Research Interests: Development and fundraising practices for the arts

Course:

• AAP 503: Arts Development and Fundraising

Bio:

Wendy Diina serves as the Director of Development at Artpark, a park and cultural institution located on the Niagara Gorge in Lewiston, NY. In this position she manages a portfolio of fundraising responsibilities including relationship building with staff, trustees, donors, and volunteers to ensure the success of the annual fund campaign including individual giving, corporate and foundation relations, and government relations.

Prior to Artpark, Wendy served as the Vice President, Corporate Relations and Special Projects at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for eleven years. As a member of the leadership team, her work included strategic planning and project management for new organizational initiatives and securing funding from corporate contributors.

Pre-dating her work at Artpark and the BPO, Wendy had a distinguished tenure in public television and radio serving as the Director of Special Events at both WNED (Buffalo) and KTEH (San Jose, California) and wrote fundraising scripts for the national Public Broadcasting System’s fundraising campaigns.

Wendy has also freelanced in fundraising event management for the Irish Classical Theater and Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. She received her undergraduate degree in communications from SUNY Fredonia and a masters degree from the University at Buffalo in arts management in 2012. Wendy is a graduate of the Leadership Buffalo Class of 2016 and serves on fundraising committees for Build Promise, a campaign that is building a homeless shelter in East Buffalo, as well as Buffalo’s Central Terminal.

Wendy is the proud mother of a junior at Ithaca College (music major) and a sophomore at SUNY Fredonia (theater major).