Gonser Gerber LLP, consultants in institutional advancement, has announced the appointment of Walter E. Collins as a Senior Consultant with the firm.
“We are delighted to welcome Walter to the firm,” said Dr. Chad Jolly, Gonser Gerber Coordinating Partner. “His experience in executive leadership and advancement for higher education and the arts will add value to our clients and grow Gonser Gerber’s 70-year legacy of strengthening non-profit organizations.”
Collins joins the firm as an advancement leader with over 17 years of experience in executive leadership positions. Most recently, Collins served as Vice President for Advancement at San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he grew annual giving and major gifts, receiving some of the largest gifts in seminary history while completing a successful capital campaign. Collins also served as Vice President for Advancement, Alumni Relations and Asset Management for Pacific Union College, where he managed over $200 million in college assets, led one of the first successful capital campaigns in college history, and increased alumni participation in the annual campaign by over sixty percent.
An avid advocate of the arts, Collins served as Executive Director of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra and the California Symphony, where he doubled the number of donors, and garnered a National Endowment for the Arts award and a Getty Foundation/League of American Orchestras award for the creation of Sound Minds, the orchestra’s groundbreaking music education and tutoring program. Also experienced in the health and human services sector, Collins served as President and CEO of United Way, where he led the transformation of United Way into the community impact model as the leading public policy and advocacy United Way in California.
As a member of the Gonser Gerber team, Walter will provide counsel to higher education institutions, schools, healthcare systems, cultural, social service and other non-profit organizations.
Founded in 1950, Gonser Gerber, LLP, provides industry leading advancement counsel and professional development including Campaign and Advancement Counsel, Campaign Readiness/Feasibility Studies, Advancement Program Assessments, Executive Search, and Strategic Planning.
For more information, contact:
Senior Consultant
Telephone: (630) 505-1433
Email: wcollins@gonsergerber.com
Website: www.gonsergerber.com
