foundations, and Partnerships & Advancement, coordinating donor/prospect meetings, executive schedules, travel, follow-up actions, prospect tracking, reports, and moves-management activities.
- Selected for recurring Annual Conference leadership assignments, overseeing as many as 39 staff members and 215 affiliate volunteers while coordinating staffing and coverage across multiple events.
- Partnered cross-functionally with Marketing & Communications, Programs, Database Management, senior advancement leadership, external vendors, and affiliate organizations to align fundraising strategy, messaging, data, and execution.
Development Associate
01.2008 - 01.2012
- Built foundational expertise in nonprofit development and advancement operations, supporting donor relations, fundraising communications, grants, events, volunteer engagement, board relations, and development administration.
- Showcased key achievements in nonprofit development, enhancing donor engagement and fundraising outcomes.
- Supported donor cultivation, stewardship, fundraising communications, development initiatives, and organizational events.
- Contributed to grant development and fundraising initiatives, strengthening donor and stakeholder relations.
- Supported volunteer engagement and advancement activities, bolstering organizational fundraising capacity.
- Developed broad knowledge of nonprofit development operations, including fundraising, grant writing, communications, board relations, program evaluation, budgeting, and volunteer management.
Education
Master of Arts - Education
Queens College
Flushing, NYLeadership Training Program -
Momentum Education
New York, NYExecutive Management Certificate - Nonprofit Management
Hostos Community College
Bronx, NYEmerging Leaders II Program -
Whitney M. Young Jr. Center For Urban Leadership
New York, NYBachelor of Arts - Sociology
Queens College
Flushing, NYSkills
- Fundraising strategy
- Donor relationship management
- Planned giving
- Fundraising technology
- Data analytics
- Database management
- Regulatory compliance
Affiliations
- Volunteer, Urban League of Essex County
- Volunteer, Girl Scouts of America - Senior Troop Leader
- Volunteer, National Council of Negro Woman - Coop City Chapter
- Volunteer, Frederick Douglass Academy I, Team Mom & PTA Vice President
Timeline
Senior Manager, Individual Relations & Annual Fund Operations
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
01.2020 - Current
Manager, Partnerships & Advancement
01.2013 - 01.2019
Development Associate
01.2008 - 01.2012
Master of Arts - Education
Queens College
Leadership Training Program -
Momentum Education
Executive Management Certificate - Nonprofit Management
Hostos Community College
Emerging Leaders II Program -
Whitney M. Young Jr. Center For Urban Leadership
Bachelor of Arts - Sociology
Queens College