Q&A: Associate Director of Development Aja Davis

My primary responsibility is to lead the acquisition and retention of individual donors. I work with our five-member development team to ensure we are being thoughtful and consistent with outreach to donors and ensure we are uplifting and stewarding Wex members as best we can. 

There’s tremendous opportunity here. I think being part of Ohio State helps us catapult ourselves beyond central Ohio. The university, as a higher learning institution, has done such a good job at this. They have made sure their alumni continue to feel connected and elevated and given them so many opportunities to get involved. I think when it becomes safe to travel and meet with people more, I’m going to have so many leads to follow. I’m really excited about that. 

I'm most looking forward to better getting to know the contemporary and cultural arts community in Columbus. I'm excited to learn more about this world and really use artists’ commitment, talent, and drive to help bring donors and community members along on a journey. I see myself as being a sort of convener, someone who says, “Come look at this! See what awesome things people are doing!” 

What I identify as challenging for fundraisers of any kind, especially now, is the fact that the average person consumes something like seven hours of media per day, from commercials to podcasts, to Zoom meetings. That's a lot of noise. How do you make sure you’re not just noise? Also, I think the downfall of some development work is leaning too much into a transactional approach. When you start thinking of your relationships or your exchanges as “doing this so that I could ask for this,” or “going to that, so I can get this.” When that starts to creep into your work, I think potential donors can feel it.

I've had almost five years of fundraising experience, and it all has been around human services and dealing with very challenging issues in our community. That work is tremendous, and it needs to be a priority, but it does take a toll on you. Working on the human services side—the story of disparity, the statistics on how many folks are living in poverty in a city full of resources—can be a challenging space. I'm looking forward to the light, love, and passion that comes from the arts, which speak to our human condition and common humanity.

I do remember an early visit to the Wex with my mom and grandma when when I was about 10 years old. An author had a book launch, and I remember the space being just magical. I remember a display of masks from an indigenous group, colorful paintings, and things in different languages written on the walls. It felt like a place of wonderment and exploration and mystery. It must have stuck with me because that experience of cultural exchange later led to my studies in anthropology—traveling the world, studying cultures and languages, and being really involved in having cultural interactions. 

There are so many ways to help the life of the arts community thrive beyond just dollars. Sharing a special skill or talent, helping with technology or social media, volunteering your time, all of that goes toward the mission of the institution and can be an extraordinary way to give.

One thing I’ve mastered during quarantine is the Greek salad. I've got the quinoa ready. I've got the grilled chicken ready. I’ve got the honey lemon dressing. When the world opens up again, everyone’s going to get a big Greek salad from me.