Direct Response / Annual Giving
Resume:
Joseph A. Ferraro, CFRE
*********@*****.***
Pulse Marketing, Development & Communications
Strategy Consultant
**** – current
Deliver donor-focused and relationship-centric strategic fundraising solutions with proven results, generating millions of dollars in income for important life—and planet-saving missions
Create comprehensive marketing solutions that dovetail with the client’s current marketing efforts using all interaction streams, including mail, phone, web, email, and space ads, to build effective fundraising and branding programs.
Develop over-arching strategies and lead a collaborative process.
Direct projects from the initiating stages through planning and execution, and finally close; improve donor participation and income by implementing results-based direct response activities.
Collaborate with clients to define and streamline roadmaps connecting organizations with donor constituents and develop lasting relationships forged by honesty, trust, and reputation.
The Jackson Laboratory (JAX)
Director, Direct Response Fundraising & Social Outreach
2018 – 2020
Accelerated profile and awareness of the organization through expanded national direct response and omnichannel outreach by launching the Another Sunny Day Initiative – a comprehensive year-plus long hi-touch donor-focused and relationship-centric annual fund campaign targeting donors with gifts up to $100k.
Conceived, constructed, and implemented mid-to-major donor-giving clubs within the annual fund (Helix Fund- Signature Societies) with a graduated benefits structure for donors with annual cumulative giving from $1k to $100k.
Critical team leader as an Advancement Strategic Planning Committee member charged with setting future strategic priorities/direction in preparation for the most extensive capital campaign in the organization's history.
Generated $2 million in annual revenues, which increased new donors by 177% and $1000+ donors by 15%.
Manhattan College
Director of Development
2003 – 2007
Oversaw all operations and managed a team of 12 to raise more than $3MM in unrestricted giving and tens of millions of dollars in restricted giving annually.
Created, directed, and strategized the marketing and promotional materials for fundraising outreach operations while unifying annual, planned, corporate/foundation, and event giving programs.
Launched the first-ever Annual Fund branded outreach campaign, “Fund for Manhattan,” that increased donor funds and drove more media attention toward the college.
American Bible Society
Director of Annual Programs
1996 – 2002
Successfully raised over $125MM in 5 years through restructuring efforts and launching national branding campaigns, including the “Crusade of Light,” a pre-capital campaign that garnered numerous industry awards.
Increased response rates by over 400% and facilitated the reduced donor age by more than 15 years.
Built and managed strategic partnerships and identified new business ventures and industry alliances to advance the company’s business objectives, revenue goals, and product strategy.
Integrated multi-separate departments with individual directors into a single department with different functioning groups, leading to a cost savings of more than $425K.
Surpassed departmental income budget goals each fiscal year ($22 million in 2001), reversing previous downward trends in income production.
Uni-Mail Fund Raising
Director
1992 – 1996
Directed exceptional comprehensive direct response marketing services, including list brokerage and management, analysis, package copy, design, production, data processing, campaign formulation, and house file maintenance to generate millions of dollars in billings and tens of millions of dollars in donations annually.
Secured through sales and referrals, many of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations’ accounts, such as the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Red Cross, and the ALS Association, among others.
Launched the first-ever comprehensive national fundraising campaign for Make-A-Wish Foundation to attract over 250,000 new donors in its first year.
Walter Karl Fund Raising
Account Executive
1989 – 1992
Managed fundraising campaigns targeting over 100 million donors annually, raising over $75 million.
Researched, pitched, and secured a highly coveted multi-million-dollar mega-mailer account as the largest division-wide client acquisition in the calendar year.
Managed team of this industry-leading direct response fundraising agency providing complete direct response fundraising services.
Certified Fundraising Executive
MS, Nonprofit Management - New School University
BS (BBA) Marketing & Computer Information Systems - Manhattan College
Joseph A. Ferraro, CFRE
Fundraising/Marketing/Communications/Campaign Strategist &
Direct Response Storytelling Enthusiast
Recently, Joe was the Director of Direct Response Fundraising and Social Outreach at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and was responsible for building and developing a new comprehensive direct response strategy and executing to deliver over $2.5 million in income through The Helix Fund, utilizing all outreach methodologies including mail, email, phone, social, and text, among others. With particular emphasis on digital outreach and building mid-to-high level donor giving societies (The Helix Fund Signature Societies) and feeding the pipeline with planned-giving prospects by accelerating growth of monthly donors through the Catalyst Circle, Joe also provided collaborative support for all major/leadership/principal/planned gift officers’ outreach. Serving on multiple cross-functional teams, Joe’s experience had an outsized impact throughout the strategic communications and advancement functions.
Currently, and before serving at JAX, Joe founded the fundraising and communications consultancy PULSE Marketing, Development & Communications [PULSE-MDC] to help nonprofit organizations create comprehensive donor-focused and relationship-centric integrated marketing/fundraising programs that deliver breakthrough thinking and breakout results. This included building new programs from scratch and driving new direct response initiatives that generated millions of dollars of income for clients.
Before his consulting work, Joe spent over ten years on the client side, including as Director of Development at Manhattan College. Joe consistently increased income -- raising millions of dollars annually through direct response, special events, and personal cultivation techniques.
Before Manhattan College, Joe was the President and National Director of the U.S. Office of the Aid to the Church in Need – an international Catholic relief agency under the Vatican. Additionally, Joe served as the Director of Annual Programs at the American Bible Society, creating and leading the team and all strategy and execution related to rebuilding the program to increase the donor file by over 300% -- from 190,000 to 600,000 in three years and surpassing income goals each fiscal year -- over $20 million annually. While at the American Bible Society, Joe launched many ground-breaking programs to expand monthly, middle-donor, and entry-major donors, including the Crusade of Light, that generated breakthrough results and garnered numerous industry awards.
Joe has raised over $300 million and built new fundraising entities throughout his career. He got his start in fundraising on the agency side with Walter Karl Fund Raising in the 1980s and built the fundraising division for Uni-Mail List Corp. in the 1990s. Over the years, he has provided comprehensive fundraising services to over a hundred nonprofit organizations, including many of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations, including the American Heart Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, St. Joseph’s Indian School, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, American Lung Association, American Red Cross among others.
Joe earned his CFRE credential in 1994 and his Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from The New School in 1995. He has frequently spoken at industry events and published articles in periodicals such as the NonProfit Times and DM News.
Joe recently concluded 12 years of service as an elected member and Vice-President of the Putnam Valley Central School District Board of Education and currently serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Putnam Valley Free Library and the Stone's Throw Theatre Company.
With decades of experience, Joe has provided fundraising expertise to numerous nonprofit organizations either as a staff member or as a consultant/partner, including:
Aid to the Church in Need – USA
ALS Association
American Bible Society
American Heart Association
American Lung Association – National/Chapters
American Red Cross
American Voluntary Medical Team
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Town of Missouri
CARE
Catholic Campaign for America
Catholic Charities CYO
Culinary Institute of America
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Disabled American Veterans
Family Links
Goodwill Industries
Hospice of Northern Virginia
Hospital for Special Surgery
Hudson Valley Hospital Center
The Jackson Laboratory
John Wayne Cancer Center
Lend-A-Paw Animal Relief Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation of America
Manhattan College
Mercy Home for Boys and Girls
Muscular Dystrophy Association
National Easter Seal Society
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Public TV and Radio – Various
Local/Regional Political-Issue Campaigns
Ronald McDonald House Charities - Various
Salvation Army - Various
Shelter Against a Violent Environment (SAVE)
Albert Schweitzer Association
St. Joseph’s Indian School
St. Louis Science Center
St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center Foundation
Southwest Indian Foundation
United States Golf Association
U.S. Committee for UNICEF
Italics - Staff Position
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