Profile: Anna Biller
Anna Biller is the director of annual giving in Institutional Advancement (IA). She oversees the alignment of the Emerson community’s philanthropic interests with Emerson’s greatest funding needs. IA’s number one funding priority is financial aid for students, so she and her colleagues work with many departments across campus, including Communications and Marketing, Advancement Services, Student Success, and Financial Aid, to think creatively about what financial aid means to different people. Then her team applies what they learn to raise money for mostly current use funds and scholarships such as the One Emerson Scholarship Fund, Student Assistance Fund, Empower Fund, and the Parents Fund, to name a few.
Biller manages four staff members and has a dotted line to an ELA staff member. Her team raises money from individuals—alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College—via direct marketing and solicitations. They send out segmented solicitations monthly utilizing many forms of communication, such as direct mail, email, and social media. This year, there are nearly 20 solicitations on the calendar, but no one person will receive that many appeals. An alumna/us who has given to the College in the past few years, for instance, could expect to hear from the Annual Giving Office four to five times per year.
Biller and her colleagues often work on special campaigns, such as last year’s Shine Through mask campaign, through which donors received a specially designed Emerson face covering. In collaboration with many other departments, her office also put together the Pride campaign earlier this year, which raised money for LGBTQIA+ student needs.
Of the many funds the Annual Giving team raises resources for, including unrestricted, budget-relieving, and some restricted funds, the team was instrumental in raising more than $850,000 in cash last year, with goals to increase that amount by 10% in FY22.
She and her colleagues have also produced strong year-over-year incremental increases in alumni participation (+30% over two years), donor retention (+35% over two years), and new donor acquisition (+41% from FY20 to FY21). The team has a goal of 3.75% alumni participation this year, representing a 17% increase.
Biller has spent her entire career in higher education fundraising. She started out at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania before moving to Boston to work at Harvard Law School, Suffolk Law School, and Bentley University. She just celebrated her five-year anniversary at Emerson.
When asked what her favorite part about working here is, she replied that she enjoys witnessing the creativity of the students, staff, and faculty. She explained, “I worked in law schools for a long time and loved it, but it can be very business-like and buttoned-up. There is something truly special about seeing the art that the Emerson community creates to change the world.”
Biller grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania in a one-stoplight farm town. She is a proud alumna of St. Bonaventure University, where she studied journalism and mass communication. She noted that she learned about Emerson when she was in college, because the two schools’ radio stations routinely competed for the #1 spot in college rankings.
She and her husband, Mike; two kids, Cameron and Libby; and dog, Roxie, just moved to Grafton, Massachusetts. She said, “Some of you city dwellers may think it’s the country, but not compared to what I’m used to growing up!” Her kids are 7 and 2 years old, so she spends most of her free time with them. She said that has led her to become quite skilled in Mario Kart, “but only as Wendy Koopa driving a biddybuggy.”
Nancy Howell (Communications and Marketing)