Hall of Fame
A native of Ankeny, Iowa, Stefani was appointed Gift Planning Officer for Drake University on March 1, 1988 and was later named Director of Gift Planning at Drake University on June 1, 2001, retiring from the university after 18 years of service on January 31, 2007.
Her affiliation with the university, however, began long before her appointment in 1988. A 1976 graduate of the National Institute of Planned Giving in Memphis, Tenn., Stefani has served as the official scorer for home Drake University women's basketball games since 1976. During that span, she has been the official scorer for the MVC Women's Basketball Tournament in 1996, 1999 and every year since 2007, the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional in Des Moines and the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Formerly, she held the position of Director of Planned Giving for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines during an 18-year run with the Diocese. She designed and implemented the program for the Diocese and was renowned for consistently meeting and exceeding fundraising goals.
On October 7, 2012, the Board of Governors of the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa selected her as the 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Citizen Award for her numerous contributions to the Italian community and the greater Des Moines area. The 1985 and 1986 president of the central Iowa chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, Stefani -- the first Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in Iowa in 1982 -- was recognized by her peers and community leaders for her achievements in the fund-raising field, as she received the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Award from the central Iowa chapter of the NSFRE in 1986.