Interview with Juan McGruder CFRE

Vice President for Advancement at Oglethorpe University

Creating a fundraising strategy that gets donors investing in your cause

Juan McGruder is the newly appointed Vice President for Advancement at Oglethorpe University in Georgia USA. Previous to this role, Juan was the Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Junior Achievement of Georgia, where he was responsible for state-wide fundraising and development initiatives, including managing philanthropic relationships with 200+ corporations, and partnering with JAG’s 80+ board members to execute their fundraising strategy.

Interview with Juan McGruder CFRE

Vice President for Advancement at Oglethorpe University

Having the right strategic plan that gets donors investing in your cause

Juan McGruder is the newly appointed Vice President for Advancement at Oglethorpe University in Georgia USA. Previous to this role, Juan was the Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Junior Achievement of Georgia, where he was responsible for state-wide fundraising and development initiatives, including managing philanthropic relationships with 200+ corporations, and partnering with JAG’s 80+ board members to execute their fundraising strategy.

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Summary of interview with Juan McGruder CFRE

Section 1: Introduction and early lessons
  • Key lessons learnt early on in Juan’s fundraising and development career
  • Reflecting on past successful fundraising campaigns to be involved in

 

Section 2: Capital campaign and major gifts
  • Reflecting on a successful capital campaign when in the position of Director of Development at Georgia Tech
  • The importance of pre-planning for executing an extensive strategy
  • Getting donors to invest in your mission and strategic plan
  • Lessons learnt from mistakes made along the way

 

Section 3: Fundraising at Junior Achievement of Georgia
  • Reflecting on the role of Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer at Junior Achievement of Georgia and how this role evolved over time
  • What areas of fundraising were most successful to the fundraising efforts of Junior Achievement of Georgia
  • What went into forming strong relationships with corporate partners

 

Section 4: Leadership and team building
  • Get an insight into Juan’s leadership style and how he gets the best out of his team
  • Goals and strategic planning for Juan’s new role as the Vice President for Advancement at Oglethorpe University
  • Understand where fundraising teams are missing opportunities to maximise their fundraising efforts
  • Where the focus should be for nonprofits and development teams in 2021

 

Section 5: Professional development for fundraisers
  • Serving on the Black Men in Development Panel through an important initiative with the AFP
  • How Juan’s involvement with the AFP has helped develop him as a fundraiser
  • Juan’s advice to aspiring fundraising leaders
  • Juan’s final advice to inspire and fulfil fundraisers

 

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