mary butler coleman
NONPROFIT CONSULTANT
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Strategies to empower executive directors, board members, and community leaders toward professional
and programmatic growth.
FUNDRAISING & DONOR RELATIONS
Insights to drive results and ensure your mission resonates with current and future supporters.
GRANT WRITING
Grant-writing services and internal systems development to equip teams for navigating the RFP process with ease.
ADVOCACY & SYSTEMS CHANGE
Tailored blueprints to foster student growth and community thriving through the lens of diversity, racial equity, and reconciliation.
ABOUT MARY
For over 20 years, I have served schools and nonprofits that equip young people for their future. Given that my college education was disrupted for financial reasons, my professional trajectory makes sense. That lived experience - in the words of Langston Hughes - has been a dream deferred, a heavy load. Yet it has also fueled my determination to ensure students have access to whatever they may need to reach their goals.
This journey has taken me from Princeton, to prep schools, and to public housing. I have taught college students in the shadow of UVA's Rotunda. I have secured financial investments from CEOs of multi-million-dollar companies. Even still, I have been most honored to walk with children and parents who have both limited financial means and unlimited potential. Through advocacy, thoughtful donor stewardship, and programmatic excellence, I have been at the forefront of youth development and nonprofit leadership in the following roles:
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Senior Executive Advisor, Rise Richmond, 2024
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Interim Executive Director, Chesterfield Education Foundation, 2023
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Development Director/Executive Director, City of Promise, 2017-2023
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Director of Institutional Advancement, The Covenant School, 2012-2016
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Director of Donor Relations, Woodberry Forest School, 2005-2012​​​​