🎉Happy 29th Birthday, Avalon! 🎉 In today’s @AvalonFYI dispatch, President Allison Porter reflects on Avalon’s founding, the work we have accomplished, and the exciting road ahead. Read it here!
Dear friends,
Today, July 14, Avalon turns 29.
Back in the summer of 1997, I was a program manager at Herzog Swayze, a telemarketing consulting firm founded by Ann Herzog and Kathy Swayze. When they decided to pursue separate paths, Ann and I joined forces with a small-but-mighty team to launch Avalon.
One of the questions I get most often is: “How did you come up with the name Avalon?”
The short version: after a week of brainstorming, we were desperately trying to find a name that:
✅wasn’t already taken
✅reflected what we wanted to build
✅would stand the test of time
✅and, if possible, started near the beginning of the alphabet
(Anyone who has ever tried naming a company knows this is no small challenge.)
As we talked with a branding consultant about how we work, we described a collaborative approach that still defines us today—bringing together clients, staff, and partners to create the strongest possible fundraising programs. The consultant pointed out that it sounded like we were convening the Knights of the Round Table.
And just like that, Avalon was born.
While there hasn’t been much mythology involved, the spirit of collaboration behind that story became part of our name.
Over the last 29 years, we’ve steadily grown our capabilities in response to what our clients needed:
🧙 2002: Merlin launches (our marketing “wizard”)
📧 2006: Digital fundraising and email marketing
📊 2010: Analytics and donor modeling services
🎨 2013: Design services
✍️ 2019: In-house copywriting
📱 2025: In-house digital advertising department
➕ 2026: VeraData merger
At every stage, our goal has remained the same: helping mission–driven organizations build stronger relationships with their donors and raise the support they need to make a difference.
None of this would have happened without the incredible Avalon team—past and present—whose talent, dedication, creativity, and commitment have made Avalon what it is today. And we are nothing without the clients who trust us, challenge us, inspire us, and allow us to be part of their teams and missions. Our work has purpose because of the work they do.
As Avalon celebrates 29 years, I’m even more excited about what lies ahead. The merger with VeraData is opening up new possibilities every day, and the potential for what we can accomplish together is extraordinary. We are just getting started and together will continue to build this agency to support what our clients need to meet the current environment.
Cheers to Avalon at 29—and to the exciting next chapter we’ll write together.
