9 Years Later. Now What?
In 2017, I started MCW Projects because I saw the Great Wealth Transfer coming.
As a fundraiser, I was hearing directly—and often quite bluntly—from rising generations about how differently they viewed nonprofits, philanthropy, and the cultural sector from their elders. Something fundamental was shifting, and I wanted to help the field get ahead of it.
I've spent nearly a decade thinking about what happens when wealth, power, influence, and philanthropy change hands.
Well, here we are.
And here's what I know:
The Great Wealth Transfer is not just a fundraising opportunity. It is a massive leadership opportunity.
And I don't think the nonprofit sector is talking about it that way. Yet.
What we should be talking about is:
What happens when wealth moves faster than organizational culture?
What happens when institutions are still operating with management, governance, and fundraising models built for another era?
Because these are not hypothetical questions anymore.
In my work with nonprofit executives, boards, and teams, I've seen firsthand that fundraising and institutional challenges are often leadership challenges. A strategic plan doesn't automatically create alignment. A campaign doesn't magically build leadership capacity. And new donors won't fix outdated ways of operating—why would they invest in them?
The work is more human, and more organizational, than that.
Take my partnerships with Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Artadia. At Kemper, executive coaching and board-level strategy strengthened confidence, decision-making, and alignment through organizational transition. At Artadia, coaching and collaborative strategic planning created a living framework to guide priorities, resources, and programs. The strategy matters. The capacity to lead it matters more.
This is where my practice has evolved. I expanded my executive coaching program in 2023 because I knew that positioning institutions for this era of philanthropy meant doubling down on developing the people guiding them, too.
Today, my work across executive coaching, organizational strategy, governance, and philanthropy is interconnected, all focused on equipping people to drive change, not just react to it.
Because you can't transform an institution without investing in its leaders.
So, nine years later, we are IN it. The question is no longer how philanthropy will change. It's whether our institutions—and the people tasked with shaping them—are prepared to change with it.
I’d love to continue the conversation with you. Please reply to this email or reach out anytime.