Rita Fuerst Adams, CFRE

Rita Fuerst Adams, CFREPresident
Charitable and Philanthropic Management Counsel
257 Bolton Street
South Boston, Massachusetts 02127-1303

617-268-4960, telephone
617-268-4961, facsimile
rita1st@worldnet.att.net

Professional Experience
Twenty-five years experience in management, fundraising, government relations, and market research, most gained in the service of charitable and philanthropic organizations. Knowledgeable about lobbying, international relations, US state and federal laws and regulations as they relate to charity and charitable organizations, and comparable laws and regulations in other countries.

1997-Present, President
Charitable and Philanthropic Management Counsel
• Teaches and counsels volunteers and staff in setting and achieving goals.
• Provides management, organizational development, and fundraising development counsel for not-for-profit organizations dedicated to education, arts, historic preservation, health care, community and economic development, international relations, and professional and civic associations.
• Works with volunteers to start new charitable and philanthropic organizations.
• Teaches volunteers and staffs of established organizations how to start full-range development programs.
• Coaches experienced fundraising volunteers and staff in revitalizing existing development programs and structure and direct campaigns.

1996-1997: Director of Development
American Councils for International Education, Washington, DC
• Restructured legal organization and created Board of Trustees.
• Solicited international businesses and foundations.
• Developed and installed prospect research system.

1994-1996: President
The Bill Heim Company, Granville, Ohio
• Designed and directed contribution campaigns for operating, endowment, deferred/planned giving, and building funds.
• Conducted campaigns for goals of $1,000,000 to $450,000,000, often exceeding goals by as much as 30%.
• Counseled boards of trustees and senior staff on management and development, especially in their fundraising roles, for organizations with operating budgets of $10,000 to $1,500,000,000.
• Began new charitable and philanthropic organizations, including writing bylaws, establishing the record systems and financial accounting systems, hiring staff, and writing and implementing policies and procedures.

1981-1994: Vice President
The Bill Heim Company, Granville, Ohio
• Designed and installed prospect research systems.
• Wrote and edited solicitation letters, proposals, brochures, newsletters, and pledge cards for membership and annual and capital contributions campaigns.
• Developed the Company”s feasibility study into a market research study
• Established planned giving programs.
• Prepared public relations and marketing plans.

1978 to 1990: Independent Consultant
Marketing Services, Columbus, Ohio
• Planned, budgeted, and administered the advertising, marketing, and public relations programs for retail clients.
• Managed and conducted marketing and media studies for industrial, consumer, and utility clients.

1976 to 1978: Communications Specialist
Ohio Health Care Association, Columbus, Ohio
• Conducted and expanded trade association”s communication, education, and member evaluation programs.

Professional Affiliations
• Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, member
• Association of Fundraising Professionals, member
• Association of Fundraising Professionals, Massachusetts Chapter, past Director, past Chair of the Government Relations Committee, and member.

Volunteer Experience
• Organized the team leading the effort to introduce a charitable contribution deduction in Massachusetts. Signed into law in 2000. Legislature overturned in 2002.
• Past Member, Attorney General”s Advisory Committee on Public Charities, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Past Chair, Government Relations Committee, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Massachusetts Chapter.
• Past Director, Association of Fundraising Professionals , Massachusetts Chapter
• Past Member of Government Affairs, International Relations, and Membership Committees of American Association of Fund Raising Counsel, Inc.
• Former Trustee, Ohio 4-H Foundation.
• Former Trustee and Big Sister, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Licking County.
• Founding Member and Past President and Trustee, Hills of Ohio Chapter, Association of Fundraising Professionals.
• Honored by Hills of Ohio Chapter with initiation of Fuerst Award for Outstanding Community Leader; first awarded November 1996.

Presentation
• Taught at the Management and Community Development Institute at Tufts.
• Represented the Lincoln Filene Center at the international meeting of CIVICUS held in the Philippines.
• Spoke at the invitation-only, National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise inaugural event.

Publications
• Author, After SOX. The Implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for Institutions and affiliated foundations, CURRENTS, published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, March 2004.
• Author, Advocating for Our Contributors, Journal of the DMA Nonprofit Federation, published by the Direct Marketing Association, November 2000.
• Author, A Reason to Give: Massachusetts Considers a State Tax Deduction for Charitable Gifts, CONNECTION, published by the New England Board of Higher Education, Spring 2000.
• Author, Mastering the Maze: A Guide to the Labyrinth of Laws that Regulate Campus Fund Raisers, CURRENTS, published by the
• Author, Dilemma of Contingent Gifts, Exempt Organization Tax Review, January 1997.
• Editor and Author, What Fundraisers Need to Know About State and Federal Regulation: How It Can Influence All Aspects of Their Work, published by the Center on Philanthropy and Jossey-Bass, 1996.
• Co-author, Endowment Giving for Parishes of the Episcopal Church and Prospect Research and Management System: A Market Research and Management Program for Nonprofit Organizations.
• Author, States Step Up Oversight, Foundation Focus, Volume I, Number 3, Fall 1995.

Education
• Ohio University, Athens, Ohio: BS in Journalism, 1976.
• Capital University, Columbus, Ohio: Master of Business Administration, 1983.
• Association of Fundraising Professionals, Certified Fund Raising Executive since 1987.