[b]Will Flattery[/b]: I was born in Stanford, California to a Colombian mother and an Irish Italian father. I’ve lived in seven different states throughout the United States of America having lived in every part of the country. I have a brother named Andrew and we are really close. I came of age in Irmo, South Carolina and attended high school in Charlotte, North Carolina – that’s where I lived the longest – I attended two high schools in Charlotte and met my best friends Ryan and Randy. Post-graduation, I worked part-time and pursued varying interests. I enrolled in university when I was 21 years of age at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. I studied health promotion and psychology, and just about everything I could on the side. I graduated in December 2011 and I’ve been working for a health system ever since.
[b]Megan Foo: Is there a quote or motto that you live by?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: If I could use a poem, it would be “If” by Rudyard Kipling. That is one of my favorite poems as it embodies everything I hold dear. I admire headstrong leaders exhibiting high levels of wisdom and humility. I believe this poem captures the mentality of such individuals exceptionally well.
[b]Megan Foo: Why did you decide to volunteer with Givology?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: I really believe in its mission, the students, and the projects – I thought it was very innovative and the leadership was very strong across the board. I was very impressed with the Givology team, and it was something I wanted to be a part of. Givology’s generosity, coupled with its mission with regard to education made it one of the best mediums that I could get involved with to achieve impact not only in my immediate sphere of influence, but throughout the world. It also represented an opportunity to give back. Formal education, with all of its resources, is the truest form of social mobility in the States, and it has provided me an avenue to be a good steward of resources. In addition to stewardship, education has also extended a means to provide for and serve my future family both tangibly and intangibly. I believe every individual should be afforded such opportunity. Givology has expanded many horizons in addition to presenting a tremendous opportunity to meet and work with incredibly talented and kind hearted people. I am thankful to be part of Givology.
[b]Megan Foo: What inspires you about Givology and its mission about education?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: I think the basic axioms we all seem to abide by. Also, the thought processes of our leaders and our volunteers. The whole premise of Givology’s genesis entailed an individual without much experience being headstrong, not fearing mistakes, and believing that this world could be altered for the better. The pursuits, attitudes and mindsets – not only from Joyce [Meng] and Jennifer [Q Chen] – but the entire team and everyone who’s ever been involved with Givology were very, very admirable. The mentality and approach is something I believe can be adopted across any industry or organization with exceptional results.
[b]Megan Foo: Can you tell me about your experience as Givology’s Director of Sponsorships?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: I’ve been in this role for about three and a half months now. Immediately when I saw an ad for Givology, I went through Givology’s website and felt this is really superb. I was already pursuing a philanthropy endeavor on my own and I came across Givology and thought ‘this is how it should be done’. I saw anyone could be involved so I submitted the application and Joyce and I had the conference call shortly thereafter. I had initially wanted to be involved with Chapters. Chapters is huge undertaking and it really takes a team. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a team willing to commit to the endeavor.
Some endeavors I’ve been involved with thus far involve working on a team to coordinate fundraising dinner events in NYC. Beyond that, raising awareness, approaching corporations, most of them in small business locally, like restaurants, local bakeries, or franchised food endeavors such as frozen yogurt shops. Trying to establish relationships with them essentially is what the role looks like. Givology is really such an exciting organization because it’s just like anything else in life - if you put a lot in, you get a lot out and there’s a ton of autonomy we all have. People can really create their own roles and do what they like to contribute.
[b]Megan Foo: As Director of Sponsorships, what are your focus priorities for the remainder of the year?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: We have a fairly long document of grants, and that’s just the grants that we’ve identified as a good fit. There are many more grants out there but for the rest of the year, I’d like to get all of those submitted and then also find new ones. I’d also like to contribute to our understanding of how to manage the funds we do have, so continue along those lines of metrics, understanding the whole processing of a grant to not only obtaining the funds but seeing how they’re best utilized and how to measure and quantify their effects.
[b]Megan Foo: What are some creative ways for chapters to fundraise?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: The best ways for chapters to fundraise are simply whatever is the most fun or exciting to each chapter. Most chapters are going to be made of a group of five for their leadership. Whatever they’re truly passionate about, especially within their respective communities, is the best way to fundraise as long as the basic tenets and principles are adhered to. Passion coupled with best practices will yield results.
[b]Megan Foo: What does giving mean to you?[/b]
[b]Will Flattery[/b]: Giving embodies how I’d like to live my life. Giving to me represents an opportunity to ameliorate an egocentric worldview. Specifically, I think it’s a medium that offers fulfillment because at the end of the day you can say that you contributed in a meaningful way. I’ve just found that if I’m having a bad day or anything else, if I can help someone out or edify someone even just in the smallest way, be it having good manners, smiling, anything else, that allows me to really feel decent about everyday life and it’s also congruent with my worldview and philosophy. I’m a Christian so the highest calling in the Christian faith is to love, to treat others as you’d like to be treated, and I think that giving is an opportunity to really live that out.