Cynthia L. Palacz

About Cynthia L. Palacz

Entrepreneurial, mission-driven, and collaborative development professional with nearly 18 years of progressive experience at top children’s healthcare institutions• Exceptional interpersonal skills with focus on building relationships with corporate and individual donors, board members, volunteers, and patient families• Expert in leading complex initiatives and in building, cultivating, and leading community relations and stakeholder engagement strategies• Seasoned manager with a true passion for mentorship• Experience encompasses corporate fundraising, events, donor relations, board management, marketing, branding, and product development

Experience

1. Director of Donor Relations

   Phoenix Children\'s Foundation

   Oct 2023 — Present · Phoenix, AZ, US

   Contributed to $10M+ in incremental philanthropic revenue (2024 – 2025) by increasing donor engagement through strengthened stewardship, strategic alignment, and elevated partner experiences.• Set and govern enterprise-wide donor experience strategy across all donor and constituent touchpoints, and establish measurable standards for engagement, recognition, and stewardship quality.• Modernized the donor experience program by launching Individualized Stewardship Plans (ISPs), revising giving thresholds and deliverables, reimagining ThankView communications, and implementing core stewardship standards to drive consistency and engagement.• Design and scale stewardship models to deepen long-term engagement across individual, corporate, and foundation portfolios.• Align donor and partner engagement across portfolios to advance systemwide impact priorities and strengthen cross-functional coordination. • Increased donor and leadership-facing events by 162% year over year (52 to 136) through strategic oversight of high-impact, mission-aligned experiences.• Lead enterprise donor recognition governance and execution, overseeing integrated stewardship programs including impact reporting, communications, and experiential engagement.• Integrate ethical, patient- and family-centered storytelling into the donor journey to deliver authentic, donor-centric narratives. • Support Give-a-Thon, the nation’s largest fundraising event of its kind, by leading all patient interviews and producing mission-driven story songs for broadcast, contributing to a record $2.4M+ raised in 2025. • Oversee operations, systems, compliance, and cross functional collaboration to ensure accurate performance tracking and measurable social impact.• Lead a multi-team function with eight direct reports across Donor Relations Strategy & Recognition, Events & Experiences, Patient & Family Engagement, and Guest Relations

Education

• University of Illinois Chicago

  Bachelor of Science, Psychology