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Stephen Dare
Associate Vice President for Development for Undergraduate Programs at the University of Pennsylvania
Professional Background
Stephen Dare is a distinguished professional with over 40 years of experience in development and campaign strategies, particularly within the academic sector. His career has been marked by significant achievements at major research universities, where he has played instrumental roles in fundraising campaigns of monumental proportions. Beginning his career in the early 1980s, Stephen has accumulated a wealth of knowledge regarding fundraising efforts, program management, and strategic development, making him a sought-after expert in the field.
Stephen’s impactful career began in 1986 when he joined The Johns Hopkins University, specifically the Whiting School of Engineering. Here, he worked tirelessly during the “Campaign for Johns Hopkins” and was a vital contributor to raising over $27 million for engineering programs as part of a larger $644 million campaign. This early experience laid a solid foundation for his future endeavors.
His journey continued at Boston College, where he served as the Director of Development for Endowment and Capital Programs. Under his leadership, the institution successfully managed field activities that culminated in an impressive $130 million raised during two mini-campaigns. In 1998, Stephen transitioned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the Director of Resource Development. Here, he was the chief operating officer for the ambitious $2 billion “Campaign for MIT.” Following the conclusion of this monumental effort in 2004, he organized and launched the “Campaign for Students.” This campaign exceeded expectations, raising over $578 million by its successful completion in 2011, showcasing Stephen’s exceptional ability to lead and inspire fundraising initiatives.
In 2008, Stephen took on the role of Vice President for College Relations at Union College, an elite liberal arts institution recognized in the top 40. His leadership in the “You are Union Campaign” resulted in the campaign being completed ahead of schedule, ultimately raising $258 million, surpassing the initial goal. This achievement further solidified his reputation as a talented campaign strategist in higher education.
Stephen expanded his expertise by joining the University of Rochester in 2013 as Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Programs. Tasked with directing the efforts of the four River Campus schools, he played a pivotal role in exceeding their fundraising goals as part of the $1.2 billion “Meliora Challenge.” In 2014, he added the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer for Advancement, during an essential transitional period for the organization. His contributions during this time included the addition of crucial departments such as Advancement Services, Finance and Administration, Regional Programs, and Annual Giving.
In 2018, Stephen joined the prestigious
Power of Penn
campaign at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on supporting undergraduate programs. His ongoing commitment to educational advancement has further exemplified his passion for positively impacting student experiences.
In addition to his exemplary career, Stephen has shared his knowledge and experiences by presenting at numerous CASE conferences, organizing sessions and panels across Districts 1 and 2. His dedication to professional growth in the fund development field has led to an esteemed eight-year term on the District 2 Board, including a pivotal role as Chair from 2016 to 2018.
Education and Achievements
Stephen Dare has cultivated an impressive academic foundation that enhances his professional capabilities. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, as well as a Master’s Degree in Educational Public Relations, from Rowan University. His drive for continuous improvement led him to pursue additional academic excellence, completing 30 credits toward an MBA from Thomas Jefferson University. Furthermore, Stephen has undertaken executive leadership training at two of the world’s most prestigious institutions – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University – allowing him to refine his leadership style and gain insights into higher education management.
Notable Achievements
- Successfully raised $27 million for the Whiting School of Engineering during the $644 million “Campaign for Johns Hopkins.”
- Managed fund development activities that resulted in $130 million raised at Boston College during two mini-campaigns.
- Led the $2 billion “Campaign for MIT” and organized the $500 million “Campaign for Students,” ultimately exceeding the goal by reaching $578 million.
- Oversaw the “You are Union Campaign” at Union College, resulting in a successful completion at $258 million.
- Played a crucial role in exceeding fundraising goals during the $1.2 billion “Meliora Challenge” at the University of Rochester, while also innovating the advancement structure.
- Contributed to the success of the “Power of Penn” campaign, enhancing undergraduate support efforts.
In conclusion, Stephen Dare exemplifies a true leader in the realms of development and advancement within academia. His passion for enhancing educational opportunities and his unwavering commitment to achieving ambitious fundraising goals position him as a valued asset to any institution focused on fostering growth and success in their initiatives.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.