Andy Coe

Principal

I was fortunate to stumble into my nonprofit fundraising career at 26 years old. My first fundraising effort was to raise $2 million to expand Great Bear Recreation Park in Sioux Falls, SD. The challenge was daunting; however, we were able to finish over goal, under budget, and on time. The feeling of accomplishment was unlike anything I’d ever experienced and became especially poignant after visiting the park years later and seeing the smiling faces of everyone enjoying the park.

Realizing that I had the ability to earn a living doing something I enjoyed while making a difference in people’s live motivated me to continue in fundraising and ultimately become a Principal with Convergent. I couldn’t imagine a more fulfilling and personally rewarding career.

With more than 20 years of for-profit and nonprofit experience, Andy is a highly skilled, well-respected, and exceptionally versatile professional. He is an equity principal of Convergent Nonprofit Solutions, a national consultancy focused on developing sustainable funding strategies and raising capital for organizations looking to improve involvement and investment from their constituencies. Andy’s primary responsibility with Convergent is to create opportunities for the firm to apply its unique philosophy about fundraising – known as “Asking Rights™” – which includes a practical approach to working with executive and volunteer leadership to create short- and long-term goals that are ambitious but obtainable and always outcomes-based.

Having co-owned a multi-site small business and led the sales and marketing efforts for a global, multi-million dollar aerospace corporation, Andy understands that attention to detail, clear communication, tenacity, and resourcefulness are critical components to any successful endeavor. His ability to navigate the nuances of internal and external situational pressures has made him a favorite with clients, which leads them to refer him to others in their network and seek him out again for additional projects.

Summary of Experience

• Personally responsible for thousands of investment requests; more than $60 million raised for organizations that are positively impacting local, regional, national, and international communities.
• Involved in successful fundraising efforts in eighteen states spanning the country from Florida to Washington.
• Frequent conference speaker and author on topics related to economic and workforce development fundraising.
• Alumni, Leadership Cary (NC) Chamber of Commerce (2013).
• North Carolina Director, Southern Economic Development Council Board of Directors (2015-2017).
• Board member and membership chair, University of South Florida Alumni Association.
• Past board member and marketing/fundraising liaison, Virgin Islands Montessori School (St. Thomas).
• BA in Marketing and MBA from the University of South Florida.