Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how lucky I am and how fortunate our clients are.I suppose I’ve earned a reputation for always thinking about fundraising and growing philanthropy. The truth is, that’s probably the truth. Most people wouldn’t be proud of that fact, but I am.Every day nearly 400 nonprofits benefit from the impact of our team. I admit I have high expectations, but I don’t expect our team members—or anyone in the world, for that matter—to breathe, sleep and live fundraising the way I do. But the commitment of our team members goes well beyond a job. That’s why they were selected to work with our firm. We have a reputation to uphold, and each one of our team members has a high level of respect for the hard work and years of excellence that built it.Our consultants have certainly earned my respect, and you know I’m not easily impressed. So this blog is a small tribute to just a some members of the Kinetic team.Of course our CEO, Matt Beem is a recent Fundraiser of the Year in his hometown of Kansas City. He has been selected as counsel for many important projects, but most recently is his selection as counsel for Boy Scouts Transatlantic (Europe).Karin Cox, our Chief Creative Officer from Wilmington, NC and leader of our Southeastern work helped found Kinetic 27 years ago and ran her own nonprofit in the field of family and domestic violence for many years.Matt’s Beem’s father, Terry Snapp, the former Foundation CEO of Truman Medical Center who led them to a $55 million capital campaign, is also a Kansas City Fundraiser of the year.Janell Johnson, also from North Carolina, comes from a distinguished background in direct response and annual fund as a leader at Western Michigan University and UNC Wilmington.Bud Cooper joined Hartsook after a successful career as the Director of Development at the Salvation Army in KC, where his well-executed plans placed this Army District as the most successful per capita Christmas program in the country. Bud also has been Fundraiser of the Year in KC.Ron Fredman is fresh from fundraising leadership for both the Houston and KC Symphonies.Danny Kohrs, our VP of Operations, led the KC Salvation Army’s direct response program and led a commercial company’s activities in this field.Norma Murphy, another Fundraiser of the Year (this time in Wichita) is Hartsook’s premier grant specialist recognized most recently for her role in the first Kresge Foundation million dollar plus grants to community colleges.Davoren Tempel joined Hartsook after a successful career at Children’s Mercy in KC. And you won’t guess this—she, too, is a Fundraiser of the Year.Anne Judge in Washington, DC is the Kinetic go-to person for prospect research. Her many years of leadership at the Heritage Foundation have made her an invaluable asset for Kinetic.Penny Coggins of Oklahoma City is blazing a trail for Kinetic with her governmental grant development work.College presidents are a part of our team. Jim Tangeman, the long time Community College President in Kansas serves on Kinetic Fundraising, Inc. Board and Kay Schallencamp, the President of Black Hills State University is an Associate Counsel.Merwyn Hayes, the former Dean of Wake Forest School of Business and President and CEO of The Hayes Group International, lives in Winston-Salem, NC. He serves on Hartsook’s corporate board. And Larry Penley, former President of Colorado State University and former Dean of the School of Business at Arizona State, is an important resource for our clients.Ron Loewen, CEO of the University of South Carolina/Columbia’s Technology Business Incubator program is of counsel to Kinetic on a wide variety of opportunities for our clients.Kristy and Geoff Burns of Lancaster, Ohio specialize with start-up nonprofits and have proven themselves as invaluable in those entrepreneurial ventures.Lisa Weins Thompson is an Associate Consultant living in Wichita, KS. She has a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Methodist University and her Master of Divinity from Duke University.Lori Cox, our chief graphic artist and designer has produced thousands of attractive and persuasive case statements and brochures. Our communications consultant Denise Rhodes has written over 1,000 cases for support for a wide variety of clients; she is also the long time editor of Kinetic’s books and monographs.Many of you know and appreciate, as I do, our Director of Support Services, Tammy Weinman. She is the first point of contact for clients, prospects and consultants, and serves as executive assistant to me and Matt Beem—no small job.While there are many others who deserve mention here, I must stop at some point. I will let this blog serve as a tribute to those mentioned and the additional 30 or more people in full and part time roles that provide Kinetic clients with the depth necessary to build a strong nonprofit in these days of economic uncertainty.Of course, we can’t ignore the incredible impact that the Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at Indiana University has had not only on Kinetic clients, but the profession worldwide, Adrian Sargeant.No other fundraising consulting firm in the world has contributed more to building the fundraising profession than Hartsook Companies.Yeah, you could say I’m proud. We have:
- 3000 historically successful client relationships in America, Central America, Mexico, South America and Europe.
- The only Chair in Fundraising worldwide
- The only academically-accredited Institute dedicated exclusively to fundraising worldwide
- The Founder of the Center on Philanthropy’s Million Dollar Gift Inventory
For many fundraising consulting firms, fundraising is a job.For Hartsook, it is a calling.
