Adrienne's Story

Adrienne Selsor has been a corporate funder, a nonprofit fundraiser, a donor and a board member. She understands the beauty and complexities of each role and can help you navigate the nonprofit landscape.

Adrienne has 20 years of experience in the philanthropy sector in central Ohio. She served as Chief Fundraising Officer at YWCA Columbus for six years, and managed Battelle’s charitable giving endeavors for eight years. Adrienne's career and volunteer positions have given her a unique perspective on engagement, which she's eager to share with others.

At Adrienne's core, she believes in people. People are the starting point to enhance community work and impact. Coaching and training strengthens individuals and, in turn, nonprofits become stronger. Communities thrive. When nonprofit professionals and volunteers are supported, turnover decreases and fundraising increases. Great work becomes greater.

Coaching and Leadership Development

Adrienne has a passion for coaching and leadership development. She has extensive experience serving on the following boards:

• The Executive Committee and Governing Board of Leadership Columbus

• The Board of the Columbus Metropolitan Club

• The Board of YWCA Columbus

•  The Board of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Mentoring Committee Chair

Councils

As Corporate Philanthropy Manager at Battelle, Adrienne served on the Women’s Employee Resource Group and Diversity Leadership Council, chairing its Recruitment, Retention and Communications Committee.

Steering Committees

Adrienne has a Certificate in Corporate Community Involvement from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College and has served on dozens of community event steering committees, including:

• The Ohio Grantmakers Forum

• The American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Luncheon

• The Columbus Council on World Affairs International Awards Ceremony

• The Columbus Metropolitan Library Celebration of Learning Event

• The American Heart Association Heart Gala

• The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute Up on the Roof Fundraising Gala

• Columbus Business First Corporate Caring Awards

• The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Dinner of Champions

• The Ohio Cancer Research Associates Grand Illusions Sauté

• The Children’s Hunger Alliance Menu of Hope

• The Prevent Blindness Ohio People of Vision Awards

• The Community Shelter Board Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration

• YWCA Columbus Women of Achievement Event

Education

Adrienne has a double major in Human Resources and Marketing with a Bachelor’s Degree from Miami University, and she is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) via CFRE International.

Recognition

Columbus Business First named Adrienne a 2014 "Forty Under 40" honoree, one of the "20 People to Know in Nonprofits" in 2014, a 2015 Mentor for the annual Bizwomen Mentoring Monday event, and a 2017 soHza Changemaker.

What Others Are Saying

Getting involved in the community and supporting nonprofits seems like a natural way to spread generosity and gratitude.

So what's the problem?

Studies have shown that generosity and gratitude lead to happier, more rewarding lives.

Everyone wants to be happy, right? So how do we get there?

Time is the problem.

People are busier than ever. No one is looking for more to do. So how do companies and nonprofits get people to volunteer? How do individuals make space in their lives to figure out how do get involved in a meaningful way?

Structure. It's all about making it easy and helping people find their passion. Think about a time where the hours flew by. What were you doing? What do others always come to you for? The intersection between what you're good at and what your passionate about is your starting point. If you are a company, what is the change your business seeks to make in the world? How can a strategic philanthropy program help achieve those goals?

Talent is the problem.

Finding a qualified workforce is difficult. Imagine paying lower salaries, declining benefits and more complicated reporting structures. Now imagine your boss is not just one person, but 10-30 volunteers that may or may not know how to lead. As volunteers, they work for free and don't get performance reviews. How does that work?

Training. Everyone needs a good understanding of what their role is and how to be most effective. The first step in training is to make sure everyone is there for the right reason. The second step is carving out time to create plans to support growth and development. Everyone from the Board Chair and the CEO to the development professional needs role clarification and coaching to do their best work. Both companies and nonprofits need to provide these training opportunities.    

Treasure is the problem. 

Limited resources can cause pressure, which results in short-sighted thinking. Nonprofits often lack long-term funding plans to ensure sustainability. When the pressure is on, people don't make choices that strengthen the organization for the long-run; rather, they look for quick fixes to address today’s emergency. How do we get out of this hand-to-mouth cycle? 

Planning. When nonprofits create and sustain long-term, meaningful relationships, they are more likely to thrive financially. Planning for and securing diversified funding streams is critical since funding priorities can shift overnight. Relying too heavily on one source—corporate, foundation, individual or government funds—leaves nonprofits open for unexpected drops that can have crippling effects. A good fundraising plan will help mitigate this risk.

Welcome to the complicated world of nonprofits.  

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