Development expert helps those who helps others

A four-decade career in fundraising and development began for Linda Lysakowski ’88 with a chance encounter while she was working at a local bank in the early 1980s and studying at Alvernia College.

It was then that Lysakowski received a curious invitation to breakfast from the bank’s executive vice president. He had been asked to serve on Alvernia’s annual business appeal campaign but was new to Reading and hadn’t yet made business connections. Knowing that Lysakowski was active in the Chamber of Commerce and a student at the college, he thought she’d be a more suitable fit for the role.

“I thought it sounded adventurous!” she said, accepting the charge that eventually led to a career as a consultant, author, trainer and public speaker. “When I met Alvernia’s development department, I thought, ‘People actually get paid to raise money? This is what I love doing.’”

A master of time management, Lysakowski helped lead a family of six while working full time and volunteering with the Special Olympics and American Heart Association. She attended school at night and worked toward three majors: banking and finance, theology and philosophy, and communications. Her efforts paid off. Just weeks after receiving her diploma, Lysakowski landed her dream job when she was recruited to serve as assistant vice president for institutional advancement at Alvernia.

Since then, Lysakowski has maintained strong ties to her alma mater as a consultant and longtime donor. She’s also kept in touch with those who made a difference in her life.

“The professors I had were absolutely wonderful,” Lysakowski said. “I could tell that they really loved what they were doing. I learned so much from them.”

Lysakowski runs her own consultancy, helping myriad nonprofits supercharge their fundraising efforts and outcomes. She’s inspired by the fact that many smaller nonprofits do great work and make a meaningful difference in society but often don’t have the resources or bandwidth to raise enough capital.

“What’s really exciting for me and what’s kept me going in this field all of these years is helping those organizations that are struggling,” she explained. “It’s really worthwhile when they succeed.”

Throughout her career, Lysakowski has achieved many impressive accomplishments. To spread her development expertise more widely, she wrote more than 40 books, has spoken at numerous industry conferences, and trained more than 100,000 development professionals nationally and internationally.

She holds several certifications and designations, including Advanced Certified Fund-Raising Executive (ACFRE), and has received countless awards and recognitions for her contributions to the field.

A deeply faithful lifelong learner, Lysakowski earned a master’s degree from the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego.

“People thought I was a little crazy,” she joked. “They said, ‘What on earth are you going to do with a master’s degree in theology at 81 years old?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to do anything with it. I just wanted it because I never had a master’s degree, so I thought it was time to get one!’”

Lysakowski resides in Kansas City and has no intention of retiring anytime soon.

— By Claire Curry