We needed strong interim guidance for our annual giving/direct mail programs, and The Giving Collaborative provided just that. Al Seminsky dived deep into discovering the culture, goals and audience for our philanthropy and crafted an amazingly detailed plan that covered a full year+ of strategic activity. He helped professionalize our operation, providing all kinds of materials and insights that have helped us move forward with confidence and new knowledge. Throughout his regular activity with us this past year, Al has been a positive, knowledgeable presence and essential to our success.
Celia M. Regan
Foundations of Nuvance HealthThe Williams School chose The Giving Collaborative when exploring the right time and program to start a campaign for endowment. Arguably the most challenging campaign is one for endowment fundraising as “brick and mortar giving” has a stronger and more visible appeal. David Garamella led an expert team to speak with key donors and administrators to understand the needs of Williams, helping to craft a case statement, and setting attainable goals for the campaign. David’s engaging personality combined with his experienced, professional approach to fundraising helped make our endowment campaign a huge success. He worked with my co-chairs and me numerous times, kept us all informed and on task, and led us from beginning to end. Moreover upon the successful completion of the campaign, David has maintained a lasting relationship with Williams and offers support in all fundraising and donor activities. We remain in ongoing communication even today!
Mark Fader
Head of School, The Williams School New London, CTThe Giving Collaborative, in particular David Garamella has been great to work with! Timely responses and excellent work! Very pleased with every communication I have ever had with The Giving Collaborative!
Michael Cox
Shriner Hospital for ChildrenOur Foundation recently rebranded and completely overhauled our giving strategy—moving from lots of small, annual grants to massive partnerships with a single organization in each of the countries we operate in with the hope that we would be aligned to these organizations for many years to come. This was a big shift for us, and we quickly realized we wanted some additional expertise on our side to assist in making such a significant decision. We interviewed a few firms but felt the most comfortable with The Giving Collaborative right from the beginning. They were professional but friendly and approachable, experienced working globally, asked thoughtful questions, and quickly provided a reasonable proposal. We worked closely together over many months, truly feeling like they were an extension of our team and had our best interests at heart, and even despite having to juggle changing timelines thanks to COVID-19, were always proactive and timely in meeting our deadlines. They went above and beyond our expectations by also providing feedback on how we could improve our grant reporting templates, and even offering to do check-ins with our new partners 6 months in. Their expertise and input have been invaluable!
Julia Smart
Flourish Arbonne FoundationThe Giving Collaborative was recommended to us through a colleague because of their expertise in health care fundraising and capital campaigns. As the new Chief of Development at Lowell Community Health Center in Lowell, MA, I was tasked with leading a $26 M campaign to add dental and vision services while expanding our primary care and behavioral health services. I had never run a capital campaign before and was in need of tactical support. I found it in David Garamella and The Giving Collaborative. David not only provided on-site support, but was also available to advise me on our overall plan and campaign timeline, review meeting plans with prospective donors, and kept me and my small team on track. David and his team are easy to work with, responsive, and seasoned. They pushed us when we needed to be pushed, and motivated us to see the campaign through. David is an inspiring coach who walked us through several donor conversations that resulted in gifts far larger than we had anticipated. With support from The Giving Collaborative, were able to meet our campaign goals, and then some. I am certain that The Giving Collaborative was integral to the success of our campaign as well as for setting the stage for effective post-campaign fundraising. I would recommend The Giving Collaborative without reservation.
Clare Gunther
Chief Advancement Officer Lowell Community Health CenterWorking with Bob Berube of The Giving Collaborative provided us with the level of Planned Giving support and expertise that our donors came to expect and need. Bob’s decades of experience in planned giving and financial planning, coupled with his warm and personable demeanor, made him a great fit for our donors, resulting in a significant number of new gifts – many of a sophisticated nature – to our Foundation. We whole heartedly endorse Bob and The Giving Collaborative, and the services they provide, to get results.
Drew A. Gagner
President, St. Mary Medical Center FoundationThe Giving Collaborative has been a true partner to the St. Rose Dominican Health Foundation for the past eight-plus years. The expertise, skills, and resources the entire TGC team brings to the table is unparalleled. Our Foundation has benefited immensely from TGC’s strategic support for capital campaign readiness, planned and major giving support, and maintaining a culture of philanthropy. The result of this partnership is that we make smarter strategic decisions around philanthropy for the betterment of Southern Nevada. David has also conducted multiple feasibility studies for our organization. All have been highly professional and spot on when targeting campaign goals and leadership donor participation.
Charles L. Guida
President, St. Rose Dominican Health FoundationWe partnered with TGC because we wanted a firm that would take the time to learn our culture and not provide a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach. Not only was this our Foundation’s first campaign since its inception, but also it was our first real effort at fundraising. We needed counsel for a development office from the ground up including infrastructure and staff. TGC knows fundraising and they value their partnerships with their clients – the entire team really takes the time to develop programs that makes sense for your volunteers, board leadership, members and donors.
Debra S. BenAvram, FASAE, CAE
Chief Executive Officer, American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), ASPEN Rhoads Research FoundationTGC was extremely professional in conducting our development assessment. Their thoughtful conclusions based on interviews with a wide-cross section of stakeholders and input from our staff have helped us move forward strategically as we implement and execute an exciting new vision for the future.
Kathleen Wielk
Vice President for Advancement, Notre Dame High SchoolThe Giving Collaborative partnered with us during our search for a new donor software system. They focused our work and provided strong options to help us more forward. They set us on a path to success.