Cynthia Butler

Cynthia Butler is a Senior Vice President in the Higher Education practice area at GG+A, where she partners with institutions to strengthen their philanthropic programs and processes. She plays a key role in developing fundraising program assessments, conducting feasibility studies, evaluating major gift program plans and execution strategies, and more. Cynthia brings more than 25 years of experience in institutional advancement to the firm, with expertise in campaign management, prospect management, annual giving, talent management, diversity and inclusion, and strategic planning. Her professional background includes leadership roles at large public institutions with complex, matrixed structures.

Prior to joining GG+A, Cynthia was Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Serving as the first campaign director for the Campaign for Carolina, she helped more than double annual commitments in less than 10 years and helped raise more than $900 million to date toward the $1-billion scholarships goal for Carolina Edge, one of the campaign’s signature initiatives. Among her contributions, Cynthia implemented campus-wide metrics for fundraisers and units, initiated and set University-wide goals, and established CRM-focused business practices.

Before coming to North Carolina, Cynthia served as the Associate Vice President for Development at the University of Florida. In this role, she stewarded relationships with the University’s highest-level donors, managing a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and leading a development team that executed several major initiatives, including a $10-million matching challenge and scholarships. Additionally, she served in multiple leadership roles during the Florida Tomorrow campaign that raised $1.7 billion. Earlier in her career, Cynthia served as the Assistant Vice President for Development at Wright State University, where she worked in director- and executive-level development positions for 20 years.

Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Wright State University, and a certificate in financial planning from Florida State University. She is a past member and presenter for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Clients

• Indiana University Foundation 
• Pennsylvania State University