Tuesday, February 10, 2015

CLEVELAND (Feb. 11) – The University of Alaska Anchorage’s Tlisa Northcutt was named Wednesday as the recipient of the 2015 NAADD (National Association of Athletic Development Directors) Fundraiser of the Year for College Division.

Tlisa Northcutt began her career at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in 2000 and has served as the   Associate Athletic Director for Development since 2007. Most recently, Northcutt has overseen the Building Futures Campaign to support the recently opened Alaska Airlines Center. To date, a total of $8.86 million has been raised for the campaign, 99 percent of the total goal.

Among her previous accomplishments, Northcutt has created a longstanding stewardship program for the entire UAA campus and overseen a major restructuring of the Athletic Department’s fundraising efforts, including the establishment of the Seawolf Athletic Association – the overarching booster club for Athletics. This effort also included a complete overhaul of season ticket renewals, a revamped strategy for both annual and major gifts, and the establishment and rollout of a priority points system. These changes have resulted in an increase in athletic fundraising goals of 400 percent.

“Tlisa Northcutt understands the importance of developing lasting and meaningful relationships with potential donors,” said UAA Athletic Director Keith Hackett. “She is masterful at handling friends and potential donors and treats everyone with the utmost respect and courtesy.

“It has been terrific for me to watch Tlisa grow and succeed in the Building Futures Campaign and other initiatives since my arrival at UAA. Tlisa is an excellent fund raising professional and I am pleased she is part of our team here at the University of Alaska Anchorage. We are all excited about this significant accomplishment and the recognition she has earned from her peers in the industry.”

Northcutt was honored as the 2014 Outstanding Professional in Philanthropy for the State of Alaska – an award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Alaska Chapter – and was a recipient of Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Top 40 Under 40 honor. She graduated from the Alaska Humanities Forum’s Leadership Anchorage Program in 2005, and she currently serves on the board of directors for several non-profits, including the Alaska Women’s Giving Circle, the Alaska Children’s Trust, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots Baseball Club, and the Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club. Northcutt is a 1995 graduate of UAA with a B.A. degree in journalism and public communications. She and her husband Scott are the parents of two daughters, Avery and Aubrey.

NAADD’s College Division encompasses NCAA Div. II, III and NAIA institutions, while the University Division represents NCAA Div. I schools. The 2015 University Division winner is Wake Forest’s Bobby Faircloth.