Gary Cunningham

About Gary Cunningham

Accomplished executive with demonstrated history of high performance, leadership, and…

Experience

1. Vice President of Programs - Chief Program Officer

   Northwest Area Foundation

   Jan 2007 — Present

   Sever as chief program strategist for the Foundation’s grantmaking program to alleviate poverty in eight states.• Working with the Board of Directors, lead the creation and implementation of the Foundation’s new strategic framework • Led a reduction in force effort to reorganize and realigned program staff and internal processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations• Rebuilt and significantly enhanced relationships with key stakeholders, foundations partners, grantees and the public• Improved internal organizational cultural of the Program staff as measured by the independent Great Places to Work Survey. Staff scored the Program department 89 out of 92 on the GPWS Trust Index that measures management credibility, respect, fairness, staff pride and camaraderie in October 2011. • Significantly improved grantee perceptions of foundation staff as measured by independent surveys• Created new funding partnerships which has leveraged $20-25 million in funding to low-income communities. • Created the American Indian Funders Roundtables, which led to increase understanding of and funding in Reservation communities by 27 philanthropic organizations in the past two years • Created the African American Leadership Forums (AALF) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington and Des Monies, Iowa. This civic engagement effort of over volunteers has increased personal and social responsibility for African Americans to improve life outcomes for low-income youth and adults. • In 2011, the Northwest Area Foundation received the Association of Black Foundation Executive’s Institutional Award for Philanthropic Leadership for its work in creating and implementing AALF. This award recognizes exemplary grantmaking institutions that model effective and responsive grantmaking practices. • Successfully managed grant portfolio of approximately $18-20 million per year

Education

• METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY

  Bachelor of Arts

  1989 — 1991

• HARVARD UNIVERSITY, John F. Kennedy School of Government

  Masters in Public Administration

  1991 — 1992

Skills

• Non-Profits
• Excellent Communication, Analytical, Presentation, and Interpersonal Skills
• Team Building
• Program Development
• Community Outreach
• Staff Development
• Philanthropy
• Strategic and Operational Planning and Implementation
• Change Management
• Strategic Planning
• Grants
• Event Planning
• Strong Understanding of Philanthropy and Fundraising
• Board Development
• Fundraising
• Successfully Created and Built Organizational Brand and External Support
• Public Speaking
• Coaching
• Public Relations
• Organizational Development
• Policy
• Proven Track Record of Systems, Project and People Management
• Change Management, Board Development
• Program Management
• Organizational Behavior, Human Resource and Fiscal Management, Staff Development
• Budgeting
• Performance, Leadership, and Innovation
• Administration
• Writing
• Community Relations
• Leadership Development
• Contract Management
• Research
• Grant Writing