Building a Unified Philanthropy Team at University of Maryland Medicine
When a newly created role required overseeing philanthropy across two major institutions, Shanna provided the strategic partnership needed to align teams, support new leadership, and bridge organizational differences while maintaining fundraising momentum.
Services used:
Leadership Advisory, Executive Team Coaching, New Leader Onboarding, Team Retreat
“Shanna is my one-stop shop for mentoring, coaching, team development, thoughtful strategic advice, and encouragement. She’s well-versed in fundraising and understands the nuanced environments, challenges, and opportunities facing us because she’s been in similar situations herself. We’ve had a successful fundraising year and much of what we’ve been able to accomplish correlates to the support provided to us by Shanna.”
– Heather Culp, Chief Philanthropy Officer, University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy
Opportunity
In 2023, University of Maryland Medicine Chief Philanthropy Officer Heather Culp started in a newly created role overseeing philanthropy for both the University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland Baltimore's School of Medicine. She wanted a thought partner to help her navigate this unique and complex role as well as develop and align a cohesive team between the two entities that could drive fundraising success.
Solution
Heather hired Shanna to be the strategic advisor and sounding board she could turn to as she faced various challenges and opportunities in her role. After hiring two senior leaders, Heather engaged Shanna to provide leadership coaching to ensure they had the support they needed to onboard successfully. Shanna also provided executive team coaching to help support and align the leaders in their management of one cohesive group.
Results for the Chief Philanthropy Officer:
Focus on incremental gains and maintaining momentum
New strategies for navigating the complexities of a unique role
Staying focused on the bigger picture rather than getting bogged down by individual challenges
Peace of mind from having a trusted partner to turn to
Results for the New Senior Leadership Team:
Successful onboarding into new roles, achieving more in six months than would have been possible without support
Developing leadership skills while working through challenges
More purposeful engagement with the CPO
Better collaboration around individual responsibilities and lock-step coordination to aid team success