Christopher Shields

Experience

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  Northwestern Memorial Hospital

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1994

  Prospect Research Manager

  Reported on prospects for campaign. Initiated database screening and managed importing of results. Upgraded resources for research. Managed staff of two.

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  Northwestern Memorial Hospital

  Jan 1995 - Jan 1997

  Managed fund-raising budget process, accounting, and administrative functions. Oversaw production of final report on $108 million capital campaign. Managed staff of five. Oversaw accounting for campaign and annual fund, database administration, and prospect research. Managed staff of four.

  • Director of Foundation Operations

    Jan 1996 - Jan 1997

  • Manager of Foundation Accounting and Prospect Research

    Jan 1995 - Jan 1996
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  Christopher J. Shields

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1999

  Development Research & Database Contractor

  Identified and qualified leads, reported on donor prospects for hospitals, social services agencies, and libraries. Organized and updated donor and direct mail databases.

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  Illinois Institute of Technology

  Jan 1999 - Jan 2000

  Prospect Research Manager

  Oversaw database screenings. Reported on trustees, major donors, and planned gift prospects. Coordinated prospects among schools. Began a digital scanning process. Managed staff of two.

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  California Academy of Sciences

  Sept 2000 - Aug 2011

  Development Senior Research Officer

  Formed research strategy for $500 million capital campaign. Identified leads, qualified their interest and capacity, and synthesized data to help create strategies and proposals for foundation grants and personal donations. Investigated public records, including real estate transactions and probate files. Monitored the external environment and reported relevant actions or trends to senior leadership throughout the organization. Identified and researched board candidates for the board's nominating committee. Show less

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  Shields Capital Development

  Jan 2012 - Jul 2013

  Principal

  Our goal at Shields Capital Development is to help you focus your efforts on cultivating and soliciting donations. We are an independent firm of professionals who are dedicated to providing fund-raising support for non-profit organizations. We have more than 21 years of experience working on campaigns in planning, researching prospects, writing grant proposals, and improving databases at non-profits of all sizes and types.

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  UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

  Aug 2013 - Feb 2020

  Manager of Prospect Research

  Helped leadership successfully complete a capital campaign for Oakland's hospital. Identified prospects, including grateful patient families, researched them, and rated and segmented prospects. Collaborated with gift officers in assigning prospects and helped manage the prospects in their portfolios. Helped maintain the data in a customized Salesforce database, created reports, and managed the work flow. Helped integrate Children's Oakland Foundation with UCSF, especially regarding the databases, the prospecting methods, and portfolio management. Show less

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  San Francisco Symphony

  Mar 2020 - now

  Manager of Prospect Research

  My responsibilities include providing prioritized lists of prospects to refresh portfolios and populate pipelines; managing database screenings; conducting research on request; preparing briefing materials for prospect meetings, volunteer committees, and events; maintaining network relationship data for the Symphony’s board and leading donors; and managing the development department's research resources.