McDonald Schaefer Group offers clients the resources of a team of fund development professionals, bringing the fullness of our expertise and experience to each client.
David B. Malone, Partner David combines 13 years of sales and marketing experience with 13 years of development experience to provide clients with effective strategies for the challenges of fundraising. His expertise includes capital campaigns, major gifts, feasibility studies, annual giving, board development and development assessments. David has helped a variety of nonprofit organizations ranging from small grass-roots start up organizations to large well-established NPOs throughout southern Wisconsin. He is creative, process-orientated and thorough. His specialty is multi-million dollar capital and endowment campaigns for diverse clients including those working in healthcare, education, environment, religion, libraries, recreation, and more.
Pamela Y. Mattox, CFRE, Partner With more than 22 years’ experience in the development arena, Pam is a recognized leader in fundraising and management consultancy for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. She began her development career in university advancement; in 10 years at three universities she directed programs in the annual fund, major gifts and corporate/foundation relations. Since joining McDonald Schaefer Group, Pam has developed skills in capital campaign planning and management. She consults for a broad range of nonprofit organizations, schools, hospitals and ministries. She stays active in professional circles including the Association of Professional Fundraisers (AFP), and the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE). Pam has a master’s degree from DePaul University and has been certified as a core course instructor by AFP's Faculty Training Academy.
Richard T. Mannisto, Senior Consultant An accomplished fundraiser and leader, Rich has more than a decade of experience in resource development, educational leadership and nonprofit growth strategies. Rich’s “results driven” leadership style in fundraising earned him the 2010 Rising Star National Fundraising Award. His development career centered on successfully doubling annual fund program revenue in four years, managing $6 million major gift campaign efforts, and implementing a planned gift program with multi-million dollar gifts. He is skilled at retooling both development and marketing in the nonprofit sector, which brings added value for our clients. Rich has a Masters of Music/Conducting from VanderCook College of Music and Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, from Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Andrea Speth, Senior Consultant Andrea brings 20 years of diverse and practical real-world experience to her nonprofit clients. Her special expertise in marketing, communication and fundraising equips her to develop creative and integrated strategies to address client challenges. With a specialty in serving the particular needs of human service organizations, she has led comprehensive annual fundraising programs of more than $1 million and directed successful multi-million dollar capital campaigns. Andrea knows that relationships are the key to success for non-profit organizations and she shares her experience to help clients build the kind of meaningful relationships that produce short term and long-term results. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
Kathy Wisnefski, Consultant/Project Manager Kathy has served in the nonprofit community for more than 20 years. Before joining McDonald Schaefer Group, she served as development director for a youth center where, over three years she increased gift revenue by 10 percent annually and established a planned giving program that closed seven gifts the first year. A highly skilled administrator, Kathy understands all aspects of a comprehensive development program including grant writing, corporate sponsorships and effective database management. For our clients, she champions best practices, especially financial transparency and careful stewardship to build and sustain donor relationships. Kathy chairs the Recruitment Task Force for the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE) and serves as President-Elect for the Wisconsin chapter.
Samuel Mattox, Assistant Project Manager Sam serves the firm and its clients as a jack-of-all-trades, providing vital office support for the variety of projects we have in house at any given time. Especially valuable are his writing skills and experience in prospect research. He is a senior at Marquette University with majors in English and French.
ASSOCIATES
Mary C. McCann, CFRE, Resource Development For over 21 years, Mary has held development positions with nonprofit organizations working with administrative leadership and the board or directors to maximize fundraising effectiveness. She has directed capital campaigns to successful goals, organized and implemented annual campaigns with creative endeavors and trained board members to maximize their fundraising effectiveness. Her high-energy approach to managing volunteers and building relationships has earned her praise from her clients. Mary has a Master of Arts degree in Development and Philanthropy and certification from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (CFRE).
Maureen “Mo” Daly, Marketing & Communications Mo combines over 10 years of marketing and communication experience with 15 years of sales, development and nonprofit management to provide strategic marketing and communications consultation to McDonald Schaefer clients. Through Mo Daly Consulting, LLC, she has consulted with a wide range of nonprofits, small business and Fortune 500 companies. In her development career, Mo directed development efforts in youth services and higher education. Her background in nonprofit management includes serving as executive director for a new museum and serving on several nonprofit boards. Mo has a Bachelors of Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Masters in Business Administration from Marquette University. She currently serves on the board for the Milwaukee County Historical Society.
Patricia Gahl, Strategic Planning & Management For over 27 years Pat has provided management consultation through her firm P.H. Gahl & Associates. She has worked with well over 200 organizations representing varied products and services, with significant work in health care. Pat assists her clients with the development of strategic plans, facilitation of planning retreats and executive coaching in support of the plans. A skilled facilitator, Pat’s greatest strengths are her ability to identify and focus on the critical issues, build consensus for a plan of action, and offer a systematic and practical approach to both planning and implementation. Pat is a Past President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. She is an Assessor for the Social Interaction competency at Alverno College and serves as a Board Member for Educational Credential Evaluators, a not-for profit organization in international education. Pat has a Master's from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
PARTNER EMERITUS
Rich Lesniak A Milwaukee native, Rich earned a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 1965. Following a commitment to the U.S. Army he began a career in Resource Development with Marquette. Setting his sights on Major Gift development he followed his years at Marquette with ten years at Northwestern University and ten more at the Medical College of Wisconsin, as Vice President for Development. He joined McDonald & Schaefer soon after the firm was founded in 1997. Rich is proud of a development career that spanned nearly 40 years, and of helping these institutions and many McDonald Schaefer Group clients achieve their true potential.
FOUNDERS
James C. McDonald, Gerald M. Schaefer The quality service we bring to each client is due in part to the foresight of James C. McDonald and Gerald M. Schaefer. Our founders saw a market niche—the resource developments needs of area nonprofits—and guided our firm in its capability and growth to meet that need. Wisely, they provided a succession path for dedicated fundraising professionals to sustain the core services.
We are grateful to Jim and Gerry who continue to offer beneficial counsel for our clients and care passionately about helping clients achieve their full potential.
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