OUR TEAM

Jason Parry

Jason is the founder of Abundant Philanthropy, a consulting practice focused on helping nonprofits tell their story and increase their fundraising revenue.

Jason began his work in nonprofit development in April 2006. He has served as a major giving and planned giving specialist at WUWM – Milwaukee Public Radio, the director of development for the Diederich College of Communication and College of Professional Studies at Marquette University and as the vice president, development and communications at Penfield Children’s Center.

In addition to his work as a practitioner and consultant, Jason has served as a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee for six semesters teaching “Fundraising and Development in the Nonprofit Sector” in the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management.

Areas of Expertise

Campaign management
Major giving moves management strategy and execution
Development operations leadership
Executive coaching and training
Strategic planning
Board development
Grants management
Marketing and communications

Before entering the nonprofit sector, Jason spent six seasons in the media relations department for the Milwaukee Brewers serving as the club's assistant director of media relations.

Jason has his undergraduate degree from Indiana University in business management and sports marketing and his masters degree in nonprofit management and leadership from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Jason Parry

Will Belke

Will creates and executes development strategy planning, grant writing, event sponsor partnership development, and moves management with individuals, corporations, and foundation donors and prospective donors.

In addition to his work with Abundant Philanthropy, Will is a past Director and President of Friends of Art (FOA), the largest support organization for the Milwaukee Art Museum, overseeing the annual Lakefront Festival of Art event on the Milwaukee Art Museum campus bringing more than 15,000 people to the lakefront each summer. Will also served as a Director for BloomMKE, a local community food garden organization, and has volunteered with many nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity and the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County.

Non-Profit Organization Leadership
Development Strategy
Donor Relationship Management
Grant Research and Writing

Will graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a degree in Computer Information Systems and Psychology. After more than three decades in various engineer, leadership and strategic planning IT roles, Will completed the graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee as part of his transition into the nonprofit sector.

Will Belke

Michaela Evans

As someone with a lifelong passion for helping others, Michaela brings seven years of event planning experience and a strong background in fundraising to her work, using her skills and creativity to help advance initiatives that make a meaningful difference in our communities.

Michaela has a proven ability to create and execute impactful events that support a wide range of causes, including Health, Arts & Culture, Conservation & History, Education & Development, Community Development, and Social Needs.

Michaela looks forward to bringing her creative mindset, critical thinking, organizational expertise, and passion for meaningful experiences to every partnership. She is committed to building strong relationships, creating successful events, and delivering incredible results that make a lasting impact.

End-to end event execution
Event planning & strategy
Vendor & venue management
Timeline development & project management
Logistics and day-of coordination
Event guest management & communication

Michaela Evans

Rachel Hullum

Rachel is Director of Events and leads the events team. She and the team specialize in nonprofit event strategy, fundraising events, donor engagement, and event execution.

With more than 10 years of experience, Rachel works closely with nonprofit organizations to create thoughtful, high-impact event strategies that balance meaningful attendee experiences with strong fundraising outcomes. She has supported organizations such as Vivent Health, Rogers Behavioral Health, Milwaukee College Prep, and Camp Anokijig, developing and executing events from concept through completion.

Areas of Expertise

Event strategy & program development
Fundraising events & sponsorship strategy
Event planning & execution
Event communications & marketing
Vendor & venue management
Fundraising event platforms, including GiveSmart
Event staff training & support

Rachel’s approach is grounded in strong relationships, proactive planning, and attention to detail. She stays deeply invested in every phase of an event - anticipating challenges, strengthening strategy, and maximizing impact while staying aligned with each organization’s mission.

Young Kim

Young is a seasoned nonprofit professional with more than 25 years experience serving in leadership and grants management roles.
He brings more than 20 years of experience writing compelling, results-generating grant applications for organizations including, but not limited to, the School Sisters of St. Francis, Bridge to Brighter, USA Swimming Foundation, Teens Grow Greens, and Spotted Eagle.
His 16-year tenure as the founding executive director of the Fondy Food Center informs the holistic approach he takes to grant writing and his ability to articulate an organization’s impact and vision for success. He understands what it means to run a nonprofit, manage staff and programs, satisfy a board, build budgets, cultivate funders, and then follow through on grant commitments. This experience has honed his ability as an executive coach and leadership development consultant.

Areas of Expertise:

Grant Strategy & Proposal Development, from local family foundations to federal/state proposals
Funder Research & Opportunity Assessment
Case for Support & Impact Storytelling
Grant Program Development & Management
Organizational Capacity & Sustainability
Program Design & Evaluation to define do-able measurable objectives, outcomes, implementation strategies
Executive coaching and leadership development

Young Kim

Elysse Krueger

Over the last 18 years, Elysse has worked with development teams across diverse sectors including faith-based institutions, youth development, secondary education, health, and human rights organizations.

She specializes in database administration, gift processing, financial reconciliation, grant and prospect research, and building effective and comprehensive reports for development teams to use for their fundraising goals and initiatives.

Elysse has extensive expertise in data management, reconciliation and reporting, and development operations and strategy to her work with nonprofit organizations.

All aspects of database management including, but not limited to:

Audits
Training and support
Data entry, gift processing, reporting, and reconciliation
Event management and integration
Donor communications and solicitations
Prospect management and strategy
Migration
Transitions and implementations
Research including grant opportunities and prospective donors
Fundraising event strategy and planning support
Procedure and process creation

Elysse Krueger

Molly Mattefs

Molly has a passion for making a difference by bringing people, ideas, and experiences together. A true jill of all trades, she has built her career across event production, project management, experience design, community engagement, partnership development, and integrated marketing—working with nonprofits, local agencies, hospitality, and startups along the way.

Known for being personable, engaging, and a natural-born operator, Molly has built events and programming from the ground up, planning everything from intimate gatherings to large-scale productions while building lasting relationships with partners and communities.

Outside of work, Molly serves on the Wishmakers of Wisconsin Make-A-Wish board. These days, she’s also especially excited to introduce her twin boys to everything Milwaukee has to offer—and take them along on worldly adventures!

Event Strategy & Program Development
Fundraising Events & Sponsorship Strategy
Event Planning & Execution
Event Marketing & Communications
Program & Experience Design
Partnership & Stakeholder Development
Project & Workflow Management
Budget & Financial Management
Vendor & Venue Management
Community Engagement & Outreach
Team Leadership, Training & Support
Event Technology & Platforms

Molly Mattefs

Danielle Nelson

Danielle brings more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, team development, strategic planning, and organizational growth. She currently serves as Chief of Staff at Next Door, a Milwaukee-based early childhood education organization, where she works across teams to advance strategic priorities, strengthen alignment, and move complex initiatives from planning to execution.

Danielle also provides coaching to nonprofit executives and managers, helping leaders navigate growth, strengthen teams, work through organizational challenges, and translate strategy into action. Throughout her career, she has led fundraising and organizational development efforts across K–12 and higher education, public media, early childhood education, and women’s rights organizations.

Areas of Expertise

Executive & management coaching
Nonprofit leadership & organizational strategy
Team development & alignment
Individual giving & donor strategy
Frontline fundraising & development coaching
Strategic planning & implementation
Strategic marketing & communications

Danielle splits her time between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and works with nonprofit leaders and organizations throughout the country.

Danielle Nelson

Mackenzie SPRANGERS

Located in Northeast Wisconsin, Mackenzie is an art director and graphic designer specializing in brand identities. Having a background in traditional advertising and marketing, she brings intentionality, an eye for detail, and strategic thinking to all of her work.

Outside of the design world Mackenzie can be found playing with her two energetic dogs, baking new recipes or planning her next international trip.

Mackenzie Schmitt

Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson is an innovation leader with more than 30 years of experience across nonprofit, higher education, corporate, and entrepreneurial settings. He specializes in helping organizations clarify complex challenges, develop innovative solutions, and turn ideas into action.

Thompson led the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Research Foundation for 17 years, including its creation in 2006, supporting research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also helped establish and later led UWM’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, advancing innovation among students, faculty, and the Milwaukee community.

His engagement partners have included community nonprofits and grantmaking organizations, healthcare systems, K–12 school districts, universities, professional and student organizations, and the Wisconsin National Guard, as well as businesses and hundreds of startups. For more than 10 years, he served as Co-PI of Milwaukee I-Corps, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Thompson combines strong communication skills, technology expertise, and systems thinking to help mission-driven organizations navigate complexity, build alignment, and create meaningful impact. He holds engineering degrees from Purdue University and an MBA from UCLA.

Areas of Expertise:

Strategic planning
Non-profit leadership
Partnership development
Stakeholder discovery
Strategy visualization
Facilitation
Entrepreneurial thinking
Business model development

Brian Thompson

Antonia Towns

As Director, Data & Research, Antonia oversees the data and research team at Abundant Philanthropy. She and the team specialize in prospect identification and development, donor database management, and analytics.

She believes that every dollar makes a difference regardless of size and seeks to discover hidden gems in existing donors and new prospects. Antonia is committed to practicing ethical research and data management and confidentially managing sensitive donor data.

Antonia has worked with nonprofits in many sectors including disaster relief, early childhood education, K-8 education, mental health, arts/culture, large community foundations, environmental, and economic development.

The data & research team helps nonprofits of all sizes with the following:

Prospect identification
Researching grant opportunities
Gift processing
Donor acknowledgements
Database audits & implementation
Staff training
Establishing procedures
Wealth screening
Foundation, corporation, and individual prospect research
Prospect profiles
Portfolio optimization
Database migration
Reporting

Antonia is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and serves clients throughout Wisconsin and beyond. She is on the board of Apra WI and volunteers with Milwaukee Public Schools. Antonia holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and market research from The College of Idaho.

Antonia Towns