Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is proud to announce the three new additions to our consulting team: Anne Summers, Vice President; Ray Crosland, Adjunct Counsel; and Leonard A. Bertolini, Adjunct Counsel.
With an energy and enthusiasm in building the strength of the nonprofit sector, Anne Summers brings 25 years of nonprofit, strategy and grant-making expertise to both the local community and national arena.
What drew you to work in the nonprofit sector?
While doing policy and constituent work in state government, I learned the nonprofit sector is the driver and advocate for many policy changes. An unexpected move to a new city provided the opportunity for a shift in career, so I sought out the nonprofit sector where I could support that important community role. In fundraising, I discovered my niche in maximizing mission impact by building and supporting sustainable organizations.
What unique perspective do you bring to organizations?
I led a foundation for fifteen years, where I interacted daily with our nonprofit partners. I never really took my fundraising hat off; on the funder side we called it leverage - organizing funders and funding for the organizations we supported. Understanding an organization's sustainability needs from the trenches as a fundraising professional as well as supporting those efforts as a funder gives me a broader view of Development, the door through which relationships are built and sustainability is created.
List a few accomplishments of note in your career.
A chance meeting after a national conference led to the planning and creation of a national organization, State Voices, where I served as their first Board Chair and fundraising partner. It's an example of identifying a need, designing a plan, discovering the spark in people, and supporting their growth in executing, while developing the resources to make something big happen.
Throughout his 21-year development career, Ray Crosland has utilized his entrepreneurial philosophy and donor-centric, relationship-building approach to grow giving for a wide variety of successful institutions.
What drew you to work in the nonprofit sector?
Like many people, I stumbled into working in the nonprofit sector. I had worked in the corporate world and acquired skills that allowed me to matriculate into leadership roles. Unfortunately, I did not find the work fulfilling. In a transition, I began working in a temporary position at the Chicago Community Trust. It was fortuitous as philanthropy at the time was becoming more donor-centric. I brought those skills with me from my previous career. In the end, by combining needed skills with fulfilling work, it was the best of both worlds.
What unique perspective do you bring to organizations?
I have worked with a wide variety of organizations, from small to medium nonprofits to much larger, national organizations. I have seen the similarities and the differences between them all. And I’m most surprised that there are more similarities than differences. Now that I have worked in non-profits for more than 20 years, I recognize the value I bring from my work in corporate roles. Bringing that perspective, along with my MBA adds process, accountability, and defined outcomes to the organizations I serve. When I started in the late 90's, these qualities were not as prevalent as they are now among nonprofit professionals. I still find myself referring back to the skills I developed earning my MBA and working in corporate America
List a few accomplishments of note in your career.
For starters, leading a successful $10 million capital campaign at a medium-sized, local Chicago non-profit is an achievement that stands out to this day. But I would also say that working at the forefront of the venture philanthropy movement during my 10 years at the Chicago Community Trust was a meaningful experience. I was able to work with donors helping them to establish donor-advised funds and other vehicles to fulfill their philanthropic goals. These visionary philanthropists wanted to create their own impact and they knew what they wanted to see, but they needed a guide to help them find the organizations they would fund to realize their goals. That funding led to identifying singular projects and great community leaders - many of those small nonprofits have grown and are still going strong today.
Leonard “Len” Bertolini has a wide breadth of development experience having worked in the field for almost 25 years. He has been a Vice President for Advancement on both the secondary education and higher education level.
What drew you to work in the nonprofit sector?
I was attracted to working in the nonprofit sector for two main reasons. First, upon learning what development work entailed, I loved the idea that I would have the opportunity to develop effective relationships with both colleagues and external constituents, which is one of my strengths and has enabled me to excel in this field. More importantly, however, I was drawn to working for organizations that truly made a difference in peoples’ lives. It is so rewarding to know that the work you and your colleagues do each day is impacting lives, whether it be scholarship funds you raised that enabled financially needy students to receive an education, or facility, program, and technology funding you secured that provided faculty and students with a better overall experience. This is a wonderful field in which to earn a living and feel like you are making a difference in the world.
What unique perspective do you bring to organizations?
I was a chief advancement officer for two decades and have a deep understanding of all it entails. I understand the daily concerns, budgetary decisions, and strategy development that come with this role, as well as campaign planning and execution, cohesive team building, and melding institutional vision with fundraising objectives. I do not pretend to know everything--we keep learning each day, but I have a vast amount of experience in a wide variety of situations.
List a few accomplishments of note in your career.
My background in athletics always leads me to think team first, so I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the outstanding people and advancement teams I have worked with throughout my career. Beyond this, I have led five capital campaigns that all finished on schedule and surpassed their goals. I successfully solicited the largest gifts in the history of four different institutions in which I was employed. Above all, I am most proud of the many endowed scholarships that I worked with donors to establish that will positively impact lives for many years to come. Helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals is one of the best feelings in the world!
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