Regional Leadership Archives - Page 3 of 8

Since joining CCS in 2017, Sarah has partnered with nonprofits to secure the philanthropic support necessary to fulfilling their missions. Sarah has advised small startups and landmark organizations alike, with goals ranging from $5 million to $125 million. Her areas of expertise include campaign planning and management; principal, leadership, and major gifts; case development; annual giving programs; and development assessments. Sarah has served and counseled organizations that span sectors including arts and culture, social service, independent and boarding schools, and higher education. Sarah is a leader of CCS’s independent schools practice group and presents regularly at regional and national conferences including CAIS, NYSAIS, TABS, and NAIS.

Prior to joining CCS, Sarah was an elementary school educator at schools in and around New York. During her years in the classroom, Sarah experienced the incredible impact philanthropy can have on educational institutions and the many doors charitable giving can open for young learners.

Sarah received her BA from Bowdoin College and her MEd from Manhattanville College. A native of San Diego, CA, Sarah resides in Manhattan where she spends her free time visiting museums, reading, volunteering, and exploring the city’s parks with her dog, Sadie.

Raised and educated in Mainland China, Japan, and the United States, Ruyi began her career as a development professional at The Juilliard School, working closely with leadership to identify prospective domestic and international donors, including those for the creation of the Tianjin Juilliard School in China.

In 2013, Ruyi joined CCS Fundraising as part of the on-site fundraising counsel team for the Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation, supporting the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. During this engagement, the CCS team secured $375 million from 75 donors across five continents. Most recently, Ruyi partnered with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) on giving challenge planning efforts. She has also led several development assessments and campaigns for various nonprofit sectors—including arts and culture, secondary and higher education, environment, religious, and youth and social services—based in California, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York.

An experienced public speaker, Ruyi has presented at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, the CASE Asia-Pacific conference in Singapore, and roundtables in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, as well as on various webinars focused on philanthropy.

She has served as the co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Steering Committee, CCS’s in-house group of experts on APAC, since 2019. She also serves on the Innovation Committee, a subcommittee of the CCS Board of Directors, and is a co-founder of CCS Elevate, the firm’s thought leadership initiative designed to apply CCS best practices to address the next big questions in philanthropy. Additionally, Ruyi is a member of the Council of Advisors for the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Ruyi’s work in Asia-Pacific builds on her academic and research background as a Fulbright scholar, where she focused on social enterprise management and leadership while living in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

Ruyi holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is committed to serving as an advisor to nonprofit organizations focused on the Asian Pacific Islander community in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pronouns: she/her

Becky Kiely is a Senior Vice President with the Central United States team at CCS Fundraising. Since joining the firm in 2018, she has worked across sectors to direct campaigns and studies from $6M to $1B, and to collaborate with leaders to grow their teams’ capacity. Becky brings a care for relationship management, focused attention to detail, and strong communication skills to every client partnership. She helps client partners stay nimble to opportunity and focused on team development, with a goal of ensuring organizations grow and learn alongside their fundraising success. With over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, Becky has expertise in campaign planning and management, case development, growth planning and major gifts strategy, and board engagement.

Within CCS, Becky is passionate about building an inclusive team and developing diverse talent. She supports recruitment and leadership development both within the Central US team and across the firm.

Prior to joining CCS, Becky worked as a frontline fundraiser in both secondary and higher education. Becky worked at Loyola University Chicago in corporate and foundation fundraising, and at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Pilsen in scholarship fundraising, board management, and development operations. Becky earned her MBA in the Baumhart Scholars Program at Loyola University Chicago – a selective program within the Quinlan School of Business that prepares leaders from the private, government, and social sectors to thrive at the intersection of profit and purpose. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

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Arkansas Children’s (AR)
Christ Church Grosse Pointe (MI)
Diocese of Dallas / Mother Teresa Catholic School (TX)
Easterseals serving Chicagoland and Greater Rockford (IL)
Edgewood College (WI)
Fenwick High School (IL)
Froedtert Hospital & Medical College of Wisconsin (WI)
Greater Cleveland Food Bank (OH)
Grinnell College (IA)
Harris Theater (IL)
John Carroll University (OH)
Mercy Health Foundation (MO)
Nine PBS (MO)
Northwestern Memorial Foundation (Northwestern Medicine) (IL)
Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital (MO)
Second Harvest Heartland (MN)
Spring Hill College (AL)
St. Peter St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church (OH)
University of Chicago Urban Labs (IL)
University School of Milwaukee (WI)
University of Texas at Arlington (TX)
Versiti Blood Research Institute (WI)

Nana joined CCS with over a decade of experience in development and nonprofit management, including securing funding for nonprofit programs in underserved communities across the Washington, DC region. She has partnered with more than a dozen nonprofits- assisting teams, volunteers, and other stakeholders to identify and implement, the most effective management and fundraising strategies to achieve their goals and mission. She recently served as the Project Manager for UNCF (United Negro College Fund). In this role, she led both a Development Assessment and a Feasibility and Planning Study. Following the onset of COVID-19, and with UNCF, Nana directed an initiative to secure essential funds to prevent a disruption in the education of students at HBCUs and other higher education institutions. More than $80 million was secured in just 7 months.

Nana serves on the Development Committee for Childhood Education International and is a Neighbor Ride volunteer – providing seniors with reliable transportation. She previously served on the Montgomery County Board of Social Services and the grant review committees for Montgomery Coalition for Adult Education Literacy, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, and DC Office of Latino Affairs.

Nana received her MPA in International Development and Nonprofit Management from The George Washington University and BA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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The Anglican Pilgrim Centre in Santiago, Spain
The Arc of the United States
Ashoka
Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
UNCF (United Negro College Fund)
USA for UNHCR

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Fundraising for Higher Education: Insights on Today’s Philanthropic Landscape

Pronouns: She/Her

Lauren is a Senior Vice President with CCS Fundraising, where she supports client partnerships across Southern California and provides strategic leadership on comprehensive fundraising initiatives. Since joining the firm in 2017, Lauren brings over fifteen years of experience in strategic planning, research, and data analysis, with a particular focus on campaign design and planning, development assessments, and feasibility studies. Lauren is known for building trusted relationships with institutional leaders and advancing high-impact fundraising efforts.

Lauren has led major and principal gift strategy for several high-profile campaigns in partnership with institutional leadership, collectively representing over $750 million in philanthropic goals. In addition to her campaign work, Lauren has facilitated trainings on campaign planning and communications and leads presentations and development trainings hosted at institutions across the country.

Prior to her role at CCS, Lauren led strategic planning and fundraising initiatives via her public sector work for the City of New Bedford and City of Boston, Massachusetts. Her work focused on environmental advocacy, workforce development, and urban planning. She also contributed to housing and economic development research at two Boston-based policy labs.

Lauren holds a Master of Science in Urban Policy and Planning from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She currently resides in Long Beach, CA.

KURT MCKINLEY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, is in his 14th year with CCS and manages CCS’s Florida strategic growth initiatives. He works with members of the region’s executive leadership team to identify and implement strategic priorities related to business development, communications, institutional partnerships, and client engagement.

Kurt has led CCS’s strategic partnership with the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO) where he serves on their Benchmarking Committee. This cooperative venture of NCI-designated centers provides the only annual review of Cancer Center giving trends across the United States.

Kurt serves on the Nominating Committee for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. He completed their Senior Executive Orientation course in Summer of 2023 and is actively involved in their Nonprofit Business Committee. Additionally, Kurt has led the way with CCS’s strategic partnership with the Florida Council of Independent Schools. He has presented at national and international conferences including NACCDO, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District III, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, Museums Association of the Caribbean, and Morgan Stanley Graystone Consulting’s Foundation and Endowments Conference in Medellin, Colombia.

Kurt graduated from Loyola University Maryland Sellinger School of Business with a Master’s in Business Administration and from Penn State University with a Bachelors in Business Management and Marketing.

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National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers
Association Foundation Group

Money follows mission and fundraising is an essential part of elevating mission for all nonprofits. With over ten years’ experience in strategic fundraising, Kris expertly works with staff and volunteers to support their impactful missions. Kris thrives in volunteer engagement, partnership development, data-driven fundraising, and creating successful strategies to achieve stated objectives. Her analytical and organizational skills, coupled with her personability and passion for philanthropy, make her a favorite among CCS client partners, executives, staff, and volunteers. Throughout her career, Kris has worked on campaigns that have raised well over one hundred million dollars.

Kris serves as the Campaign Director of the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. She is also providing Executive Coaching and Counsel to Seminary of the Southwest and Georgetown Preparatory School. Most recently, Kris served as the Strategic Plan Manager for the Bermuda Centre for Creative Learning where she managed a transformative effort for the school. She also provided Executive Counsel, focused on campaign, Board, and prospect strategy to YWCA USA and KIPP Baltimore. Last year she completed strategic benchmarking projects for the University of Miami and Loyola University of Maryland. In 2022 she served as Chief of Staff for Inova Health Foundation, helping establish protocols and procedures for their fundraising function. She has worked with numerous clients to create and deploy strategic planning efforts through analytics, research, and fundraising.

Previously, Kris led highly successful campaigns for clients throughout The Episcopal Church. She was Campaign Director at Seminary of the Southwest for over three years where she worked in partnership with a six-member staff and 115 volunteers to help fulfill the ambitious national campaign. The effort brought in numerous new donors, some of whom provided significant leadership gifts, and several seven-figure donors doubled their commitments. Kris also conducted a successful Annual Fund Assessment and assisted with the implementation, resulting in an unprecedented 34% year-on-year increase in funds raised.

Kris serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Washington, DC Metro Area Chapter (Washington, DC) where she is President Elect. She previously served as Interim Chair of the Governance Committee and Vice Chair of the Education Committee. She also serves as Co-Chair of Education for the Bridge Conference (2024 & 2023). She previously served on the Board of Directors for the Union Meeting Hall (Ferrisburgh, VT).

Kevin Findlan is a strategic and entrepreneurial development leader and advisor. His portfolio of fundraising skills encompasses principal and major gifts, foundation and corporate philanthropy, government grants and contracts, and campaign design and direction. The initiatives he has led and advised during his career have together raised over a billion dollars for organizations across the nonprofit sector.

Since joining CCS in 2015, he has undertaken a range of projects on behalf of clients, including campaign planning and direction, development assessments, strategic planning, board engagement, systems analysis, and interim executive roles. His work has specialized in turnarounds and transformations as well as organizational capacity building. Prior to CCS, he spent a decade managing academic research centers in economics and urban planning at Columbia and NYU.

Within CCS, Kevin was a founding co-chair of CCS Elevate, the firm’s thought leadership initiative designed to apply CCS best practices to the next big questions in philanthropy, and is a member of the Higher Education Practice group. He also is an instructor and course author for CCS Learning and a highly sought mentor to his colleagues.

Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College, a Masters in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, and Masters in Music from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Greater Boston and is an active hiker, musician, arts supporter, and traveler.

Juliet is a dynamic fundraising professional with extensive experience working with nonprofits across the United States. She has a proven track record of navigating and solving organizational challenges, fulfilling project goals, and creating a strong culture of philanthropy. Areas of expertise include strategic planning and visioning, feasibility and planning studies, campaign management, major gift fundraising, and institutional partnerships.

Since joining CCS in 2016, Juliet has partnered with both small- and large-scale institutions that transcend sectors. She has designed, advised, and directed fundraising campaigns with revenue goals ranging from $3 million to more than $500 million. She has conducted successful feasibility studies, led organizational assessments, facilitated focus groups with interdisciplinary teams, and worked closely with professional staff and volunteer leadership to set and achieve mission-critical goals.

As Senior Vice President, Juliet is a thought partner on multiple projects and leads some of the firm’s most complex initiatives, currently serving as Director for the Joint Campaign with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health. In this role, Juliet works with institutional leaders and staff to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach to fundraising for the unified cancer service line. Key areas of focus include pipeline development, with an emphasis on opportunities for collaborative engagement and coordinated volunteer and grateful patient engagement; case development with shared messaging across partner entities; and operationalizing joint systems and processes designed to support the larger institutional partnership.

In addition to her client responsibilities, Juliet participates in several corporate initiatives and is a mentor to new colleagues. She is the former co-chair of CCS’s internal Healthcare Sector Network and has authored a selection of CCS Insights, including articles focused on building campaign momentum and fundraising best practices.

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Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, NJ
RWJBarnabas Health, NJ
UNC Health Foundation, NC
Project Sunshine, NY
Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), NY
The Town School, NY
St. Thomas Academy, MN
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation, MO
Orpheum Theatre Group, TN
St. John the Baptist, OH
St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, KY

Since joining CCS in 2017, Jessica has worked with clients in multiple sectors, including higher education, arts and culture, human services, foundations, and independent schools. She has conducted feasibility studies, designed annual fund and major gift plans, completed in-depth data analysis projects, and has managed all aspects of capital campaigns, from conception to major gifts to launching the public phase.

Jessica also partnered with a firmwide group of CCS consultants to identify how we can better support our clients’ work with volunteers, with a particular focus on how to turn an organization’s volunteers into donors. This is part of Jessica’s deep commitment to creating long-term, sustainable fundraising practices for her clients.

Prior to CCS, Jessica worked at several nonprofits as a fundraiser, volunteer manager, and engagement director. She has 15 years of experience planning and executing successful fundraising campaigns.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Jessica now lives in San Mateo, CA with her husband. She is the President of the Board of Directors of Palo Alto Players and volunteers with local nonprofits.

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