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I have known Rita for nearing two decades. Our relationship and conversations have been consistently mutually supportive. She has both academic (research, writing) and professional (counseling, advising, managing) experience.
She has setup, fleshed out and fully developed nonprofit organizations as well as managed and represented campaigns. As a fundraising professional, Rita has given equivalent if not greater attention to the need and perspective of all, but especially principal and major donors. She understands their needs and, with her background in planned giving and gift planning knows well their choices and options.
Moreover, Rita has written on gifting and granting and worked toward establishing a deduction for charitable gifts in Massachusetts. And, as a donor and trustee serving on boards, she understands how donors are more than money.
Finally, let me add that since I first met Rita Fuerst Adams, she has been engaging, thoughtful, nimble, substantive and a great person to know and call “friend.”
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Dean Schooler
The Schooler Family Foundation
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I worked closely with Rita on a re-branding project for the National Parents Organization. She did a fantastic job of coordinating numerous volunteers, objectives and activities to make the project a success. I was impressed with her ability to bring together a team of people with different backgrounds and capabilities, use resources effectively, and most importantly, deliver an excellent outcome for the organization.
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Dan Enthoven
Vice President, Marketing at Enkata
Provided pro bono branding consulting to National Parents Organization
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As a member of the board of the California affiliate of National Parents Organization, I worked closely with Rita on developing strategies for increasing our membership, more effective public outreach, and getting reform bills introduced into the state legislature. Rita’s great leadership and organizational skills made it possible for our volunteer board to accomplish goals that at first appeared to be out of reach. |
Lee Miller
Professor at College of San Mateo
Member, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of California
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When I reached out to Rita, it was to tell her that National Parents Organization‘s old website and name did not portray the image needed. She promptly responded and told me about her grand plan to build a national advocacy organization improving the lives of children through shared parenting and gender equality. I became part of her team to implement her plan to build affiliates in every state and enlist volunteers dedicated to making legislative change. Rita is the driving force that has built this national organization and brought together the talented people needed.
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Kevin Hughes
Technology Program Executive
Designed and created website for National Parents Organization
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Rita is an incredible asset for leadership and development in a non-profit organization. Her attention to detail, breadth of experience and knowledge, and ability to bring disparate opinions to the same conclusion are outstanding. Rita is straight-forward and fair, and always has the health and vibrancy of the organization at heart in all that she does. |
Curtis Vandermolen
Public Policy and Legislative Process Consultant
Member, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of California
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Rita’s knowledge and passion gave me the impetus to found the New York affiliate of The National Parents Organization. Her ability to organize and inspire volunteers, and more importantly, maintain relationships with those volunteers, is phenomenal. As Chair of the Executive Committee for NPO, NY, I have found Rita’s experience and responsiveness to be invaluable. Under her direction, our affiliate has developed goals both modest and ambitious and has begun to see them come to fruition. |
Chris Howard
Fabrication Manager at Frost Productions NY
Chair, Executive Committee
National Parents Organization of NY
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Charitable & Philanthropic Management Counsel’s Rita Fuerst Adams has special abilities, built upon extensive experience, to guide organizations, to management policies and practices that will bring success.
Among American, professional counsel, companies, she is exceptional in her interest and ability in serving — and growing — new and emerging organizations, including those which have or need affiliates. |
William G. Heim, 1926-2013
Founder and Chair, The Bill Heim Company
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“We had the privilege of being mentored by Rita during our year-long fellowship at Boston Cares Civic Leadership Institute. Our mission was to understand fundraising and philanthropy concepts, and translate those ideas in ways to help the Boston community, which we did through a series of workshops. Rita's wisdom, enthusiasm and commitment to our project went above and beyond what was expected of the mentor role — she became an important part of our team and a true friend. Rita is dedicated to philanthropy and the growth of mission-based work, and her generosity with her time and knowledge enabled us to reach our goals.”
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Rachel, Tracy, Emma, Carrie and Jess
Boston Cares Civic Leadership Institute Team
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“I have known and worked with Rita for over 15 years in various related nonprofit settings including religious, social services and higher education. Her expertise whether as fund raising counsel for two successful campaigns or as a resource for questions, trends, networking etc. in the area of philanthropy, Rita and her company CPM has always provided valuable and usable insight and direction. When I need to find an answer in this exciting field in which we work — I call Rita.” |
Rev. Jerry L. Schafer, CFRM
Development Officer — Major Gifts
Muskingum University
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“In 2002, I was the regional representative charged with finding a fundraising specialist to help the National Cued Speech Association develop strategy, learn how to effectively start fundraising to support our growing organization and to help us accomplish the goals we wanted to accomplish. I found Rita online through the Association of Fundraising Professionals referral website, and I liked what she had to say and to offer. I invited her to our next board meeting. She gave such an effective presentation that we hired her to consult with us. Rita went above and beyond her obligations and helped us revamp our core fundamentals, our Mission, Vision, and Goals of our work, cause, and strategy.
These three items have not changed in a decade, and I cannot see them changing for a very long time as they are solid and seemingly impenetrable. With that foundation established, she was vital in training board members to be effective communicators, fundraisers, and advocates. I wonder what our economic situation would be like in this lean year had it not been for Rita's keen insight and expertise. I still have all the notes, and I just have to remind myself of what she said to me once — ‘Know your constituency.’ This knowledge is recyclable with each turnover of old and new members of the Board. It keeps on giving!”
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Joshua Libby
Current President
National Cued Speech Association
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“Rita gave us the guidance we needed to turn ourselves from a living room organization into a national advocacy group with over 50,000 members. For the first five years after we retained her, our revenues grew 50% per year.” |
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Fathers & Families
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“South Shore Mental Health Center, Inc. has recently opened the Mollie Hirshberg Learning Center for our Step One Early Intervention Program. We renovated a 6,000 foot building that provides a comfortable and inviting environment for our infants and toddlers with developmental delays and their families. Step One Early Intervention Program provides evaluation; education; speech and physical therapy services to children, birth to age three, who are developmentally delayed.
Rita Fuerst Adams was instrumental in the development and implementation of our strategy to raise the funds necessary to make this dream a reality. Rita provided consistent and effective guidance and direction assuring that our staff including the CEO stayed the course to achieve our objectives and benchmarks throughout the two year campaign we called ‘Building Blocks to the Future,’”
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Harry Shulman
President and CEO
South Shore Mental Health Center, Inc.
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