Detroit, Michigan, United States
A leader in the field of philanthropy, I am driven to support missions that I deeply care about alongside team members, executive and volunteer leadership that make possible transformative vision for community, culture, and public spaces.
Making my journalism degree proper proud, I now oversee the communications and marketing team at the Conservancy.
Hired as the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s first-ever chief development officer, I am leading fundraising efforts to complete and sustain a 5.5-mile redevelopment of the city’s riverfront from the MacArthur Bridge at Belle Isle to the Ambassador Bridge. Over the last four years, I have recruited and led a development team that has created a culture of philanthropy at the Conservancy. Together, we established strong structures for our work by building processes around best practices, and developed strategies in every aspect of fundraising for the organization, from annual giving to capital needs and endowment, fundraising events and stewardship of major donors. We have doubled annual support, raised extraordinary campaign gifts, created highly successful fundraisers, and worked to develop meaningful stewardship of our funders.
Leading a team of four responsible for nearly $5M in annual fund support from individuals giving $2.5K+ inclusive of Board of Directors and Trustees. That objective was achieved through concierge services, direct solicitations and mailings, cultivation and stewardship strategies, special events, volunteer management, planned giving, and meeting major gift portfolio goals. Additional responsibilities included executing the 2017 NYE Bash achieving $100K in event revenue through partnerships with corporations and communities partners such as Chevy Metro Dealers, Planterra, and DPTV, cultivating and soliciting $1M+ gifts to the oneDSO campaign, crafting signature events for major donors, and overseeing strategy for the DSO’s Trustees, Governing Members, and Volunteer Council.
During this period, I stepped up to assist in running the advancement department due to several vacancies and managed to completion the Board of Directors campaign for a total of $2.25M with a net growth that year of $395K while completing portfolio goals that increased the number of households giving $2.5K+ (non-board) from 270 to 320 for a net growth of $150K. Partnering with volunteer leadership, we established the Gabrilowitsch Society for $10K+ donors and executed the inaugural Gabrilowitsch Society Affair—an exclusive dinner accompanied by a unique performance in an exclusive Detroit venue.
Launched the Governing Members program (donors $2.5K+) by establishing a governance structure that included a chair and vice-chairs of four key areas: Philanthropy, Membership, Engagement, and Communications. This required recruiting the chair, vice-chairs, successors, and committee members. I served as the staff liaison to each committee tasked respectively with strengthening our retention rates, growth, connection to supporters, and branding of the program. Over the course of three years the Governing Members grew from 160 households giving $2.5K+ to 270 with a net growth of nearly $500K.
Oversaw all marketing and public relations for the SBSO including design of the program, promotional materials, copy for press releases, and solicitation of local radio and TV sponsorships. Through my role as the Marketing Coordinator, I created unique publicity efforts that assisted in breaking SBSO attendance records for four concerts. As Office Manager, I executed planning and strategy for the Annual Fund Campaign drive each November, developed corporate sponsorship presentations with the Executive Director, and managed the creation of 3 major fundraisers that raised more than $150K in revenue resulting in balanced budgets for all three seasons employed with the SBSO.
Created and managed the first annual Best of the Tri-Cities, an event established to publicize the annual list of best local business, an event that drew over 300 people in addition to over 25 local business who donated food and merchandise for the event.