Gary Cole

Dr. Gary Cole is a nationally recognized philanthropic strategist and fundraising coach, and serves as Chief Development Officer for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation and Institute.

A 28-year fundraising veteran, his areas of special expertise include major gift fundraising, planned giving, campaign planning and management, comprehensive program analysis, nonprofit organizational leadership, donor marketing and engagement, fundraising practitioner coaching, and board/volunteer training. 

In his service to the nonprofit sector, Gary has played an integral role in building dynamic fundraising teams and programs as well as directing and providing counsel to campaigns ranging from $1 Million to $1 Billion. Gary has held executive leadership and C-Level positions within the nation's oldest fundraising consultancy as well as independent school, higher education, and pediatric healthcare environments. A practitioner-scholar in organized philanthropy, Gary is a proponent of lifelong learning and frequently publishes white papers and presents at conferences on the changing nature of organized philanthropy in America. As a former member of the faculty of St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, he taught a graduate course in Resource Management covering topics such as nonprofit finance and accounting, human resource management, strategic planning, and the deployment of technology in accomplishing organizational goals.