Testimonials
“Working with Advancement Partners on our first capital campaign in 20+ years was an exceptional experience. Don quickly felt like family—supportive, knowledgeable, and deeply committed to our mission. API provided a clear roadmap, strong guidance, and a thoughtful approach that helped us engage our community and move confidently toward an ambitious goal, strengthening our school’s future. What once felt overwhelming became achievable with their leadership. We’re grateful for their guidance and I would highly recommend them to any Catholic school preparing for a major initiative.”
Courtney Johnson
Executive Director
Pius X Foundation, Lincoln, NE
“We at De La Salle Collegiate are thrilled to share our gratitude for the exceptional work of Advancement Partners who guided us through our capital campaign and helped us raise more than $7 million. Their team is hard-working, honest, and deeply knowledgeable. They understand the unique mission and challenges of Catholic education, and their expertise gave us confidence at every step. There's a reason they've partnered with over 300 Catholic Schools - they bring experience, professionalism, and a true commitment to helping schools thrive. I highly recommend Advancement Partners to any Catholic institution looking for trusted, results-oriented counsel.”
Greg Esler
Advancement Director
De La Salle Collegiate, Warren, MI
“Advancement Partners, under Don Fairholm's strong leadership, provided invaluable assistance with our Capital Campaign. Don helped develop the strategy, provided the guidance, and assisted us with the execution of the process, which led to a very successful Capital Campaign.”
Patrick Arnold
Director of Advancement
Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, CA
“Never having created a strategic plan, I knew I needed a consulting team that had a well thought out, proven and developed process to guide us through both the discovery and implementation stages of the plan. By working with Advancement Partners, I've discovered that strategic planning is a fluid, continuous action. The added value that Advancement Partners provide is their long-term commitment to ensuring our success, as well as an in-depth knowledge of Catholic education and the challenges facing our institutions.”
Terrence J. Kenneally '67
President
Holy Name High School, Parma Heights, OH
“We are grateful for the expertise and guidance of Advancement Partners. Their strategic planning, deep understanding of Catholic secondary education, and disciplined approach to campaign management were instrumental in the success of our 2019 capital campaign, which strengthened our endowment and made possible the construction of a new fitness center. Our work together fostered a lasting partnership and friendship that we deeply value. The trust, professionalism, and mission-driven counsel they provided made it clear that Advancement Partners was the right choice once again as we prepare to launch our next capital campaign in 2026.”
Kurt Ruffing
Principal/CEO
Elder High School, Cincinnati, OH
“Advancement Partners has been great to work with and has helped Elder High School with both a strategic plan refresh and a capital and endowment campaign for the school's 100th anniversary. They guided us along the process with much expertise and their formula produced tremendous results. We did things we had not done in the past, especially with campaign events, which turned out to be highly successful in setting things up for "slam dunk" campaign solicitation appointments. The initial goal of $10M was increased multiple times and we ended up raising $18.2M…the highest amount ever raised at Elder. I would definitely recommend the Advancement Partners team for your school's fundraising needs.”
Tom Reiring
Development Director
Elder High School, Cincinnati, OH
“Advancement Partners has been critical to St. Catherine's success. They have been true partners with us as confidants, advisors and coaches for our Advancement Offce and me, personally. They bring an expertise and professionalism that is valuable to any Catholic school.”
Tim Weiss
Vice President for Advancement
St. Catherine's High School, Racine, WI
“Advancement Partners knows Catholic school fundraising. Their guidance and expertise got our school ready for a campaign while we were experiencing a leadership transition. Their proven step-by-step approach and training for staff and volunteers kept us on track and made our campaign a success; they also helped grow our annual fund. Advancement Partners brought our school to a whole new level of fundraising! If you want to raise more money for your mission, they are the partners you need.”
Rebecca Kolis
Chief Advancement Officer
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, St. Louis Park, MN
“Advancement Partners was hired to restructure our development operations, establish an annual fund and implement a capital campaign. That was a major undertaking over an 18 month period and with their help our advancement office has grown, our annual fund has been highly successful, and we are close to reaching our goal for the capital campaign. Advancement Partners have provided us with the framework and tools necessary to continue to build on our successes and their guidance was invaluable!”
Lisa Nilmeier
Former President
San Joaquin Memorial High School, Fresno, CA
“Advancement Partners has delivered the finest education and professional development for myself and my entire advancement team and most importantly, they provided the necessary guidance and leadership to infuse our entire school community with the confidence that our campaign would be a success.”
Dan Collins
Director of Advancement
Detroit Catholic Central High School, Novi, MI
“It has been a pleasure to work with Advancement Partners. They are knowledgeable professionals who carefully tailor their advice to the needs of a particular client. With their assistance, we have been able to not only set a vision for the future but also make strides in seeing that vision become a reality.”
Marian Hutson
Former Principal
Bishop Watterson High School, Columbus, OH
“Advancement Partners offered us a strategy that produced results. Moreover, we knew from the start that they cared. They talked about Rice being “our” school and “we” needed to attain “our” goal. Advancement Partners took ownership of the campaign and has become part of our school community. They want their campaigns to succeed!”
Monsignor Bernard Bourgeois
Principal
Rice Memorial High School, Burlington, VT