Nonprofit fund-raisers cozy up to the affluent to fuel good works

Nonprofit fund-raisers cozy up to the affluent to fuel good works: "Nonprofit fund-raisers cozy up to the affluent to fuel good works
By MARK BIXLER
Cox News Service
Wednesday, December 07, 2005

ATLANTA — The plastic surgeon from Chattanooga is coming to Atlanta with connections, deep pockets and a history of giving.

Barron Segar can't wait.

As director of the Southeast Regional Chapter of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF — the United Nation's Children's Fund — Segar has courted the surgeon since she gave $5,000 for tsunami relief a year ago. He has invited her to mingle with Ted Turner at a Buckhead party in four days.

'She wants to introduce us to someone whose family is one of the top five shareholders in Coca-Cola,' he tells two board members one recent Friday.

Eyes widen.

As the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's main fund-raiser in the Southeast for about 250 donors who each gave at least $5,000, Segar inhabits a realm of catered parties and cultivated friendships. A day with him pulls back the curtain on a world most people rarely see, in which nonprofit fund-raisers cozy up to the affluent in search of contributions to fuel their good works.

The world hums with activity this month more than any other, as donors open their checkbooks in the holiday spirit — and to beat a Dec. 31 deadline to claim a tax deduction.

Segar pursues his quarry with abundant charm.

He tries to write several letters a day — handwritten, never typed — and updates a database with information about donors — their children's names, for example. He writes reports on how contributions are spent, choosing large print and color copies for elderly donors.

'It's all about relationships,' he says.

Typically, he spends a year courting potential donors before that magic moment when they write a check.

This year, he's wooing more donors than ever. Nationally, more than 1,400 first-time donors gave the U.S. Fund for UNICEF at least $5,000 after th"