Dear friends, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are able to rest and restore a bit this week. I am celebrating at home with my sons Luca and Alex, which is different for us and a necessary precaution. However, we’re having fun with it. Luca is home from college through December, and (drumroll, please…) we have […]

  Dear friends, This will be a letter full of good news. Starting close to home, Avalon senior account director Rebecca Shapalis was recently re-elected to the DMAW Board of Directors. Rebecca is an expert fundraiser and a strong leader. I am thrilled both for her and for DMAW. Congrats! In a happy moment for me […]

Dear friends, I am delighted to be writing the celebratory version of this letter, after a tense week and cathartic weekend – complete with (masked!) dancing in the streets for the Biden/Harris victory. Though I had hoped for a stronger rebuke of Trump’s chaos and bigotry, a tremendous wave of relief washed over me when the networks […]

  In this unprecedented time, Avalon is here.   Here for our staff.   Our first priority is the safety of Avalon staff and clients. On March 2nd Avalon ceased company travel, and on March 12th we shifted fully to remote work. We have been telecommuter-friendly for 20+ years, which helped make this a seamless […]

  Dear friends, Last week, Walter Wallace, Jr. was killed by police during a mental health episode, and Philadelphia rightly erupted into grief and anger. Today, we collectively exercise the most important nonviolent tool we have for resisting and dismantling white supremacy: the vote.  Thank you all for voting, for encouraging others, and for volunteering […]

Dear friends, T-minus one week until Election Day. I know I don’t need to remind you to vote or make a plan to vote yourself, so here’s the level up: please encourage your staff in their plans to vote. The Society for Human Resource Management has a great round-up of ways employers can support turnout. Let’s do this! […]

Dear friends, I hope you are having a good week. We had several happy occasions at Avalon recently, including birthdays, an Avalon anniversary, a wedding, and even a new baby! Special congratulations to Avalon Office Manager Cherea Stoney on her marriage, and to Director of Client Reporting and Data Management Kate Cecchini Beaver on the […]

Dear friends, Last week’s vice-presidential debate played out as expected, with the humorous exception of the insect that has everyone buzzing. The internet rose to the occasion with a Twitter account for Debate Fly and a deluge of memes. Even better, the Biden campaign quickly jumped on the fundraising opportunity in very creative ways. Kudos and thank […]

  Dear friends, I am thrilled to kick off this letter by sharing that Avalon is celebrating five MAXI Award wins! Kudos to these Avalon teams and clients: Farm Sanctuary, Friends of Smithsonian, Galapagos Conservancy, National Air and Space Museum, and The Trustees. The awards will take place in a virtual ceremony on November 5, […]

Dear friends, With the fall equinox last Tuesday, we are officially in election season. A change in presidential leadership is critical, of course, and we also need progressive legislators in the House and Senate. I hope everyone reading this not only is registered, but also has a plan to vote. The Avalon team is beginning […]