Anthony Alonso - President's Corner

As we enter 2008, I find myself reminiscing on our successes, while optimistically looking forward to the coming year and our future. Advantage, founded in 1996 in conjunction with my partner and brother Robert Alonso, has been serving clients with a profound commitment to its mission for over twelve years. I clearly recall the days when I had to serve as program manager, human resources director, calling manager, accountant and sales director. Those were challenging, but fun days which I fondly remember!

Today, Advantage employs over 130 people in three locations in two states. We have clients across the country and serve non-profits ranging from large universities and religious organizations to small community hospitals. We have made it this far because of the commitment and dedication of our staff, combined with the trust and partnership we share with our clients. It truly is a blessing to get up every day and know what you do for a living has a direct impact on people’s lives. I could not imagine a more satisfying job.

Advantage has grown in large part due to its continued client retention. The following is a partial list of clients Advantage has served and partnered with for many years:

Partners since 1996

Partners since 1996	Partners since 1996

Partners since 1996

Partners since 1998	Partners since 2002

Partners since 2000

Partners since 2002	Partners since 2002

We salute these partners in our success. Their partnership, and that of so many other clients over the last twelve years, fuels our growth and drives us to provide excellent service each year. Satisfied clients are what Advantage is most proud of – it is our ultimate goal to have our clients experience the very best customer service in the industry.

We look forward to another year of excellence!

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

Caron Treatment Centers, formerly the Caron Foundation, celebrated its 50th year in 2007.  Advantage has been a part of Caron's success for the past eight years.

The late Richard J. Caron and his wife Catherine founded Caron in 1957.  The facility was originally called Chit Chat because of Catherine’s comments about Richard’s early conversations in their living room with fellow recovering alcoholics about the need for such a facility.  Caron was the first agency in the United States to establish a residential codependency treatment program and today provides over $7,000,000 a year in charity care, more than 11% of its total revenue.

Caron’s main treatment facility and corporate offices are nestled in the rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania in Wernersville, just outside of Reading, PA. Caron also has offices in Philadelphia, PA, and New York City, and treatment facilities in Bermuda, and Boca Raton, Florida.  Caron also operates outpatient programs in Wyomissing, PA.  In addition, Caron provides student assistance programs in nine states and Washington, DC., serving over 35,000 students annually, along with almost 2,000 educators and almost 2,000 parents.

The development program at Caron is headed up by Joseph K. Lauginiger, Jr. CFRE, a thirty-four year veteran fundraiser.  As the chief development officer, Joe is responsible for the overall fundraising program at Caron and is currently providing the leadership for a $50 million 50th Anniversary Campaign, “A Special Place – A Special Time”, that includes annual fund, capital and endowment.

Joe says Advantage’s help in conducting Caron's annual fund calling program has been invaluable.  The annual fund provides scholarships for treatment for individuals and families who do not have adequate health insurance or financial resources to cover the cost of their treatment.

“We value the strong partnership we have forged with Advantage.  Anthony Alonso and his team are terrific.  I have always been impressed with their level of professionalism and responsiveness.  I consider them an integral part of our development operation here at Caron – they are part of our team.”

Sue Hendrickson manages Caron’s annual fund program and works closely with the Advantage team.  Sue commented that the majority of the dollars raised through Advantage are from new donors.  Advantage also does a great job with upgrading Caron’s current donors.

“Our Advantage program is extremely well managed by Maria Baamonde.  Each year the callers visit Caron prior to the start of the program.  We take them on a tour of the campus and our various treatment facilities to give them a better understanding of our programs and services.  This experience provides the callers with valuable knowledge and background information when speaking with the prospects.  At the end of each program, Advantage provides us with an extremely thorough analysis along with recommendations for next year’s program.”

GIVING INSTITUTE

Advantage is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony Alonso, president of Advantage, to the Board of Directors of Giving Institute, formerly known as the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AARFC).  Giving Institute is the publisher of Giving USA, one of the profession’s leading publications on charitable research.

Since 1935, Giving Institute and its members have embraced and embodied the core values of ethics, excellence and leadership in advancing philanthropy. The mission of Giving Institute is to educate and engage members in the ethical delivery of counsel and related services to nonprofits, through research, advocacy, and best practices.

Giving Institute firms are professionally and geographically diverse, raising billions of dollars annually for, and providing invaluable types of counsel to, philanthropic institutions. Member firms meet rigid standards and complete an extensive client review process, with re-qualification occurring every five years.

Anthony Alonso and Advantage were invited to become members and joined Giving Institute in 2007. Anthony says, “membership in this prestigious group and the opportunity to serve on its board of directors, has been another milestone in Advantage’s history, and we are proud to be among the profession’s leaders in providing excellence in fundraising counsel.”

LEGACY LEADERS AND ADVANTAGE PARTNER ON PLANNED GIVING PROGRAMS

Advantage Consulting and Legacy Leaders are pleased to announce their partnership in an integrated mail/phone approach to planned giving.  Legacy Leaders is the leading provider of gift-planning products and services for nonprofit organizations throughout North America.  Legacy Leaders delivers superior results by applying the most expertise, the most client service, and the most sensitivity to prospective donors.  Trusted since its founding in 1995, Legacy Leaders is the oldest continuous provider of integrated mail and phone planned giving services in the world.  Legacy Leaders has developed innovative direct marketing solutions for nonprofits that want to maximize their planned giving programs.

“When we wanted to expand our operation in the United States, it was only natural that we would turn to a telephone fundraising company that shares our values and standards of excellence and service,” says Michael J. Rosen, CFRE, Executive Vice President of Client Development at Legacy Leaders.

Anthony Alonso, of Advantage comments, “We at Advantage have long believed that planned giving is a natural outgrowth of an effective annual fund program, and this partnership gives us the opportunity to be a part of the innovative Legacy Leaders approach.”
 
When a university wanted to encourage more of its alumni to include their alma mater in their wills, they chose to work with Legacy Leaders.  After designing the campaign strategy, Legacy Leaders sent the alumni a mail package to establish the case for planned giving support.  Following a series of calls from Advantage and follow-up mail, 17 percent of the alumni made a commitment to include the university in their wills.

A social service agency wanted to inspire its supporters to include the organization when making estate plans.  Legacy Leaders developed a sophisticated mail and phone program and partnered with Advantage for implementation.  The program resulted in commitments from 14% percent of those contacted.

The results of the collaboration are proof of why both Advantage and Legacy Leaders continue to lead in the field of philanthropy.

ADVANTAGE WEST EXPANDS!

Advantage Consulting is pleased to announce the expansion of its West Coast office in Las Vegas, NV.  Due to the increased volume of calls, and the availability of top-notch callers in the nation’s fastest growing city, Advantage has leased additional space in its current office building at 1701 East Flamingo Road, in the heart of Clark County.

Advantage now offers 36 calling station and employs 65 members of the calling team in its Las Vegas office. The new office is managed by Gwen Bowen, who has been with Advantage for six years.

MORE ADVANTAGE SHARES!

Advantage SHARES, created by Advantage partner, Robert Alonso, was designed to Support Healthcare, Arts, Religion, Education and Social services – hence the name SHARES. Now in its fourth year, Advantage’s philanthropic employee incentive plan gives staff the opportunity to volunteer in the non-profit sector. The program encourages members of the Advantage staff to seek out volunteer opportunities with a non-profit of their choice. For each hour invested in the organization, staff members are rewarded with a half hour of comp time.

This year, Advantage will expand this philanthropic program to support non-profits from around the globe. Advantage has launched a new web-site forum at www.advantageshares.com designed to allow non-profits to share information and ideas with colleagues from around the world. Advantage Vice President for Client Services, Maria Baamonde explains, "our objective in launching this site is in keeping with Advantage’s continued commitment to the non-profit community we proudly serve."

Unlike other listservs and forums, advantageshares.com will be comprehensive and cover all areas of philanthropy, with open forums on topics ranging from Annual Giving to Major Gifts to Planned Giving. Advantage will update and monitor the list and membership at no charge to the non-profit sector. Further, we will ask experts in the field to post advice on the site regularly, to help answer some of the posted questions. Advantage will also participate in the forum with useful information and tips for the management of phone programs and annual fund programs.

This new forum is open to all individuals who volunteer or work in the sector. Come join today at www.advantageshares.com. We look forward to your participation in this important venue.

Over the past five years, Advantage Consulting has donated nearly a $1,000,000 in cash gifts and services to non-profits. The Advantage SHARES employee incentive program and the advantageshares.com forum is our way to expand our commitment to the non-profit sector and to our management team.

In addition to these gifts, Anthony serves on the AFP International Foundation Board, the Board of the New Jersey Chapter of AFP, and the Board of Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits; where he sits on the Membership Committee. He is also a founding member of the Industry Partners Council, designed by AFP to further enhance the way consultants serve non-profit clients.  Anthony is also a former board member and co-chair of his high school’s advisory board.

Robert has also made financial and/or service contributions to Newark Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy and A Better Chance.

Victoria has volunteered her time as well, to Communities in Action in Stamford, Connecticut, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Newark, New Jersey, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of New Jersey. She has also served as Program Chair for the AFP-NJ Conference on Philanthropy.

Additionally, for the last three years, Advantage has been a sponsor for Philanthropy day, for both the New Jersey and Las Vegas Chapters of AFP.

AFP FOUNDATION EVERY MEMBER CAMPAIGN UPDATE

One of the most rewarding assignments for Advantage has been the solid commitment to our profession by providing pro bono services to the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy’s Every Member Campaign.

For the fifth year in a row, Advantage has contributed its time, talent and treasure to assist the Foundation in implementing the annual phone appeal to AFP members throughout the United States.  The Foundation’s Annual Fund provides scholarship opportunities to up and coming professionals, as well as research, and educational opportunities in diverse communities such as the Pacific Rim, Central America and South America.

Anthony Alonso, president of Advantage, and a member of AFP Business Partner’s Council said he was inspired to make this contribution, the largest one ever received by the AFP Foundation, after working with AFP leadership on ways to involve more businesses and corporations that have an interest in the work of AFP, and bringing the AFP vision for a better society through fundraising efforts to a wider audience.

Anthony is delighted that Advantage’s efforts have been so successful for the organization to which he is deeply committed.