Richard Potter
VP for Development , American Humanics
    Richard Potter is Vice President for Development for American Humanics, a national alliance of colleges, universities and nonprofits dedicated to educating, preparing and certifying professionals to lead and strengthen nonprofit organizations. He brings to the position over 25 years of experience in marketing and development, including six years as development director for the University of Dubuque in Iowa, and four years with MCI as a project administrator. He holds a MBA from the University of Dubuque and a BBA in Marketing from the University of Iowa. Since 1996 he has been responsible for establishing and achieving the fundraising goals for American Humanics, including operating support, special projects, the annual AH Management Institute and the Initiative for Nonprofit Sector Careers. As American Humanics’ chief fundraiser, Potter has been intimately involved in the establishment of the Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition, an initiative of American Humanics. More that 50 nonprofits, foundations and academic institutions have joined the coalition since its inception in the spring of 2006. Among the coalition’s primary objectives are 1) increasing ethnic diversity in the nonprofit workforce, and 2) addressing the impact of student debt on completing a nonprofit internship and choosing a career in the nonprofit sector.

    Experts predict that more than 640,000 new senior nonprofit managers will be needed over the next decade, the equivalent of recruiting 50% of every MBA class in each of the next 10 years. What can be done to insure that these nonprofit professionals reflect the diversity of the communities they serve? The presenters will address the state of diversity in the nonprofit sector workforce in general and in the fundraising profession in particular, and what is being done to address the situation through the Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition.