Vice President

I enjoy helping clients create a set of meaningful and achievable goals and a plan to meet those goals. Helping our clients create appropriate and outcome-driven processes ensures that they continue to achieve success beyond their work with Kennari. Our emphasis on, and track-record with, helping clients achieve results is what I most value in our work.

Mary joined Kennari Consulting in 2014. As vice president of annual giving, Mary’s areas of expertise include annual giving strategies, capital campaign management, and board and volunteer committee support. Mary has tremendous knowledge on managing the day-to-day challenges of fundraising and enjoys facilitating the decision-making process with clients. She is especially passionate about helping boards become more inclusive and intentional in representing the communities they serve. She recently received a certificate of nonprofit board consulting from BoardSource, which has given her greater insight into how nonprofit boards can best support their organizations. Mary is regularly featured as a presenter at local workshops and seminars on fundraising and is featured in the Fundkit video series. Fundkit is a tool for fundraisers featuring video tutorials and downloadable tools, powered by Kennari Consulting.

Mary graduated from Alma College in 1998 with a degree in interpersonal communications and received a certificate in fundraising management (CRFM) from Indiana University. She has previously held board positions for the Association of Fundraising Professionals for West Michigan and currently oversees Grand Rapids Women in Development. Before coming to Kennari, Mary spent 15 years fundraising for arts organizations and the arts continue to play a big role in her life. Three of her children dance at the Grand Rapids Ballet School and everyone in her family plays at least one musical instrument. You might even catch her around town singing with one of several groups she lends vocals to!