Sandi Frost Steensma

Sandi believes you must raise expectations for your organization and connect people's values to your mission if you want to raise more money. If you have fallen into a pattern of re-circulating the same donors through special events and direct mail (a closed system of fundraising), she’ll push you to question whether and why this approach is relevant to your donors. If you have a huge mailing list but are unsure who has the capacity to give, she’ll guide you in finding clarity.

In short, Sandi believes that big change can come from even the smallest, most sensible solutions. But it starts with expecting more and asking the tough questions.

This has been Sandi’s purpose throughout her career. She has more than 20 years of experience in fund development, with specialties ranging from annual fundraising, organizational capacity building, capital campaigns and endowment growth. Her experience comes from serving nonprofits of all sizes and shapes. In addition to extensive client work, she served as a regional director for a statewide non-profit and as statewide Corporate Director of Development for Hospice of Michigan before becoming the Executive Director of its Grand Rapids office in the 1990's. She spent eight years working as a fund development consultant for regional consulting firm, Monaghan Associates, before forming Parrish Consulting.
 
Sandi earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential in 1999. CFRE is the only internationally recognized professional credential for philanthropic executives.