Partnerships That Matter: Inside UNF Development with Caleb Garrett

In this episode of Making Cents of It All, Jesse Stakes sits down with Caleb Garrett, Director of Development for the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida. Caleb brings a dynamic blend of relationship‑building, strategic fundraising, and a deep commitment to student success — all of which fuel the mission of one of the region’s most influential business schools.

Jesse and Caleb dive into the real story behind university development: how meaningful partnerships are built, why philanthropy shapes the future of business education, and what it takes to connect donors, alumni, and community leaders with opportunities that create lasting impact. Caleb shares insights on cultivating trust, elevating student experiences, and strengthening the bridge between Jacksonville’s business community and UNF’s next generation of talent.

Whether you’re an alum, a business leader, or someone who cares about the future of education, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at how development work drives growth, innovation, and opportunity across Northeast Florida.

A smart, inspiring, and human conversation — exactly what Making Cents of It All is all about.

Transcript

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Jesse Stakes: Hey everybody, welcome to this week's episode of Making Sense of Your… blah blah blah blah blah. As you can tell, I was on vacation.

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Jesse Stakes: Alright, let's try this again. Hey everybody, welcome to this week's episode of Making Sense of It All. I'm your host, Jesse Stakes. Today, I have Caleb Garrett. He's the Director of Development for the Coggan College of Business at the University of North Florida. Caleb, thank you so much for joining me.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, thanks for having me, Jesse. Appreciate it.

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Jesse Stakes: So it was kind of a mouthful to say, but go ahead and tell my audience, what does the Director of Development at the Coggan College of Business at the University of North Florida do?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, you know, sometimes it can be a confusing title. I, but the…

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Caleb Garrett: But, I mean, the main idea is I'm the fundraiser for the college. I'm the chief fundraiser for specifically the Coggan College of Business at UNF.

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Caleb Garrett: But I, you know, I've had people email me thinking it's software development, or it's, it's, you know, all kind of other things that people maybe assume I teach, but, no, this type of role is very common in nonprofit and, higher ed and healthcare, and it's working with our donors and our business partners.

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Jesse Stakes: Interesting. So, so when you're in… specifically with the Coggan College of Business, not with the overall University of North Florida, correct?

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Caleb Garrett: Correct, so how… how it works is, and this is, like, this is pretty common across higher ed, is we'll dual report to the college, to, like, the dean, whoever, or the leader of your academic unit, and then to the UNF Foundation.

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Caleb Garrett: So, technically, I report to both of those, but the idea is that if I'm working with a company that's really involved in the college, or an alumni of the college.

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Caleb Garrett: You know, you want someone who's in the weeds a little bit, who knows, you know, who knows former faculty from the college, and knows some of the stories, and knows about the program. So, yeah, each of us, in the different colleges,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, we are kind of the subject matter expert in our college, and then we're deployed to go work with our donors and alumni.

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Jesse Stakes: That's fantastic. I know we're gonna dive into it throughout this episode, but what was it that originally inspired you to get into fundraising for higher education?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, so yeah, no one, or very few people.

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Caleb Garrett: you know, no one studies college, and studies in college, like, fundraising, and maybe some people do, like, nonprofit leadership, they're aware, but, you know, I went to school, and I didn't realize, as I was, you know.

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Caleb Garrett: going about my studies, that there were people at the college that were raising money for scholarships, and that were supporting the university, so I didn't even know this was a job for the longest time, but I have a kind of an interesting path, where I went to school for biblical studies, I worked in a couple churches, and through that, got plugged into a great nonprofit called One More Child, and it used to be Florida Baptist Children's Homes.

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Caleb Garrett: But I got, you know, as I was working at that church, I ended up,

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Caleb Garrett: becoming familiar with that organization, and made a move over there to do development at that faith-based organization. And that's when I started to learn about this whole other world, and I was taking classes, through, you know, Indiana University is, you know, people don't realize this, but they're kind of the… it's like the Harvard of fundraising, the lilies.

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Jesse Stakes: Adventure.

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Caleb Garrett: Philanthropy is out of Indiana University, so I did a certificate program there. But, yeah, so started to learn about this field, and really enjoyed that nonprofit, loved the work they're doing.

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Caleb Garrett: But wanted to really grow.

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Caleb Garrett: And… and the big shops, really, and fundraising, a lot of them are… it's higher ed, and it's, healthcare systems. Okay. So, in my mind, you know, to…

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Caleb Garrett: to kind of advance my career, I thought, well, I'd like to go be part of one of these big shops. And, and that's… that's what I did, and have… have found,

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Caleb Garrett: you know, in higher ed, something that I didn't realize, like, I'd be so passionate about. So I remember going…

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Caleb Garrett: to, to, like, our first scholarship luncheon.

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Jesse Stakes: Okay.

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Caleb Garrett: to myself, like, well, the events we'd have at, you know, this organization, One More Child, I was at, they were doing foster care and working with single moms, and there was a lot of, like, tear-jerker type moments.

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Jesse Stakes: Right.

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Caleb Garrett: I remember thinking, like, well, you know, you… we don't really do that, really, at UNF. And then I hear, like, the first story about this student who, oh my goodness, he, like, had to work all through high school to support his mom and his,

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Caleb Garrett: and his siblings, and, you know, drove up to UNF for a music audition, and had to drive back, like, the next day to work his shift at, like, Red Lobster or something. I mean, it was, like, a wild story. And… and you do realize, like, the impact that education

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Caleb Garrett: can make… it's truly a life-changing thing. So I've become… it's like so many things, I think, in kind of people's careers. You know, I didn't know I'd be passionate about higher ed in the same way, though I have degrees, and I enjoyed my time in college.

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Caleb Garrett: But, hey, I've really come to see the importance of, you know, higher ed, and, like, really, like, UNF. So I grew up in Orange Park, and grew up.

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Jesse Stakes: Okay.

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Caleb Garrett: around here. My wife went to UNF.

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Caleb Garrett: And I just think it's a really also important institution for the region. No doubt. So, yeah, I kind of fell into fundraising, and now have… I've been at UNF for about 7 years now, and love it.

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Jesse Stakes: So, in the 7 years that you've been there, how much have you seen your director… like, your job as the director of development change? Like, has it been… is it something that's been the same the whole time, or has it morphed over those 7 years?

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Caleb Garrett: No, yeah, that's interesting. It's, so, like, I've had different roles, so I've… I started as Assistant Director of Development at Coggin, the College of Business, and then moved over, and, for a couple years, I was Director of Development for the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction.

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Jesse Stakes: Okay.

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Caleb Garrett: So, so both, really, the professionally kind of focused colleges, a lot of industry engagement there.

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Caleb Garrett: But,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, so what I'm seeing… what's interesting is, UNF is just a young institution, started in 1972, so we have more and more alumni now that are reaching what I would call, like.

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Caleb Garrett: prime giving age. You know, they're not… I mean, you and I, we're kind of in the wealth-building phase of our lives, you know? Sure. You know, we have

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Caleb Garrett: kids at home, and we're… we got soccer games and those kind of things. But, you know, most, like, larger donations and individual donors, they're gonna be older than us, and they're gonna,

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Caleb Garrett: not be in the wealth building as much as the deploying that wealth. So it's interesting to just see that, even over just 7 years, to see more of that. There's a lot of corporate involvement at UNF.

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Caleb Garrett: Because there are companies in Jacksonville that want to hire students. But… but I'm seeing more and more of our alumni, or,

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Caleb Garrett: just community partners that think UNF is important, seeing more of those individuals get more plugged in. And that could have been part of my role, just I was more corporate in the beginning, but I'm seeing more and more individuals when I give back.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, no, that's fantastic, and I think that that's so key when you're talking about something that is a young university. You're starting to see that first generation of students that actually can give back, so I think that's absolutely fantastic. Is there anything else that you're seeing in the community itself that is kind of…

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Jesse Stakes: Kind of shaping what UNF means to the North Florida community?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, you know, I think, one thing that… and this has been kind of one of my big talking points, something I'll probably talk about later, too, is… is more something UNF is doing, I think, is we've made this commitment, to experiential learning.

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Caleb Garrett: So we've said every starting last freshman class, last year, every student that comes through UNF has to check a box that they completed an experiential learning opportunity.

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Caleb Garrett: So, that is… can be internship, study abroad, project with a company, but the idea there is we're in Jacksonville, we're not in Tallahassee, we're not in Gainesville, we have, like, companies

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Caleb Garrett: I mean, I drive down Gate Parkway, and you see Deutsche Bank here, and, you know, I mean, all, you know, Dun & Bradstreet, Paysafe, all these companies right in our backyard and downtown. Right.

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Caleb Garrett: So, UNF has always had this, where we've had this kind of strong industry engagement,

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Caleb Garrett: But now we're, I think, making it official and putting some kind of teeth on that and saying, okay, then what we're going to commit to is every student has this type of experience, so that even if you're working 20 hours a week, 30 hours a week, you're going to come out with some sort of experience that's going to be nice on your resume, that, that's gonna help

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Caleb Garrett: you know, make you more relevant in the job force. So, that's, that's kind of a response to the business community also, of, you know, you probably see this, but I hear this all the time with some of

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Caleb Garrett: Some people that are working with younger people and younger professionals say they don't have the same, like, soft skills.

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Jesse Stakes: True.

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Caleb Garrett: So you hear that, you hear that a lot?

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Caleb Garrett: So…

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Caleb Garrett: we're kind of, I think, balancing that out, or kind of countering that by saying, all right, well then, student, you need to be doing internships, you need to be working on projects in your courses with companies, so you can start to develop those things, rather than just being dropped in

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Caleb Garrett: corporate world, you know, and with, with, yeah, with no relevant experience or even understanding of, how do I dress? How do I, you know, what do I do?

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Jesse Stakes: Right.

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Caleb Garrett: So I think that's been more of a response, I think, from us, but some of that is in response to what we're hearing, kind of the business community, too.

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Jesse Stakes: Well, and I think, I mean, you guys do a fantastic job of partnering with people like Junior Achievement, and you guys have the SBDC that's right on your campus there. You have a lot of ways to incorporate people, whether it's coming up from a younger generation or down, like, and learning things that maybe they missed. You guys give a lot of opportunities on your campus.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, certainly, yeah, we have,

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Caleb Garrett: Gosh, I think about… I was… I was telling someone the other day, I have,

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Caleb Garrett: I have Google Alerts for the Herbert University Center, which is our kind of main kind of gathering place on campus for the community, because there are so many events that are on campus all the time that sometimes I don't even know about.

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Caleb Garrett: But that I have… I don't even hear from, like, internal systems. I have to, like, find out elsewhere. Because, yeah, there are so many opportunities that, you know.

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Caleb Garrett: professional organizations, companies are here on campus, and maybe they're engaging with professional, professional lifelong learning, which I used to be, like, continuing ed. Yep. But they're, I mean, you know, that's… I think it's any university, but it's this whole ecosystem that,

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Caleb Garrett: You know, if we're not talking to each other, even internally, yeah, sometimes you don't know what all is going on, but lots of opportunities for the…

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Caleb Garrett: community to engage, and I mean, even with athletics, and a lot of what they're building over there is great. But yeah, lots of ways to partner.

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Jesse Stakes: No doubt. I want to kind of pull it back a little bit to your experience as a… as a… in development, fundraising, and donor strategy. Like, for people who don't understand what this looks like, can you walk my… walk my listeners through kind of a day in the life? What does it look like for Caleb?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, yeah, I… just from people I know, like, in sales, I imagine that's probably the closest kind of comparison that we have.

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Jesse Stakes: percent.

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Caleb Garrett: So yeah, we have, you know, we have certain metrics we're kind of expected to meet as far as dollars we're raising, as far as meetings we're having. So there are those things that are kind of always, kind of ever before us. But it is,

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Caleb Garrett: there's so much of, like, a… I think what I enjoy about it is there's so much kind of an art to it about,

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Caleb Garrett: if I think about an alumni who maybe hasn't been as engaged. I think of someone who moved to town recently. He worked in New York for

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Caleb Garrett: you know, 40 years for his career, he relocated back to Ponte Vedra, and

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Caleb Garrett: I had… I… we were… I was able to pull that up and find out that information. So I was able to reach out and say, hey, when's the last time you got on campus? Right? To get him on campus to help him

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Caleb Garrett: you know, maybe feel the… feel the nostalgia a little bit, but also see the growth, and but this is someone who really hasn't been engaged at all, so bringing it back on, hey, here's what we're doing now at UNF,

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Caleb Garrett: hearing his story on, you know, he was a… he was a veteran, kind of non-traditional student, so, yeah, I mean, there's… there's this aspect where it's… it's very, you know, and you'll hear this kind of fundraising world, it's very, like, donor-centered.

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Caleb Garrett: that you're trying to work with whatever that prospect is, whatever that donor is, and understand what makes them tick, and then kind of matching that opportunity. So, like, with this gentleman, you know, we were able to drive around campus, and we were able to talk about his experience, and I was…

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Caleb Garrett: I'm listening for… what are the things that…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, changed… changed it. A lot of times, some people thought, hey, UNF changed my life, because I had this professor, and this person opened up this whole new world for me. So I hear that, and then I think about, hey, would you ever be open to supporting, you know, X? And that's, like, a very…

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Caleb Garrett: sped-up version of normally the process that normally doesn't always happen that quickly. But but yeah, it's a lot of…

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Caleb Garrett: I think maybe one of the differences between

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Caleb Garrett: Fundraising and sales is there's probably a lot more listening and fundraising.

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Jesse Stakes: Well, and I think there's a have to. Like, when you're… when you're selling something, typically somebody has to… is looking to buy something. They're looking… Right. They're looking for something in return. Whereas with… with… with donor… when you're getting somebody to donate money, there's… there is a benevolency to it. There's something… they're not necessarily always looking to have something returned to them because of this.

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Caleb Garrett: No, exactly. So… so it's… it's the listening and understanding what kind of makes people tick, what… what… what their reason for… like, why… why did they even take the meeting with you, you know? Folks that are, you know.

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Caleb Garrett: high net worth and… and kind of that we would work with most of the time, donors, you know, they're the ones, they do know what my title is, because they've met other directors of development, they know…

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah.

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Caleb Garrett: development or advancement, they know that. This person wants to ask for money. So… so normally there's a sophistication, but they understand, kind of, what I'm doing.

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Caleb Garrett: But being able to hear their story, and then… and then make the connection. And it's beautiful when their story and whatever their passion is.

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Caleb Garrett: fits perfectly with, well, here are the goals of the university and the goals of the college.

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Caleb Garrett: sometimes those don't always mesh, and you have a donor who's like, well, I'd like to give toward this, like, well…

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Caleb Garrett: that really is gonna, like, cost us more money in the long run, you know, in the long run. So that's… it… it's… I always rec… I recommend to colleagues,

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Caleb Garrett: probably have a copy of it behind me, but it's the book, Crucial Conversations. It's probably, like, my favorite, like, leadership book ever, but it's all about having kind of difficult conversations, and that is, like, most of the job, is…

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Caleb Garrett: Listening and talking with donors, understanding what makes them tick.

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Caleb Garrett: Helping guide them sometime to understand, well, this is maybe where we're heading, is that something you might be interested in supporting as well, you know?

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Jesse Stakes: You're saying your kids have no shot when it comes to negotiating with dad.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, no, it's, I'm way over their head, yeah, yeah.

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Caleb Garrett: But that's… but… and that's… for certain…

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Caleb Garrett: people, I know, I know some younger people, like, just getting into fundraising,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, like, for me, that's like… I didn't realize this was a job, but it's perfect for my personality. I love…

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Caleb Garrett: meeting new people, love, you know, I'm genuinely a pretty curious person, so I normally, yeah. Yeah, so if you can connect with people and,

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Caleb Garrett: Normally, tell the story.

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Caleb Garrett: And you literally enjoy, like, you know, literally enjoy people, or, like, genuinely enjoy people that are looking for. Then, yeah, it's been a great career for me, and yeah, I enjoy it.

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Jesse Stakes: That's fantastic. Do you have…

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Jesse Stakes: Do you find that sometimes the whys kind of become very similar when it comes to, like, the donors that you have?

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Caleb Garrett: Is it…

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Jesse Stakes: Is it very similar reasons why everybody is donating, or do you find that there are many varied reasons why people choose to give to a school?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, that's… that's interesting. It's,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, varied reasons. Yeah, everyone's kind of got their own story. But,

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Caleb Garrett: there's this book, and I won't be able to recall them all, but there's a book called The Seven Faces of Philanthropy that tries to kind of index those. And I do… so the ones that I remember, I do see pretty regularly, where some people, some people were raised…

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Caleb Garrett: that's just how their parents raised them, is that, well, we give back to the community. You're kind of a member of this society, so we need to give back. So sometimes there's this, like, communal aspect. Sometimes it's this personal story. Like I said, I was with a donor not that long ago, and he said something…

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Caleb Garrett: he essentially said, I didn't realize I was poor until I went to UNF, and I saw what other kids had, and I thought, oh my goodness, like… and thinking… he reflected back on his growing up, and…

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Caleb Garrett: and his… the life he has now, he says, I really owe everything to my education, as far as where I've now got financially. So for him, it's this very personal, not this community thing, but it's this personal…

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Caleb Garrett: like, this was a really transformative experience for me, I'd like to maybe help other students. And then there's some that's interesting, where it's,

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Caleb Garrett: This is kind of what high society does, is… is you're involved in boards, and you're involved in…

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Caleb Garrett: galas, and you're, you're involved in some of these initiatives, because,

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Caleb Garrett: you know, a higher education institution in a re… like, especially a regional one like ours, it has a huge impact on the city. Sure. So… so we have folks that, really, their support, they weren't… they're not alum, but they…

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Caleb Garrett: I mean, they've been kind of pulled into the ecosystem because…

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Caleb Garrett: well, they're, like, Jacksonville people, and they think that because the workforce development is often a big part, or even just the contribution to the arts, or contribution in these other ways, they think that's important. So yeah, all… everyone's got a different story, and different…

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Caleb Garrett: buttons, and that's kind of the job, is seeing what buttons make people tick, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, no doubt. Do you feel like as Jacksonville's grown, because we've experienced some exponential growth over the last 5 to 7 years, like, how much is that

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Jesse Stakes: sped up the growth of UNF, and has it changed the people that are willing to get involved philanthropically?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, I think big time, yeah. So, like, we just had a record, we just had a record year in fundraising for the foundation.

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Caleb Garrett: And actually, we still got, what, a month left. And already hit that record number.

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Caleb Garrett: But, you know, it beat… so up until this point, the…

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Caleb Garrett: I'm trying to think how to say this, but the record year prior to that had been a few years ago when we had $20 million worth of land donated.

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Jesse Stakes: Okay.

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Caleb Garrett: So, this year, we didn't have a $20 million land donation, and still have beat, kind of, that record. So, I mean, there's… we're seeing a lot of uptick, and I think a lot of that is, yeah, we have…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, incredible… not just amount of people, but also incredibly wealthy people moving to the region, you know? You think about Ponte Vedra Beach, think about just…

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Caleb Garrett: We work with a couple different…

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Caleb Garrett: It's funny, there's, like, a few… there's some retired executives

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Caleb Garrett: that are in Ponte Vedra, and maybe a lot of people don't realize that. Oh, this person was a CEO of X company, or an executive at some of these very large companies.

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Caleb Garrett: But they're… but they've all kind of moved… a lot of them have moved recently, yeah. So we have worked, especially in the business school, trying to get those people engaged. Hey, maybe come…

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Caleb Garrett: speak to students, right? Sure. Maybe come, you know, you… a lot of those

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Caleb Garrett: Executives and people, you know, at… who have…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, retired or toward the end of their career, they're… they want to give back, and they want to share their wisdom that they've… that they've acquired over the years. So… so that's kind of one way we've kind of engaged people, and then eventually getting them to the point where, hey, we'll…

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Caleb Garrett: you see how great these students are, what do you think about supporting scholarships or supporting things like that? But, no, the growth of the region, I think, has big time, you know, helped us, but also,

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Caleb Garrett: It helps us, I think, make our case to the business community, too. Sure. Of, hey.

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Caleb Garrett: the region's growing, your business… a lot of the businesses locally are growing, and you need that workforce. And, you know, UF is bringing, kind of, their graduate campus, which that's going to be a great thing, for kind of graduate education, but, you know, the…

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Caleb Garrett: the thing that moves the needle for workforce development is… it's undergrads. It's the thousands of undergrads that you're just churning out for entry-level roles, and who are in the workforce, yeah. So… so that helps us make our case, I think. The growth helps us make our case to the business community, too.

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Jesse Stakes: So, with that being said, like, what do you see as the biggest gap right now in the Jacksonville business ecosystem that UNF can help fill? Like, as you're, like, as you're going out there and pointing at, hey, here's what we can do for you guys, what is that right now?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, yeah, the biggest gap,

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Caleb Garrett: You know, I'm trying to think, like, what I'm hearing. So…

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Jesse Stakes: So I'll go… like, when I… I'll hear it sometimes in meetings where people will say that the lack of skilled labor or specialized labor when it comes to… and I'm just throwing something out there, just like… like aerospace.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Like, I know that there are some very highly specialized fields that have come into the Jacksonville, Florida, or North Florida area that…

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Jesse Stakes: they, maybe, maybe 20 years ago, we weren't even thinking that direction, so I think some of those things are what I've heard.

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Caleb Garrett: No, yeah, no, that's… so that's kind of where my head was going, is that… but I… because I was thinking back to more of a… more recent, that we've… we've already kind of responded to. You know, a few years ago, we were hearing that from, like, JaxUSA, that it was, hey, data analytics, that we have companies wanting to move to town.

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Caleb Garrett: And they don't know if they have the talent for,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, to… in the data analytics space. Right. So we responded with a graduate degree and undergraduate degree, you know, kind of jointly with the College of Computing, some… some overlap there. We heard the same thing, but probably the more recent example, I think,

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Caleb Garrett: And what we were kind of been responding to is fintech. So a lot of the major players, you know, here locally, FIS, ICE, I think Paysafe, Dun & Bradstreet, some of… all those in that ecosystem,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, they're all in the fintech space, and it's the students that can speak the tech language.

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Caleb Garrett: and the business language, or… and sometimes they're weighted more thin, or weighted more tech, but being able to speak both languages, I think, has been, has been something we responded to recently. Yeah, so… but, you know, when I think… really, when I think about it, though, I think the,

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Caleb Garrett: The issue is just volume.

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Caleb Garrett: Right. A lot of these specific areas, I think we need shipbuilders, I've heard that from T&O, and, you know, I think fintech and construction management, you know, professionals is always good, but I think what I hear more often is.

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Caleb Garrett: across industries, we need twice as many, you know? And as UNF's trying to get there, so we're… we've had a record… record number of freshmen, new freshmen, with our last freshman class,

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Caleb Garrett: And, our strategic plan… strategic plan has us growing from our 17,000 now to 25,000. So, we're trying to grow with the… with the city, so that we're providing that talent. But, yeah, I would say more than specific gaps, it's just talent in general. Volume. Right. Yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, well, I mean, and it's… we've talked about it a little bit, but we've had such an influx of…

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Jesse Stakes: people in general come into this area. We have… there's a need for a lot more services. The one thing that I think, especially as you start to bring in better jobs, and as these companies are coming towards

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Jesse Stakes: North Florida and Jacksonville, that we've got to be able to provide some of the skilled labor that they need from the homegrown talent, so that we're not losing… so that we're not having to bring in specialized labor from other cities, but also give our citizens a chance to succeed at home. I think it's fantastic.

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Caleb Garrett: No, definitely, and and it's…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, one of our big pitches we make to the state is that, 80% of UNF students stay in Florida, but then also with that, about 70 stay in Northeast Florida, 70%. So, I think some of that is just a…

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Caleb Garrett: A byproduct of, you know, if you intern with a company your sophomore year, and you go back junior year, you know, they've kind of…

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Caleb Garrett: sink their talons into you a little bit. So we… we see students getting roles and then end up sticking around. Even though they come from Orlando, they come from the Southeast. A lot of our students come from Florida or the Southeast. But we're… we've been a net gain

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Caleb Garrett: for the region, by retaining so many students here, here locally. So yeah, I think,

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Caleb Garrett: And that's huge for us, kind of, when I didn't think we make the pitch for support,

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Caleb Garrett: But also, I'm trying to remember where I was going with that. Yeah, that's helping these companies that are moving to town.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah.

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Caleb Garrett: That there's homegrown talent. That was the point, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: No, absolutely. I think it's absolutely necessary. I think people have to feel like they can be successful in their town, or at least they have a chance to be successful. So as things change, as things become…

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Jesse Stakes: more highly technological, as AI gets involved. I mean, it's all going to be very important that UNF is very, very closely knit with our business community and the needs that they have.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah,

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Caleb Garrett: So this was… it was a big thing at the end of last year, and they're still offering it, but, you know, we put out a free AI certificate at the end of last year. I think that was, that was really well received.

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Caleb Garrett: I know at Coggin we have Executive Education, they're doing training in AI. You can… the person that,

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Caleb Garrett: had been tapped, I believe he's still in that role, for our, like, continuing ed professional lifelong learning. Yes.

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Caleb Garrett: Josh Gellers, he was also our… here, he is our, kind of, AI guru, our AI person. So, I mean, you can imagine…

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, that's… that's been kind of the topic here of, like, alright, professional, not, not just, you know.

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Caleb Garrett: the undergrads that were graduating, making sure they have the talent, the skill set, but even upskilling

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Caleb Garrett: professionals already in the workforce, through continuing ed and some of those type of things. Has been important, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: No doubt, no doubt. Before we wrap this up, I got 5 questions that I want to ask you.

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Caleb Garrett: Ready? Yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Alright, so number one, what skills or mindset do you believe young professionals underestimate, but absolutely need to succeed in this world?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, I've… I'm…

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Caleb Garrett: I'm sure everyone gives, like, similar answers, but it's soft skills, but I… particularly, like, I… like, I've given this book to so many people, that book, Crucial Conversations, that I mentioned earlier.

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Caleb Garrett: I have bought copies for so many people, because it's… one of the things that's, like, in the intro of that book is, he says something like, most of the problems that arise in business and in your life come from

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Caleb Garrett: Being… being afraid to have a difficult conversation, or having a difficult conversation poorly.

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Caleb Garrett: And I… I resonate with that, because I'm probably naturally more of a peacekeeper, so I'm like, oh, that's fine, and I'll let kind of things slide. Or, or… or people don't know how to, like, disagree well, and I think we see that everywhere in society, so I think…

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Caleb Garrett: Particularly those soft skills, but the specific one of…

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Caleb Garrett: being able to address something that's an issue in a way that's constructive, that's not aggressive, but, like, assertive. That, like, I talk… my 9-year-old hates it, but I talk to him about it all the time. Assertiveness versus aggressiveness. Like, you can advocate for yourself.

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Caleb Garrett: And but having those conversations, I think, is…

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Caleb Garrett: It's a superpower, I think, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: No, I think that's fantastic. If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice in your career, what would it be?

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Caleb Garrett: in my career. I don't want to get too much in the weeds on something very fundraising-specific, but I would,

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Caleb Garrett: I would say… be a good… co-worker.

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Caleb Garrett: Because a big part of the work you know, I…

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Caleb Garrett: I am kind of the… one of the external people, kind of, for the college, so I'm kind of out at chamber meetings, doing things like that. But, you know, our alumni… a lot of our alumni who are giving, they don't have a relationship with me, or I'm not the relationship that makes them feel warm and fuzzy. It's the retired faculty member, or the faculty member who's been here 25 years, and…

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Jesse Stakes: Right.

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Caleb Garrett: And so I'm… I often… you know, they're kind of very much part of the process, too, as our faculty members and our leadership. So…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, as much as, like, external networking is important, internally, and making sure, like, our faculty kind of trust me, but then also I know what makes them tick, and I work well with them. I think that's…

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Caleb Garrett: Internal networking is a big thing.

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Jesse Stakes: That's fantastic. What… what keeps you motivated?

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Caleb Garrett: Well, there is always… I'm pretty competitive, so it's always, like, the number piece. Yep. I don't mind, you know,

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Caleb Garrett: You know, they'll… our numbers are kind of available for everyone to see, like, how much all the fundraisers have raised, and some people, like.

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Caleb Garrett: you know, maybe they squirm a little bit of that. I, I love it. That's great, yeah. So… so that… I think there's that piece that keeps me motivated. But then I think I hear…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, I hear… I… I get the benefit of hearing all these amazing stories about people's lives who have been changed, kind of, through education. So, I… since I get to go meet with all of these alumni and all these donors,

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, I get a front-row seat to hear about the impact, and that definitely keeps me motivated, too.

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Jesse Stakes: That's very good. With all of that, like, as far as… I mean, you're working with…

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Jesse Stakes: You're working with donors, you're working with alumni, you're working with community partners, you're working with internal folks. What's the biggest lesson that you've learned in your current role?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, yeah, I would say…

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Caleb Garrett: And I'm trying… this is probably not just one word, but I… I've learned kind of the importance, I think, of, like.

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Caleb Garrett: coming alongside people, like, and being more of an advisor than a, like, salesperson. So I don't know if… I mean, I guess that's just something I've learned just professionally.

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Caleb Garrett: is when I… when I come across as, hey, I'm here to help you accomplish what you want to accomplish at the university,

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Caleb Garrett: there's the level of, like, I think, trust that's developed, but also, it's just… it's a great experience, because it's not a negotiation as much as, hey, how can we… how can I help you? How can we work together? So… and I guess I probably have been… I thought of that, because I've probably applied that elsewhere.

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Caleb Garrett: And, and other things professionally, and even, like, outside the workplace of, like.

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Caleb Garrett: we have a… establishing kind of a shared purpose, and establishing, hey, we're on the same team. That's something I've… I think I've learned from this role that I've applied elsewhere, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: I think that's amazing. I think that's one of those things where you don't always get to learn that in a regular sales role as much as you do when you're working for somebody… something that's a common good. I think that's… that's something that fundraising gives you that other roles do not. Yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Last one I had for you. How do you define success? At this point in your life, both personally and professionally? Like, what is your definition of success?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, yeah, I think,

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Caleb Garrett: you know, even though I'm, you know, not anywhere near, retirement yet, I have… I have now been in, like, the fundraising world for long enough to say that I've gained, like, some expertise. And maybe this is, like, the former youth pastor in me or something, but I… I… I see the importance of, like.

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Caleb Garrett: Mentoring, passing on the knowledge,

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Caleb Garrett: that I've gained. I kind of naturally do that with a lot of our

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Caleb Garrett: So, like, I'm a director of development, we have assistant directors of development, and yeah, I just can't turn it off. I love just sharing what I've learned, sharing the mistakes I've made, you know, not always positive examples, but I think that,

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Caleb Garrett: that's more maybe… that may be fulfillment, more success, but I don't know, I think that's a sign of success. I'm like, not only have I been able to do well, I think, in the role, but now I've been able to kind of, like, have that overflow into helping some of these younger professionals. And that's… that's rewarding for me.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, I think… I think that would probably… I'd argue… argue that that's more a sign of success than just hitting your numbers or being successful at your.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, right, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, it's funny, it's hard sometimes to define success without using the word success.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, no, I… yeah, I… I've been… I've been… I've never, like, written out a definition of success for it, but I… yeah, I'm gonna tease that out more. Something like that, though, but yeah, and I think…

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, just being able to pass

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Caleb Garrett: pass on the wisdom and the lessons learned. Yeah, that's awesome.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, I think… well, very well put. So, before we do wrap this up, is there any initiatives or any projects, anything that you want to share with the audience that the Cogan College of Business has been involved with, or that UNF has been involved with overarchingly lately that you'd like to highlight?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, I, I think I alluded to it earlier, but I think it's the, it's the experiential learning piece. That's, that's a UNF kind of broad,

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Caleb Garrett: you know, initiative.

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Caleb Garrett: And then it's interesting to see how… how then that's gonna play out in, like, every college. So for us, you know, I think we're… we're big about saying, hey, we're open for business, so if you… if you're a company and…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, you want to partner on, like, marketing projects, we probably have a place you could do that. If you have data analytics, kind of issues, or you… maybe you don't have a big data analytics team, or no analysts, because maybe you're a small company.

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Caleb Garrett: maybe there are opportunities for projects with us. So, I think that's kind of the big, new, exciting thing, and it's… it's something, like I said, we've always done, just because we're in Jacksonville, but I think making it official has kind of, I hope, is… can send the message of…

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Caleb Garrett: you know, Every company, whether you're owned by an alum or you employ UNF students.

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Caleb Garrett: should see the College of Business as a resource. You mentioned the Small Business Development Center, too, which is kind of under the College of Business. So, I think that's… that's an exciting piece, because we're… we are seeing,

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Caleb Garrett: I think, like, corporate partners who hadn't really been that engaged,

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Caleb Garrett: plugging in in different ways. So yeah, I think the experiential learning, is gonna have ripple effects for years to come.

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Jesse Stakes: Yeah, I think so as well. If people like this, they enjoyed what they had to listen to, and they'd like to learn more, or they'd like to get engaged or involved in this, what's the best way for them to get ahold of you?

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, there's, of course, like, a UNF website. I would just say LinkedIn. If you find me on LinkedIn, yeah, I try to stay active on there, try to post, but, yeah, I think that… that's the easy place, just search Caleb Garrett, UNF, you can find me on LinkedIn, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Good, very good. We'll make sure everyone has links to that at the bottom of this video, wherever we post it as well.

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Caleb Garrett: Cool, appreciate that, yeah.

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Jesse Stakes: Caleb, thank you so much for joining me. I learned a ton about what the university was providing and what you guys are doing over there, and something about you personally, too, so I appreciate you joining the show and taking the time to do it.

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Caleb Garrett: Yeah, thanks for having me, Jesse, it was fun.

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Jesse Stakes: Alright, we'll catch you down the road.

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Caleb Garrett: Alright, sounds good, man. See you.