Christi Donsbach

About Christi Donsbach

An outstanding learning institution begins with counting on those who can contribute to giving students the best opportunity to succeed. As a dedicated and passionate, executive director, I have over 20 years’ experience fostering a culture of philanthropy in a nonprofit and higher educational settings.My strengths are in leading and managing all facets of volunteer recruiting and fundraising campaigns and that means employing persuasive written and communication skills to collaborate effectively with a diverse range of internal and external constituencies. This includes presenting to executive level management, gift planning, major gift planning, and creating detailed grant writing proposals. I am proficient with college and non-profit operations, budgeting, forecasting, and establishing charitable relationships with alumni, foundation boards, donors, and area businesses.Being recognized as one of Effingham Illinois’ ‘Top Community Leaders Under 40’ in 2015 and selected by industry leaders to present at large-scale educational seminars have been a couple of highlights in my career. I am honored to be serving amongst peers on the CASE V Cabinet Board (20••••25) and be part of the industry leadership for higher education advancement professionals. Previously, I served on the membership committee for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) from 20••••17 and served as the Development Track Co-Chair for the CASE V Region (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) 2018 conference. My additional leadership skills include the following: • Foundation Development, Policies, and Procedures• Program Implementation, Evaluations, and Fund Development Systems• Strategic Planning, Researching, and Data Analysis • Reporting Metrics and Interpretation• Donor Prospecting, Cultivation, and Recognition• Team Building and Mentoring• Social Media Marketing (Facebook and LinkedIn)• Analytical and Critical Decision Making• Media Relations and Event Planning

Experience

1. Executive Director for College Advancement

   Lake Land College

   Oct 2019 — Present

   It\'s been an absolute pleasure to develop relationships primarily with Lake Land College alums and friends to encourage gifts to support the college. Serve as the Foundation CEO and work alongside a 19 member volunteer board. Through their leadership, the Foundation has experienced 2 of the largest fundraising years over the past three years. During this time, the team has successfully implemented a new donor software along with a new scholarship software to provide better convenience for students, donors, staff and also provides better reporting. The Foundation staff has grown to a team of 5 members.

Education

• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

  Master of Business Administration (MBA)

  2008 — 2009

• Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

  Marketing

  2002 — 2005

Skills

• Higher Education
• Strategic Communications
• Fundraising
• Planned Giving
• Volunteer Management
• Stewardship
• Student Affairs
• Relationship Building
• Non-Profits
• Editing
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Social Media
• Grants
• Public Relations
• Media Relations
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Event Management
• Non-Profit Administration
• Philanthropy
• Grant Writing
• Public Speaking
• Facebook
• Staff Development
• Program Evaluation
• Nonprofits
• Newsletters
• Marketing
• Press Releases
• Leadership Development
• Program Development
• Social Networking
• Alumni Relations
• Student Development
• Event Planning
• Annual Giving