‘Tis the Season for Giving…and Everyone Counts!
This month’s Guest Blogger is Mary Cariola’s Major Gifts Officer Brad Pearson, who rejoined the Agency earlier this year. During the past eleven years Brad worked in healthcare advancement with Rochester Regional Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center. Prior to that, Brad spent more than ten years at Mary Cariola Center where he served as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and Director of Agency Advancement.
Brad said, “While I left the Agency as an employee for more than a decade, the students and staff never left my mind and heart. This organization cares for the most vulnerable people in our community.”
Major Gifts Officer Brad Pearson
How can one not find some comfort in witnessing the enormous generosity of our community during the holidays? Here at Mary Cariola Center, the staff and extended family of the Agency have rallied to fill the food pantries in our schools, donations have been pouring in of all sizes and the selfless staff and volunteers are going the extra mile to make sure that every child and adult served at Mary Cariola Center feels joy during the holidays.
As an employee of the Agency who is charged with seeking philanthropic support for the children, adults, and staff at the Center, I want every donor to know that we SEE and Appreciate you! No matter the size of your gift, no matter the frequency of your gifts, your collective contributions assure that we can obtain the resources needed to help every child and adult served at the Agency reach their potential, regardless of disability.
Under the direction of the Mary Cariola Foundation, donor recognition programs, also known as, Giving Circles, have been instituted to assure appropriate acknowledgement of our donors who give at certain levels. Our first level is the Cariola Circle which recognizes anyone who has contributed $1,000 to the Agency in any giving year. Next, the Sunrise Circle represents donors who commit to giving $1,000 or more each year for three years via a non-binding pledge to the Agency. We have three additional recognition levels that represent lifetime giving. When a donor reaches the lifetime giving milestone of donating $25,000, they become a member of the Lifetime Sunrise Circle. At the $100,000 lifetime level, a donor joins the President’s Circle and at the $1,000,000 level, the Founder’s Circle. To round out our formal donor recognition program, when a donor attests to including Mary Cariola Center in their estate plan, they become a member of our 1949 Legacy Society. These donor recognition levels represent what is best practice in attracting and retaining donors to assure that we can continue to grow and sustain our Agency.
With all that said, we need the support of our community at all levels! Whether it is $5, $25, $50, etc. We are forever grateful for your support and on behalf of every child, family, staff member, and volunteer in the Mary Cariola Family remember, EVERY DONOR COUNTS! We want to meet you, and we’d love for you to meet our students, residents and staff. Please contact me at (585) 271-0761 ext. 1634 or bpearson@marycariola.org to see the magic that happens at Mary Cariola every day.
Brad visits with Preschoolers Lucas and Shawn during morning circle time.
