Martin Leifeld

Martin Leifeld, Gifting Insider’s Philanthropic Consultant, is an author, coach, fundraiser and speaker. During his 24 years of professional fundraising, Martin and his teams raised a staggering $500 million dollars. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Association of Fundraising Professional St. Louis Regional Chapter. He was recently named the 2020 winner of the Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award from St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU). With a passion to serve, Martin established MartinLeifeld.com as a fundraising and leadership resource. Martin served as vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of Missouri–St. Louis for ten years, overseeing external affairs and 140 employees for the university. While there, he led a dramatic increase in fundraising, averaging $26.4 million per year. Prior to joining UMSL, he was associate vice president for university development at Saint Louis University. There he directed 55 University development staff, corporations and foundations, data maintenance and gift processing, prospect research and stewardship. Leading a major reorganization resulting in a 500% increase in donor/prospect engagement, Leifeld and his team raised $158 million in 3 years. Martin serves as a Fellow of the Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising and as a member of the Thought Leadership Team for The Change Leader, Inc. He is a founding member of World Game-Changers, CIC. Martin is married to Ellen Howe and they reside in University City, MO. He enjoys spending time with his four adult children, seven grandchildren as well as a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law.