Donor group creates impact through community, connection

When Dami Odubola rose to speak to a room full of University of Georgia donors in March 2024, she was full of doubts about her future. When she sat down, she met a person who would put her on a path to confidence and certainty.

Odubola, a second-year student majoring in philosophy and international affairs, was speaking as part of the 2024 Georgia Women Give spring event — the latest of which was held on UGA’s campus on March 20 and 21 — and the woman she met was Samantha Crosby, chief marketing officer for Tyler Technologies, UGA alumna, Georgia Women Give founding donor and executive committee member.

“Dami was so full of life and energy. She’s just an amazing human being,” said Crosby. “She shared a little about her story, her background, and questions about her future career path. She just made an impression on me in such a big way.”

Georgia Women Give is a nationwide group of donors who commit $25,000 or more to one or several of the group’s three funds, which are dedicated to supporting academic scholarships, study away, and campus priorities determined by the group’s executive committee. Odubola spoke at the 2024 spring event just days after returning from a study abroad trip to Cuba on a scholarship funded by Georgia Women Give.

“Cuba was life-changing,” said Odubola. “It was eye-opening, it was humbling, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had because of Georgia Women Give.”

The Georgia Women Give executive committee voted last year to give $35,000 from their campus priorities fund to Connect Abroad, a program that organizes study abroad trips for first-year students. This amount paid for Odubola and 19 other students to travel to either Cuba, Italy, Morocco or the United Kingdom over their spring break.

Prior to this year’s spring event, the executive committee voted to give another $35,000 to Connect Abroad.

“Hearing from these individuals about how just one week in a study away program changed their perspective on life — you can’t ask for a better way to make you, as a donor, feel like you’re contributing to something bigger and greater than yourself,” said Crosby.

Launched in 2023 and grown through small-scale events that encouraged personal connection — Crosby hosted one of these, in fact — Georgia Women Give now has over 165 donors who have cumulatively contributed more than $4 million to the group’s three funds.

But the group also measures success in the connections they make to campus and students. When Crosby connected with Odubola and heard her questions about which career path she might pursue – specifically related to the field of law – she felt inspired enough that she introduced Odubola to her company’s chief legal officer, Abby Diaz.

“Abby is a colleague and dear friend, and I knew she could help Dami navigate the many options and career choices ahead of her,” said Crosby. “I believe our role in Georgia Women Give is broader than just fundraising; we have such a great opportunity to help these students make broader connections and open new doors for them.”

Odubola herself describes the connection that Crosby helped her make — her relationship with Diaz — as “pivotal.”

“I had never interacted with someone who was in that career field,” said Odubola. “I didn’t really have any direction or any clear representation of what that looks like, especially as a woman. I’m so extremely grateful for her and the way she’s been able to kindly and humbly mentor me.”

Following their introduction through Crosby, Odubola and Diaz began to talk regularly and formed a deep connection that inspired Odubola to offer her own insights to younger students.

“I’ve taken it upon myself to seek out freshmen who are interested in law and help them and mentor them in the ways I can, because I know those feelings of uncertainty and not knowing who to turn to,” said Odubola. “And feeling empowered to try to help, that all started with my relationship with Mrs. Crosby.”

Crosby and Odubola met again at this year’s spring event and picked up right where they left off. In fact, during their conversation, they both realized they will be in South Africa at the same time this May: Odubola is attending a UGA Maymester outside of Cape Town, and Crosby is headed there on a family vacation. They are planning to meet up and explore some of the sights together.

Many conversations during the two-day event centered on the group’s overall impact and how Georgia Women Give can fuel progress at the university. But Crosby and Odubola’s conversations embodied the kind of one-on-one connection that built Georgia Women Give, formed their relationship, and inspired Odubola — not just in her future career, but also in her own future philanthropy.

“I am extremely ready to get my first big-girl job and participate in Georgia Women Give as an alumna,” said Odubola. “I’m so humbled with the initiative itself, and I’m ready to be able to take part in it.”