RAISE Podcast: Philanthropy is Not Just Dollars, Cindy Fredrick

Episode 33:

Philanthropy is Not Just Dollars 

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On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with Cindy Fredrick, AVP of Alumni, Parents and Friends at the University of Virgina, to talk about increasing the size of your network and scaling 1:1 experiences.

Cindy has a non-profit background and always worked in environments where engagement, volunteerism, and giving are all intertwined. Constituents don’t think of giving and involvement in two different ways. So when she moved into alumni relations, the split between alumni and fundraising was not natural for her. To her, philanthropy is not just dollars, philanthropy is time, promotion, advocacy, and dollars…even if it’s only $25. Her first task at UVA was to break down silos and bring everyone in the fundraising organization closer together. 

Cindy believes in creating a diverse team. A critical component of a diverse team is building a pipeline of talent. She found that the most diverse area of the advancement organization is the student phoneathon, so she focuses on sharing career opportunities in advancement with these students. 

When it comes to this new, primarily digital world and alumni events, she believes we have to focus on what’s important versus just tracking high numbers. In her opinion, building relationships and bringing more people into the UVA family is the ultimate measure of success, more than events with high attendance but no quality engagement. 

Hear Brent and Cindy discuss these challenges and more in this episode of the podcast.

Cindy Fredrick

Associate Vice President, Alumni, Parents & Friends
University of Virginia

About Cindy

Cindy Fredrick is a respected leader with 35 years of administrative experience in higher education and community-based organizations. Cindy currently leads the University of Virginia’s central engagement office for alumni, parents, and friends. Cindy oversees the central annual giving team, including creating The Virginia Fund which raises financial support for Presidential priorities. Cindy serves on the University Advancement senior leadership and $5 billion capital campaign team. 

She previously served as President and CEO for Madison House, UVA’s award-winning volunteer service non-profit organization. Before her time at UVA, she held leadership positions with Virginia’s coalition of sexual assault crisis centers, a professional touring theatre for children, and long-term care facilities. Cindy is a graduate of Luther College, with a degree in social work and California State University, with a master’s degree in educational administration.

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