Maple Leaf Management Group - Fund Raising Consultants



Michael F. Luck

Michael F. Luck PhD. is our executive consultant. He is a faculty member of the University of Indiana Center on Philanthropy’s Fund Raising School. He has professionally planned and successfully executed over seven capital campaigns for $50 million to over $1 Billion. Dr. Luck is a seasoned professional leader in the field of Institutional Advancement with more than 35 years’ experience. His career spans healthcare, education and dozens of consulting assignments for non profit institutions.

Dr. Luck has been Vice President for Philanthropy and Alumni Affairs for the 64 colleges and universities of the State University of New York and the Research Foundation of SUNY. He helped guide the campuses through The SUNY $1 Billion Campaign. Fund raising on the campuses increased over 70% from $176 million annually to over $300 million. Following the successful $1 Billion Campaign a new fund raising effort was launched called The SUNY $3 Billion Challenge—64 Campuses—One Vision. Each campus embraced fund raising goals totaling $3 Billion. The Challenge will successfully conclude several years before the 2012 deadline.

Dr. Luck also served as Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where he was responsible for the planning and implementation of the first fundraising campaign in the institution’s history. The $50 million UMass Boston First campaign was completed one year early with five endowed chairs and a trebling of the endowment.

In addition, Dr. Luck has provided distinguished college and university leadership at these other institutions:
  • President, Rutgers University Foundation, New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Senior Vice President for Development and Public Affairs, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
  • Director of the Development Office, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • President of the Healtheast Trust Fund, Allentown, Pennsylvania
    President of the Foundation and Senior Vice President for Development and Community Affairs, Providence Memorial Hospital, El Paso, Texas
  • President, Meridian Health Affiliated Foundations, Neptune, New Jersey
  • Special Assistant to the President and Executive Vice President for Development and Public Affairs, Southern Illinois University , Carbondale, Illinois

Dr. Luck has presented hundreds of lectures, seminars, and workshops and published more than 32 articles in the field of Fund-Raising, Development and Anthropology. His 1978 book on public community college fund raising entitled, Community College Development: Alternative Fund Raising Strategies, was hailed as a national landmark study and publication. It was one of the first publications chosen by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives for their National Heritage Collection.

The U.S. State Department sent Dr. Luck to Russia as well as Indonesia to work with the country’s college and university leaders on techniques for the establishment of viable fund raising programs. He continues to provide active leadership at the national, regional, and local level for a number of not-for-profit organizations as well as professional and civic groups. Dr. Luck holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Johnson State College in Vermont, a master’s degree in Anthropology and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.