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Back to education
Brief sabbatical from higher education told Sherry McKinstrey it
was time to return.
- As a student at Central College in Pella, Iowa, Sherry McKinstrey worked
in that campus' fundraising office, helping with the college's annual phone-a-thon.
Despite that experience, she didn't give fundraising as a career choice
a second thought.
"No one talked to me as an undergraduate about being a development
(fundraising) officer," she said.
But after she moved back to Pella in the late 1990s, she was encouraged
to apply for just such a job when a position came open in that same fundraising
office.
Five years later, McKinstrey can't imagine working in a different line of
work.
After working as the annual fund director at Central and for the past year
as a major gift officer for Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, she was happy
with her career choice.
"But I missed higher education a lot," she said.
That's when the Iowa State University Foundation and the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences (LAS) came calling. McKinstrey was named the director
of development for LAS in early November.
She is the second recent hire for LAS in fundraising. Alsatia Mellecker
came on board at the beginning of the fall semester as the College's senior
director of development.
McKinstrey plans to take her first days at Iowa State to learn about LAS
and its academic departments. Mellecker and McKinstrey have divided up the
responsibilities for various departments and geographic locations of the
College's alumni base.
"I plan to visit with the department chairs," McKinstrey said.
"But then I'm hopeful not to spend a lot of time in Ames.
"My job is about visiting potential prospects. I'm interested in getting
to know them."
While all of LAS’ academic departments have wish lists, ultimately
McKinstrey says that it is the donor's wishes that need to be honored.
"This job ends up being donor driven," she said. "I will
work with departments to identify prospects as well as their wishes and
needs. You don't know when you will come across someone (potential donor)
that doesn't have a particular interest that they wish to help fund. Then
you need to be ready with an idea."
Going out and meeting with prospective donors is the part of her job that
McKinstrey enjoys the most.
"Getting to meet with all the people that are associated with the institution,
learn about their memories and help them get reconnected again are the fun
parts of the job," she said.
"There are lots of great opportunities here at Iowa State and especially
LAS,”" McKinstrey continued. "There is a lot of room for
growth."
Around LAS
December 1-21, 2003
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