RAISE Podcast

“I did it all.” After two years at Cottey College, Kimera transferred and ultimately graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in journalism. After graduation, she returned to Cottey to serve as their one-person Public Relations shop in charge of news media, publications, and photography.

“This is a job I think I can do.” After Cottey, Kimera found her way to the PR office at Emporia State University in Kansas. When asked to fill in as interim head of the Foundation, she accepted. With no experience whatsoever in fundraising, she had to learn the ins and outs of the industry on the fly. Kimera learned so much through the support and patience of her colleagues, and eventually came to love advancement work.

“I didn’t know anything about managing people.” Kimera reflects on some aspects of her early career that she wishes she had done differently. As a new manager, she feels that she couldn’t fully appreciate the talent and skills of the folks on her team. But, those early lessons have made her wiser and more aware.

“The power of collaboration is great.” Kimera learned two big things while working on the amazing Pablo Center project at UW-Eau Claire. The first is that true collaboration and partnerships are hard work and require extra time and effort. The second is that it is so important to keep the folks who will be impacted by the project at the forefront of every decision.

“My goal is to always have joyful donors.” Kimera believes that the most humbling experience is when donors thank her for providing opportunities for them to fulfill their philanthropic dreams. Now, Kimera says that she has the best job in the world.

“We have to reach people in new ways.” Kimera says that if we are using certain mediums to stay connected with family and friends, then we should use those same platforms to stay in contact with our alums. She suggests finding the people on your team who are well versed in technology and trusting them to help your organization communicate effectively.

(Hot tip: send personalized ThankView campaigns around fun holidays – like this one that Kimera sent to all prospects in her portfolio right before recording this RAISE Podcast episode.)

Want to work with Kimera? UW-Eau Claire is hiring! Connect with her on LinkedIn, or check our their open job postings.

Andy A. Jhanji joined the Florida State University Foundation in August 2011 as executive vice president, overseeing the Foundation’s day-to-day operations and advancement strategy. Andy recently assumed the additional responsibilities of Interim Vice President of University Advancement.

Jhanji has worked in public higher education for three decades. Before arriving at FSU, his most recent positions included serving as vice chancellor for university advancement and chief of staff to the chancellor at the University of Colorado Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus. Prior to that, he served as the special assistant to the chancellor, preceded by holding the position of director, research and technology transfer at the University of Colorado Denver.

During Jhanji’s time as executive vice president at the FSU Foundation, he has played a key role in the planning and execution of Raise the Torch: The Campaign for Florida State, a $1 billion capital campaign and the most ambitious in University history. He also oversaw the financing and purchase of a new home for the organization, bringing the Foundation closer to campus.

In Jhanji’s new interim role, he will lead FSU’s fundraising, alumni relations, advancement services and real estate activities, overseeing the FSU Alumni Association, FSU Foundation and the FSU Real Estate Foundation.

Jhanji earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Project Management degree from Western Carolina University. Jhanji, his wife Jane and son Trent live in Tallahassee.

Deb Taft is CEO and co-owner of Lindauer, a global search and talent firm serving nonprofits in the education, health and science, arts and culture, policy and advocacy, and civic and social justice arenas. An innovative leader in the education, healthcare/academic medicine, youth services and voluntary sectors, Deb was Senior EVP and Managing Director for Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) in Chicago, overseeing all global philanthropic consulting practices.

Deb previously served as Chief Development Officer and Interim Chief Strategy Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA, where she led the launch of the $1 billion ToGetHerThere fundraising campaign and shaped the Alumni initiative to engage 50 million Girl Scouts. Deb held prior executive roles at Simmons University, Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and Concord Academy.

She chairs the Industry Advisory Council and serves Ex-Officio on the Board of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She also serves on the Editorial Board of Giving USA, the Boards of The Giving Institute and Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, and on the AI in Advancement Advisory Council (AAAC); she recently completed her service and leadership of the Board of Directors for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in Washington, DC. She continues to advance inclusion and equity in nonprofit leadership including through her service on the steering committee for Allies in Action for Women of Color in Philanthropy (WŌC) and through various appointed leadership roles for CASE, GSEMA, and HRC.

Deb was a founding team member of City Year, which today has youth service teams in more than 31 regions across the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. She was honored as a Girl Scouts of Eastern MA Leading Woman in 2019 and as a 2021 member of the YW Boston Academy of Women Achievers.

Her expertise includes governance and strategic planning; organizational growth and restructuring; diversity, equity, and inclusion; fundraising, marketing, and communications; constituent engagement; and talent recruitment, development, and retention. A renowned speaker and facilitator, Deb holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Simmons University.

Brent Grinna began his career in investment banking in Chicago at William Blair & Company and then Madison Dearborn Partners. Prior to founding EverTrue, he received his MBA with honors from Harvard Business School.

With Brent’s leadership, EverTrue participated in Techstars Boston, was selected as a winner of MassChallenge, and secured top investors, such as Bain Capital Ventures. Brent serves as a Board Member for the Brown University Alumni Association Board of Governors and Board Director for the Brown Football Association. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife and three boys.

June Bradham is a widely recognized business leader and fundraising expert. Under her guidance and with her hands-on approach, she and her team at CDM (formerly Corporate DevelopMint) have led more than 200 successful fundraising campaigns ranging from $3 million to more than $100 Million.

June founded Corporate DevelopMint in 1987. In 2018, Corporate DevelopMint rebranded as CDM: Change Develop Move. Over the past 40+ years, June has led the firm and her clients to unparalleled success through passion, commitment, knowledge, experience, expertise, and research. CDM’s research includes a groundbreaking study of what drives fundraising success designed by an interdisciplinary team of PhD’s, and a study of best practices in free healthcare clinics that was funded by the Duke Endowment.

June works on product development for CDM, creating dozens of customized training programs for nonprofits. Her hands-on work with more than 250 boards has resulted in a unique format for solicitation training, as well as a unique process for aligning nonprofit staff and leadership with the communities they serve. As a consultant to one of the world’s largest consulting companies, June has also developed and implemented training programs for fundraising consultants from more than 17 countries.

In addition, June has personally served on more than 25 nonprofit boards, including service on the executive committees of most of those boards. A sampling includes the Darla Moore School of Business; the Citadel School of Business; the SC Chamber of Commerce; the Governor’s School for Science & Math; the Community Foundation of Coastal SC; the Spoleto Festival; and Porter-Gaud School.

June’s articles appear in trade journals such as Advancing Philanthropy, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, and Journal for the Advancement of Secondary Education. Her book, What Nonprofit Boards Want, was published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons

June has received many top awards in her field, including Fundraiser of the Year from the Association of Fundraising Professionals International’s Lowcountry Chapter (2012); the first CEO of the Year in Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Most Influential Businesswomen Awards (2009); and the Women of Achievement Award from the Alliance for Women in the category of Economic Autonomy (2008).

Louis Diez is an expert in annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies.

He currently serves as the Executive Director of Annual Giving at Muhlenberg College.

Previously, he was Director of the Annual Fund and Development Business Operations at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Associate Director of Development at Johns Hopkins SAIS. In this last role, he led annual giving efforts and worked closely with the Latin-American Studies Program to fund major priorities. Prior to Hopkins, he was the annual fund director at a liberal arts college in TN.

Of varied interests, Louis holds an MBA from CUNEF, a PhD in Business Administration from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (both in Spain), and an MM in Music Performance from the University of TN. His thesis applied neural networks to predict economic performance indicators. He has also published articles on the investment value of musical instruments, edited peer-reviewed papers exploring applications for economic theories of legitimacy, and been featured in the music business section of the College Music Society’s journal. He writes about philanthropy in his blog and hosts the Donor Participation Project.

Erin has more than 20 years of experience serving fundraising professionals. She began her career in prospect research and has gone on to oversee areas as diverse as advancement services, operations, donor relations, communications, alumni relations, and annual giving. For eight years, Erin was the campaign director for DePaul University’s largest and most successful fundraising effort, the Many Dreams, One Mission campaign. Having also served as an interim VP for Advancement, Erin has a unique understanding of the pressures faced by campus leaders.

Erin holds a BA in theatre with honors from Grinnell College and an MA in English with distinction from DePaul University. She is a graduate of Harvard University’s Management Development Program within the Graduate School of Education. Erin has spoken on advancement services and campaign-related topics at many APRA and CASE conferences, and she has repeatedly been a guest lecturer for graduate courses in fundraising, teaching on topics such as prospect identification, campaign planning, and donor motivation.

We are so thrilled to welcome Erin Moran and her Solas partners Ron Eisenstein and Tim Anderson to the EverTrue family. We’ve got big plans in store for the future of advancement! Read more here or catch the recording of their live conversation with JD Beebe.