Scott’s newsletter from last week referenced a number of ways our work has changed in this new environment and the importance of maintaining the best of those new practices as we look forward. As always, change is afoot and remains our one true constant at this moment. 

I especially feel for our new colleagues who are onboarding at this time. Advancement has always been known for its many acronyms and names for sites, teams, systems, programs, policies, procedures, et al. Did you know we named a system FRED?  Welcome and thanks for staying the course – it will all be familiar in time. Keep reaching out to your colleagues and ask questions. We’re all here to help.      

At a past team meeting, this topic came up and Rachel had the neat idea of doing a short glossary for an upcoming newsletter. We didn’t set parameters but thought of a handful of the new, the older (but forgotten), and maybe the confusing. I’m hardly scratching the surface in this forum, but perhaps all of us have run into a few of these, or will encounter them as you navigate your fall.

• GAS/Remittal Form:  A few years ago, Gift Services revitalized our “GAS” sheet.  We now call it the Remittal Form, but it is still occasionally referred to as the “GAS” (gift acceptance sheet). This is the form that is submitted with donor payment intentions for gift processing.
• POINT Report: A monthly report prepared by Advancement Research providing biographic, wealth, and relationship information on new and notable benefactors.
• iModules/Anthology/Encompass: All terms that reference our new email and events system that are often used interchangeably.  In July 2020, the vendor, iModules merged with Campus Management and Campus Labs to become Anthology. Encompass is the general title used to refer to the email/events software.
• Tableau Creator:  This refers to select individuals across Advancement with the training and ability to create visualizations and dashboards in Tableau.
• Briefcase Reports:  A suite of three dashboards (Pool Coverage, Time in Stage, Proposal Pipeline) that have been created (or co-created) by Advancement Research to provide fundraisers with program and performance insights.
• ChartField:  Financial data is organized into different “buckets” which define the data by answering who, what, and where.  The allocation code on Advance actually represents the ChartField (where the money sits in the general ledger).
• APR: Introduced in spring 2020, the Automated Profile Report is a self-serve report designed to support fundraising calls at the $100K or less level.
• Change Advocate Network: A group composed of individuals from across Queen’s to ensure the successful implementation of the Cybersecurity Action Plan. This group acts as ambassadors and advocates for the program providing a source of support and knowledge for their colleagues.  Simon Labbett is Advancement’s Change Advocate extraordinaire.
• Advancement Spotlight Series:  A series of live sessions run by the Insights Advancement team to highlight the data and visualizations created to support our programs.  These sessions cover everything from a general overview of the Insights Advancement application (connect to VPN to use link) to guided sessions on specific visualizations and dashboards available in the tool, including how best to leverage the information in these tools to guide analysis and make informed, data-driven business decisions.
• Fund vs. Allocation:   A fund is used to monitor resources and demonstrate legal and administrative requirements. Fund is a term referred to and used throughout the university. In Advancement, we mostly work with 5xxxx series funds (expendable) and 7xxxx series funds (endowed). An allocation is a term specific to Advancement and is the code used to represent the fund. We can have multiple allocations pointing to the same fund, which is why we sometimes ask for the allocation code opposed to fund number.
• Data Dimensions:  A set of measurements applied to data in order to assess its quality.  The Office of Advancement measures six different dimensions: Accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, uniqueness, and validity.
• LiveAlumni: A platform that allows Advancement to link Queen’s alumni to their own public profiles on LinkedIn. Advancement users can use this tool to broadly query alumni employment information, organizational memberships, and volunteer roles based upon the latest information available through LinkedIn. Using this tool, ITM has added close to 27,000 new LinkedIn profiles to Advance this month!
• Google Jamboard:  A digital whiteboard that allows teams to collaboratively brainstorm, sketch out ideas, and save them to the cloud so that they can be accessed from any device. In order to access Jamboard, you must have your own Google account. Jamboard is a great tool, however it is not secured or supported within the Queen’s digital environment, and therefore confidential/personal information should not be published to your board. 
• All in the Loop: A virtual event-hosting solution that will soon be accessible to departments across Queen's.  Advancement will use this platform for Homecoming 2020, and may also consider for future online Advancement events.
• Tiger King:  Okay, it’s not an Advancement term, but it is much discussed and we couldn’t resist. This is the show that unwittingly saved (entertained) North America during the early days of the Coronavirus outbreak. (Thanks, Urban Dictionary!)

In the fall of 2018, the Data Governance and Data Quality team launched the Advancement Glossary (connect to VPN to use link) to share common business terms and definitions used by the Office of Advancement. The glossary currently contains over 300 terms with new additions made weekly. Know of a term you would like to see added? Please reach out to Corrine.

Upcoming training opportunities

Tableau Conference 2020

The world's largest data conference is coming to you virtually Oct. 6 – 8, and it's 100% free! This conference typically provides some great opportunities for learning, networking, and fun. You can choose from a variety of channels to find sessions that will match your interests and have the greatest potential impact on your programs. Network with your peers on a Braindate or attend the Iron Viz competition to see cutting-edge visualizations produced in real time.

World-class thought leaders will provide insight into new data trends, share tips on building a data culture, and uncover new ways to adopt analytics best practices. Hear from the likes of Heather McGowan (rapid and disruptive change), Marc Randolph (co-founder of Netflix), and Nate Silver (founder and editor in chief of FiveThirtyEight.com).  Please contact Rachel Deir if you would like some perspective on the conference, or register here to sign up.

CCAE announces on-line Summit series

In keeping with many organizations, CCAE has adapted to support our sector by altering its popular Summit program to an online format.  Each of the 2020-21 Summits will be delivered once a week for a set number of weeks. Each week’s presentation will be live, and attendees will have a chance to pose questions and engage with the presenter and other attendees via a live chat function.  The Development Summit begins on Sept. 28, followed by Advancement Services on Sept. 29.  Also included this fall is a Development for Deans series and Summit for Stewardship and Donor Relations which begins early in the new year.  Please see the CCAE website for more information. While there is a cost for the sessions, CCAE has provided many options for tailoring your interests.  Please work with your supervisor to see if these opportunities align with your departments needs.

Anti-racism training at Queen’s

At last week’s Manager’s Meeting, Carmen Vanderlinde relayed her very positive experience attending the anti-racism course entitled “This is Canada: Living Anti-racism”.  I want to thank Carmen for her comments and for reinforcing the value of this session for all of us in Advancement.  While the Human Rights and Equity Office has sessions in place for the fall, the current offerings are fully booked and all have waiting lists.  The Equity Office has informed us that additional sessions will be offered in the winter.  Please stay tuned. 

Social distance headshots  

Two afternoons have been booked for outdoor socially distanced headshots in the upcoming weeks, dates and times detailed below. You can sign up for a time slot on the Headshots Sign-up Sheet in our Advancement Staff group on Teams. There will be four sets of 40-minute sessions per day with a maximum of six team members per session.  

Time slots in the first round of sign-ups will be reserved for team members who do not have a headshot appearing on the Alumni website. If you do have a headshot but would like a new one, kindly add your name to the wait list on the sign-up sheet. Once team members without headshots have chosen their time slots, the remaining spots will be offered out in order from the wait list – first come, first served.  

Session dates/times:  

September 29th 2020 

• 1:30-2:10 pm 
• 2:10-2:50 pm 
• 2:50-3:30 pm 
• 3:30-4:10 pm  

October 5th 2020 

• 1:30-2:10 pm 
• 2:10-2:50 pm 
• 2:50-3:30 pm 
• 3:30-4:10 pm 

Jobs with Advancement

We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancy below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.

Applications (including a cover letter and resume) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Katelyn, Carla, or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.

Available Position:

Fun fact

Remembering the neutrino and a Nobel Prize 

A plinth commemorating the Nobel Prize-winning neutrino discoveries of the team at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) scientific collaboration – led by Dr. Art McDonald, Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics Emeritus in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy at Queen’s – was installed in April 2018 between Ontario and Grant Halls. 

Dr. McDonald was the co-recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of neutrino oscillations, a phenomenon which proved that neutrinos have mass. He shared the prize with Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo, whose research made similar detections possible. 

Neutrinos, which are sometimes referred to as the "building blocks of the universe," are tiny subatomic particles with almost no mass and no charge. The SNO Collaboration’s discovery increased human understanding of these particles, which ultimately helps scientists understand how stars, galaxies, and the universe itself have evolved since the Big Bang. 

Additionally, a replica of Dr. McDonald’s Nobel Prize medal was put on permanent display at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.