American Philanthropy Continues to Excel

Brilliant, thank you!

Russ is a positive influence on our meetings either way. In person is always preferred but I completely understand if that is not possible. Having his objective practical is far more important than I would have thought when I started this adventure.

The Hodge Group brought tremendous insight and philanthropic strategies to customize our capital campaign. From the development of a strategic plan and through the feasibility study, The Hodge Group continued to guide our team with valuable assistance for writing the case statement, creating a realistic timeline, identifying donors, training board volunteers all the way to the finish line with donor recognition and campaign celebrations. The Hodge Group was committed to the success of our campaign, delivering high energy and professional support. It was a joy to work with Russ Hodge and The Hodge Group.

Camp Siloam had been talking about raising funds for a new dining hall for 20 years. In 2008, a failed attempt at raising funds for the dining hall had left the board of directors hesitant about hiring a consultant again for the project. I had never taken on a $3.4 million campaign. Camp Siloam had no development strategy and we needed advice on how to build fundraising capacity. I needed someone to come alongside me and be my coach. As I asked around for advice on consultants what I heard time after time was "you need a consultant you enjoy working with."

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Russ and Curt. They applied the proper pressure points to move us forward and they were understanding about the limitations of having to juggle the operations of the camp while fundraising. They are very professional and reliable. They have delivered all that they said they would deliver. Our campaign has been a success and I have had so much fun raising money with Curt and Russ. I consider them friends and I think you will too.

Russ Hodge was a great partner for our strategic planning process. We needed a skilled and objective facilitator who could get our board and staff members engaged and enthused about providing their input into developing our three-year plan and Russ delivered. He knew just when to let the discussion go and when to rein it in. Russ had great insights into how we could add more value for our members. I would highly recommend Russ and his colleague Curt Reph as partners in developing an organizational strategic plan.

We’ve been very successful at keeping our administration costs at a minimum, and this is one of the most appealing factors of the foundation when we find new benefactors. With the help of The Hodge Group, we have streamlined some of the processes so that I can say that in light of the last seven years, even though the fund has become considerably larger, the work required of over the last year has actually gotten easier.