Hi, I’m Tanja Sarett, M.A., CFRE. I’m a senior nonprofit and fundraising consultant, facilitator, trainer, and executive coach. I’ve worked in the nonprofit and foundation field for more than 25 years in the United States, Europe, and Israel. My expertise (and passion!) and consulting work include increasing nonprofit innovation, effectiveness, and revenue. 

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I have developed a real love for, and specialty in, these areas: major gifts strategies, major donor identification (prospect research, wealth and philanthropic screenings), moves management, donor engagement, capital campaigns, online fundraising campaigns, and transatlantic fundraising. 

I’ve also grown to love the field of facilitation - which began when I worked with youth charities in Germany and has expanded in my work in the US. When the pandemic hit, I began to lead and design virtual training sessions for fundraising professionals and organizational leaders from all over the world on how to engage donors and others in the virtual space. I bring to my work a wide range of collaborative and creative techniques, platforms, and tools from IDEO Design Thinking, Liberating Structures, the Technology of Participation, and the Agile community. 

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In my consulting career, I’ve worked with veteran nonprofit and fundraising experts. Since 2017, I’ve been a Managing Director for Carter-Advancing Philanthropy Worldwide, led by Bob Carter, former President of Ketchum Inc. and Senior Advisor to the Omnicom Nonprofit Group and Changing Our World. In addition, I took on a senior consultant position with Amplify Partners in 2018. I founded Synergies in Philanthropy Consulting in 2018 to create synergies between fundraising, facilitation, training, coaching and bring innovative and cutting-edge techniques from the corporate world into the world of fundraising. 

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Before my consulting career, I served as a Program Officer at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, a major international foundation. As a senior member of the fundraising team, I maximized the philanthropist’s multi-million-dollar investment and spearheaded growth, fundraising, and communication strategies to strengthen the foundation and its flagship program PJ Library. Previously, I was Executive Director of a Holocaust Museum in New York, where I revitalized its fundraising, marketing, finance, and program operations. My career path includes fundraising and leadership positions with JASA, The Abraham Initiative, The International March of the Living, DGB Youth in Munich, and The Dachau International Youth Meeting.

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I believe in participating in my many communities, and am a member of the AFP Fundraising Day in N.Y. team and an alumna of the “Jewish Conversation”, a program by the Jewish Week/70 Faces Media, and the lead designer and facilitator of the Virtual Conversation team. 

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I have worked with clients including Amud Aish Memorial Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Amudim, New York, NY; Barenboim-Said Foundation USA, New York, NY (Daniel-Barenboim Stiftung, Berlin); Central Council of American Rabbis, New York, NY; Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte, NC; the Chaiken Family Foundation, CA; JAFI, Jerusalem, Israel; the Jewish Week/70 Faces Media, New York, NY; JEVS Human Services, Philadelphia, PA; JFNA, New York, NY; Resilient Retreat, Sarasota, FL; the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Dallas, TX; the Schaffhausen Institute of Technology, Schaffhausen, Switzerland; and the St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Bradenton, FL, and other charities and nonprofit organizations. 

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I am a life-long learner with curiosity and interest in advancing as a professional and consultant and bringing new tools, methodologies. and approaches into my work and clients. I graduated with an M.A. in political science from the University in Munich (LMU) and received a diploma in Public Relations from the Bavarian Academy of Advertising and Marketing.

 

My learning journey has included: 

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Fundraising and Philanthropy

• Boardsource, Certificate in Nonprofit Board Consulting

• 21/64, New York, NY. Certified 21/64 Multigenerational Giving Advisor

• AFP HQ, Arlington, VA. Faculty Training Academy (AFP Master Trainer)

• ​CFRE International, Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) Credential

• New York University, New York, NY. Certificate in Philanthropy and Fundraising

 

Facilitation and Organizational Processes

• International Association of Facilitators (IAF), EndorsedTM Facilitator Designation

• Scrum Inc, Certified Scrum Master

• Institute for International Facilitation, Certified Virtual Facilitator

• Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) Associates, Toronto, Certificate in Technology of Participation (ToP) Facilitation Essentials

• Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Certificate in Change Management

• Support Center for Nonprofit Management, New York, NY. Certificate in Management and Supervision

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IDEO

• IDEO U, Certificates in Foundations in Design Thinking and Advanced Design Thinking

• IDEO U, Certificate in Foundations in Creative Leadership

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Coaching

• Center for Executive Coaching, Certified Executive Coach 

• Center for Executive Coaching, Mentor Coaching Program

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Research and Survey Methodology

• University of Maryland, Certificate in Framework for Data Collection and Analysis

• University of Michigan, Certificate in Data Collection: Online, Telephone and Face-to-Face

• University of Michigan, Certificate in Questionnaire Design for Social Surveys

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