Going to Your Go-To’s: Expanding Your Pipeline to Avoid Over-Reliance on Key Donors
As fundraisers, we hear with some frequency from trustees and...
Christen Wilson, Vice President, serves in GG+A’s Independent Schools and Higher Education practice areas. She has strengthened the fundraising programs of educational institutions of all types and sizes for nearly 20 years. Throughout her career, Christen has helped institutions attract millions of dollars of support for capital building projects, new and existing program and faculty endowments, scholarship campaigns, and annual operating support.
Christen guides her partner institutions to success by working to refine their vision for support, identify high-probability donors, and take a disciplined approach to engage and solicit each individual donor. She utilizes data and analytics to ensure that the philanthropic capacity and potential of each institution is fully understood and shares recommendations and realistic projections with Presidents, Heads of School, and Boards to help set expectations for fundraising campaigns.
Prior to joining GG+A, Christen served as Head of Advancement, Marketing and Communications at Magellan International School, a Spanish immersion, International Baccalaureate World School. She established the school’s first formal fundraising program and achieved more than 100 percent growth in philanthropic revenue, primarily in unrestricted operating funds. Christen previously served as Director of Annual Giving at Malvern Preparatory School.
Additionally, Christen served Cabrini University as Vice President of Institutional Advancement. In this role, Christen increased fundraising revenues and expanded programs to include stronger offerings for intellectual and professional development for the Cabrini alumni community. Under her leadership, the University identified its top priorities for philanthropy to help advance the institution.
She also held a variety of leadership roles focused on major gift fundraising and campaign planning at Saint Joseph’s University. During her tenure, the University exceeded its $150 million goal in its first ever comprehensive campaign and established strong major gift fundraising programs, including vibrant engagement opportunities with campus partners and rigorous fundraising protocols for discovery and accelerated solicitations.
Christen is a graduate of Bucknell University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Christen and her family reside in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area.
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