Professional Profile

M. Gasby Brown

Education

Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government - 1982

Masters of Public Administration Degree specializing in Communications Management

Recipient of the Ewald Foundation Scholarship

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 1982

Advanced research in Communications and Marketing

Wayne State University - 1973

Bachelor of Arts Degree, Psychology

Wayne County Community College - 1971

Associate of Arts Degree

Profile

M. Gasby Brown is Chairman & CEO of The Gasby Group, Inc. (TGG). As Consultants to Philanthropy, TGG specializes in strategic fundraising, communications and organizational effectiveness. Located in the Washington DC area, TGG 's services include governance audits, board orientation & retreat facilitation, strategic planning, major donor campaigns, feasibility studies, endowment & capital campaigns, direct mail; fundraising audits & plans, special events, spokesperson training and crisis communication. The firm specializes in providing these services for non-profit organizations, large and small.

Ms. Brown concurrently holds the position of faculty member of the internationally renowned The Fund Raising School (TFRS) at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In this role, she conducts training to fundraising professionals across the country in the areas of Principals and Techniques of Fundraising, Managing Capital Campaigns, Major Gifts, Governance, Faith and Fundraising, and New CEO Leadership.

Previously, Ms. Brown was the first Executive Vice President of Strategic Resource Development at The Washington National Opera. In this role she was the highest-ranking African-American opera executive in the country. Ms. Brown successfully developed and implemented an innovative national fundraising program to leverage the opera’s specific advantages: location in the nation’s capital, connections to the international community and Placido Domingo as Artistic Director. She oversaw the successful effort to receive U.S. Congressional designation as The National Opera, expanding all aspects of individual giving programs, instituting electronic screening as a prospecting tool, and raising the bar for bottom line performance in the areas of direct mail, foundations, corporate relations and special events. Brown was also responsible for managing the Development, Marketing, Communications, and Education Departments.

Prior to this position, M. Gasby Brown was Senior Vice President of Development and Communications for the National Urban League, the nation’s premiere civil rights and social service organization. When she assumed this role in February 1995, Ms. Brown dramatically increased the visibility of the organization by orchestrating multiple strategies to enhance the League’s public profile. Among the projects Ms. Brown initiated was the revival of Opportunity Journal, to a 120-page, four color magazine, and increased advertising sales by 300%. She conducted a $25 million a year PSA campaign in partnership with the Advertising Council and secured a long-term commitment for production placement and positioning. In managing the Communications Department, she directed the transition from paper to electronic transmission of press releases to newsrooms and to 115 Urban League affiliates nationwide. Ms. Brown led the effort to provide paid advertising in African- American press; initiated the effort to upgrade all computer equipment for the Communications Department; secured and managed outside public relations firms for special events. Under Brown’s guidance, the League staged numerous successful Urban Policy Forums in Washington, D.C., which were covered by C-Span and served as a model strategy for nonprofits to raise visibility. M. Gasby Brown oversaw the production of multiple videos that featured key League programs and projects and multi-media web site material; Ms. Brown served as spokesperson for the organization on media-related issues and provided leadership in forging partnerships with the Hollywood community through entities such as Creative Artists Agency. In addition to her Communications responsibilities, Brown oversaw all fundraising activities which included corporate, foundation, direct mail, major gifts, and a $50 million capital campaign. Under Brown’s leadership, major fundraising special events set financial records and significantly enhanced the general operating budget. In 1998, Brown was instrumental in garnering a $25 million grant from the Lily Foundation, which benefited inner-city youth through scholarships. She also initiated the “Circle of Excellence”, a fundraising strategy specifically geared to high net worth African-American individuals resulting in raising over $1 million within a six-month period.

Her other responsibilities included serving as staff liaison to the Development Committee of the Board of Trustees. She revitalized Board participation and committee leadership with her contagious enthusiasm.

Before accepting the position at the National Urban League, M. Gasby Brown was National Director of Communications for Greenpeace, one of the world’s largest environmental organizations. In this position, she was one of the highest-ranking African-American women in the environmental movement. When she assumed this role in 1993, Ms. Brown consolidated all image-related departments into one division, reorganized titles and responsibilities for a staff of 20; directed the creation of an organization ID with an accompanying user-friendly manual; directed the redesign of the Greenpeace Quarterly, the organization’s newsletter which reached more than 700,000 supporters; initiated and served as executive producer for the Greenpeace television series, “Making Waves Close to Home,” the first regularly scheduled television presence for the organization; created a national news bureau and the concept of regional bureau chiefs; directed the transition from paper to electronic transmission of press releases and other communications to newsrooms and various press; spearheaded the upgrade of computer equipment for publishing that increased in-house production by 20 percent; led the effort to increase Greenpeace visibility in minority press; directed the upgrade of video equipment to broadcast quality and increased other video needs; doubled the dubbing capacity of the editing equipment, which increased archival footage revenue 30%; and managed a $1.6 million budget.

Before her position at Greenpeace, M. Gasby Brown was president of Gasby Greely Enterprises, a marketing/communications consulting firm. She managed all operations including recruiting, hiring of staff, annual forecasts and strategic planning. Client services included all phases of the marketing/communications mix: video production and video news releases, public relations, report and speech writing, media training, proposal analysis, strategic communications planning, employee communications studies, evaluations and revenue center projections. Clients included American Express Company; Anheuser-Busch; Reebok International, Ltd.; Coca-Cola, USA; Boston Public Schools; WGBH-TV; the city of Philadelphia; Group W Cable; Cincinnati Public Schools; NAACP; Bethany Corporation, Inc.; Naomi Sims Products; Wayne County Community College; and LaGuardia Community College.

Prior to establishing her communications consulting firm and specializing in media journalism, Ms. Brown was Director of Program Marketing, Marketing and Corporate Communications at WNET/Thirteen in New York City. Her extensive work on television and radio, coupled with solid marketing, public relations experience, and broad national media contacts has made her an invaluable resource to corporations and non profit organizations. Her approach to fundraising is donor focused. Brown's marketing/communications strategies have been seasoned with state-of-the-art techniques and a thorough knowledge of the consumer climate and its needs.

In addition, M. Gasby Brown is the author of Art of Praise, 7 Fatal Flaws of Non Profit Boards and How To Fix Them, Leadership With Impact and Seven Successful Qualities of Capital Campaigns. She is also a sought after lecturer and keynote speaker.