MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Clark Vandeventer is the founder and Chief Fundraising Coach at Major Gifts Fundraiser. He has trained and coached thousands of fundraisers to help them raise more money by developing deeper and more meaningful relationships with their donors. He is also the host of the Major Gifts Fundraiser podcast, which you can find on your favorite podcasting platform by searching “Major Gifts Fundraiser.”

Clark is the former deputy director of the historic home of President Ronald Reagan. In this role, he played a key role in raising the $20 Million to open the the Reagan Ranch Center where he recruited, trained, and supervised key staff positions. He contributed to all areas of the organization’s fundraising effort including major gifts, estate planning, direct mail, events, donor recognition & involvement, working with volunteers, board appointments, and board development.

Clark benefitted early in his career through the mentorship of Jerold Panas, who is widely considered the greatest fundraiser and fundraising coach of the 20th Century. Jerold Panas said of Clark that, “He [Clark] knows how to manage people, he works effectively with volunteers and board members, he knows every aspect of fundraising and operating a development office, and best of all — he loves asking for gifts. He’s a star.”

In 2008 Clark launched Major Gifts Fundraiser where he has worked with large and small non-profits in education, animal rescues, advocacy groups, political and humanitarian causes, and religious institutions. He has personally participated in more than 2,200 individual donor meetings and has helped close hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable gifts.

Having started in development at a young age, and enjoying uncommon success early in his career because of excellent training and coaching, he understands the importance of equipping professionals in the non-profit community with the tools to be successful.

After years of helping organizations improve their fundraising efforts, Clark saw a few clients begin to see not just marginal but exponential growth in major gift revenue. It was at this time that Clark stepped back to understand why and address that question in a variety of courses and training programs to help fundraisers achieve success with major donors.

Clark is a 2002 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. In 2010 he was a candidate for United States Congress. An avid traveler, Clark and his family spent eighteen months living in Guatemala working with the humanitarian organization Cultiva International and they remain active with Cultiva and frequently return to Guatemala today. Clark and his wife Monica, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Major Gifts Fundraiser, live in the Lake Tahoe area where they enjoy being active outdoors with their three children. He is passionate about setting and achieving goals, being an active and involved father, and is an avid cyclist, skier, and runner.