Connecting passion with purpose

In order to thrive in today’s philanthropic climate, organizations must invest in their advancement professionals, from fundraising essentials to executive coaching and everything between.

KDD Philanthropy offers virtual trainings, webinars and coaching services to support advancement teams of all sizes as they succeed in inspiring and securing generosity.

Our firm’s distinctive approach of empowering people and teams, while building clear and actionable plans, draws on its founder’s years of in-house leadership at some of the largest organizations in San Diego. During this time, Kathy Drucquer Duff developed deep expertise across the advancement spectrum, from alumni engagement and frontline fundraising to campaign management and executive leadership.

Clients of KDD Philanthropy consistently cite the firm’s ability to quickly assess their landscape, identify needs, engage with staff at a variety of levels and functions, and provide tools to build the individual and the culture, as keys to their success.

Learn how we can help you succeed today.

What Others Are Saying

Alison Metzger-Jones

External Relations Manager, College of Engineering, UC Davis

I attended yesterday’s How to Hone Your Success as a Unit Fundraising Lead webinar as well as today’s through Academic Impressions on overcoming objections. After some burnout on webinars, these are the first two I’ve attended in a few months, because the topics were so interesting, and you did not disappoint. I really enjoyed both, and learned so much that I can put to use immediately. I will definitely re-watch them as a refresher at some point as well. And I added a donor objections agenda item for our next team meeting.

Jennifer Parr Piercy

Assistant Dean for College Advancement, College of Natural Resources & Interim President, NC State Natural Resources Foundation, NC State University

I’ve been working with Kathy for almost two years. From the very first time we met, I’ve felt like she’s a coach who has my best interests at heart. She helps me advocate for myself and my team, ensuring our success, both personally and professionally, and she cares about the entire individual, not just our professional selves. … In our time together, we have covered a lot of ground and topics, including building a board/champion model and working with individuals, corporations and faculty. She’s also helped me with time and calendar management, managing up and down, leading a team, and being an interim assistant dean. One of the things I value most about Kathy is there has not been any topic I’ve thrown at her that she cannot handle. She always responds with amazing ideas, thoughts and suggestions.

Lisa Marshall

Chief Philanthropy Officer and Vice President of the Office of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations, Wake Forest Baptist Health

Kathy has worked with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Health on several occasions.  She has worked with major gift officers to assist them with strengthening their portfolios and cultivating new donors, and she has advised us about how to better leverage events and work with our philanthropic advisory boards. Kathy is very skilled at helping us with strategy and approach, but she’s also very skilled at translating that robust strategy to tactical actions. As a leader, I appreciate her clear thinking and analytical approach combined with down-to-earth tactical action. When we’ve talked with her about the key areas we want to address or challenges we face, she always does a great job of coming up with a program that’s well prepared to deliver in those areas.

Griffin Lamb

Assistant Dean for Development and College Relations, College of Engineering and Executive Director of the Engineering Foundation, NC State University

I hired Kathy because I was about 20 years into my advancement career and wanted to invest in my professional development in a different way. I interviewed three different coaches, and Kathy was the only one with the advancement experience that matched my needs. Kathy understood the challenges I faced and helped me adapt, shift my mindset and habits, and gave me very tangible ways to do that. … Kathy has deep and varied experience in advancement and she comes to her work with enthusiasm and energy. She is honest and doesn’t sugar coat, but also provides practical solutions and advice to help move forward through situations and challenges. Kathy wants to help people anchor in and make the profession better. She wants you to be successful and that comes across.

Kate H. Berry

Director of Major Gifts, High Point University

We brought Kathy to High Point University to provide training specific to frontline fundraising around closing major gifts and with our parent population. One of the things that is so impressive about Kathy is she works hard to tailor her training materials to the culture and circumstances of our campus. She worked hard to make it specific to High Point, and it was very helpful to have training scenarios and conversations that really fit what we were encountering daily in our work. As a result of her training, our team has increased their confidence around fundraising.

Elly Brown

Co-Executive Director, San Diego Food Systems Alliance

We worked with Kathy and Carol on their coaching service around fundraising. The years of experience they both bring to the fundraising is incredible. As a small nonprofit, we lack the in-house capacity and knowledge around fundraising. Their coaching sessions were not only immediately helpful for troubleshooting and moving our fundraising goals forward, it gave us the confidence to continue to persevere. In particular, the tools they provided and the five meeting model scenario sessions were incredibly helpful. Thank you Kathy and Carol for what you do!

Cathy Ferguson

Vice President, Praxeis

Kathy and Carol of KDD Philanthropy are experts in their field. Our Glenridge Charitable Foundation team works with their fundraising coaching services for several years and have found each session to be very helpful, informative, and empowering. Working with Carol has opened many possibilities for our future success as an organization, helping us to identify ways where we can make a positive difference through growth and change. We engage in discussions that guide us to discover and to affirm our organization’s purpose, focus and plan. We couldn’t ask for a better partnership.

Reid Ricciardi

Executive Director of Talent Management, University Advancement, NC State

NC State has worked with Kathy in a coaching and presentation capacity. Most recently, she led a safety discussion for our frontline fundraisers and engagement officers, and presented two sessions at our first Day of Education to advancement staff across the division. Kathy was very easy to work with, flexible and adaptable. Her goal was to make sure the content was as tailored and relevant to our university and culture. Working with Kathy was a true partnership. She made sure what she delivered would have the highest ROI and be received in the best way possible. Her delivery and approach is accessible to a wide range of people and audience. She has a demeanor that is personable and friendly, while also having the confidence and credibility from being an expert in the field. Kathy connects and relates to our team and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. She truly cares and that comes through in every way.

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