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Since founding Retriever Development Counsel, LLC in 1998, Kevin Johnson's consulting practice has evolved from jump-starting major and legacy gifts projects (86 in the last 11 years) to focus on coaching nonprofit leaders on how to be more effective in strategy, chart new directions, and build sustainable funding models.

About his work, Kevin says, "I look for patterns, people, and connections, and strive to determine how best to influence and connect them to accomplish larger objectives. When appropriate, I stand up and call for action. It has been my experience -- and perhaps this is major donor fundraising experience speaking -- that to empower others to take big strides gets larger, more lasting results in the long run."

He provides training, coaching, and strategic planning for nonprofit executives, boards, and volunteers located throughout western North America. Kevin helped nonprofit groups secure more than 500 legacy and major gifts valued at $90+ million and has helped establish or expand more than 88 major, legacy, and capital campaigns. His new book on legacy gifts and financial sustainability for small and mid-sized groups will be published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley in Spring 2010.

Nonprofit leaders often seek out Kevin when other consultants have not lived up to expectations or have been unable to produce the needed results: "My practice began focusing on legacy and estate gifts. Over time, more executive directors and board presidents asked me to coach them in capital campaigns and new strategic and fundraising initiatives; more often now I am asked to function as a leadership coach for nonprofit leaders."

A coaching client recently said of him, "Kevin is a great 'booster'. Not only does he make me feel like I can tackle what I need to do, he gives me to tools to do it and lets me know we can check in along the way if I need extra support." Another coaching client, an executive director, rated the last six months of monthly coaching sessions as a "9 of 10" saying "they helped me reflect using a different lens, looking at different ways to resolve situations; there are things I refer to constantly."

Kevin is professionally active regionally and nationally. He also contributes his expertise to the Oregon Community Foundation as a volunteer grant reviewer. Kevin is a member of the Planned Giving Mentor national advisory board, and is an invited speaker at regional and national conferences. In a 2008 workshop presented at a national conference, the editor of a national Canadian publication described his presentation on measuring success and linking outcomes to strategic objectives and fundraising as "the best he had heard on the topic in his 17 years as an editor." Kevin is a current member and past president of the Northwest Planned Giving Roundtable; a current member and past board member of the Oregon Association of Fundraising Professionals, and a past member of the Board of Trustees of Goddard College. He is also a current board member of TACS, a consulting, research and training organization providing Oregon nonprofits with tools they need.

He established his financial acumen early, receiving a BA in Banking and Economics from Goddard College that included a thesis focused on the groundbreaking work of South Shore Bank. He later earned designations as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) at the Institute for Philanthropic Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Recently, he completed the nationally recognized Coaches Training Institute "Coaching Training" series, a 6-month long professional training program.

Kevin has lived and traveled all over the West. Prior to living in Portland, he lived in northern California, Arizona, and rural Washington, where he built an all-solar, self-sufficient homestead complete with orchard, horses, dogs, cats, and chickens. While living in the woods he built a 2,000 person environmental citizens action group that was acknowledged nationally for its work.

Additional background:

In the role of executive director, he helped a large children's service organization get back on track, serving 12,000 children; as the acting deputy director of a federal center for management training, he helped it make the shift to a manager-centered training program annually serving more than 6,000 managers in residential and on-site programs and an additional 18,000 managers through distance learning programs; as a consultant, he helped create strategic plans, and raise venture capital starting three high tech companies.

Projects he organized have been featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine, in a full-length story in Time magazine, several times on the front page of USA Today, on CNN, and on NBC's Today Show.