Second-year student Daniel Sims has joined the University of Wisconsin Foundation as its Senior Director of Development. In his new role, Sims will be responsible for leading fundraising efforts alongside a team in UW’s College of Engineering, while also providing leadership development and skills support to team members across the foundation.
Sims, who was recently named to the 40 Under 40 Class for Madison, Wisc., by InBusiness Magazine, is the founder of his own LLC, The Sims Group. His previous roles include serving as the donor relations director for Salvation Army, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Division, and as a program analyst and grants specialist for the Urban League of Greater Madison.
Sims said that understanding how donors perceive their partnerships with an organization and molding a message around a philanthropic vision has prepared him for his work with the UW Foundation.
“The work that I did with the Salvation Army and the Urban League gave me an opportunity to see how a national or international brand is packaged for local donors,” Sims said. “The work I’ll be doing at UW takes what we call the ‘Wisconsin idea,’ that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom, and amplifies that message to alumni and friends around the globe.”
As a second-year student enrolled in Clinton School Online, Sims’ early coursework has included Foundations of Public Service, Communication Processes and Social (Ex)Change, Data Analysis, and Program Planning and Development.
“The skills and perspective I have gained in my first year at the Clinton School have, in some ways, revolutionized the way that I approach my work with donors,” Sims said. “As I transition my operational approach to fundraising from donor-centered to community-centered, I have taken the deliberation skills, research methods, and critical conversations I’ve had in the program and applied it to shifting how I best serve my community through encouraging philanthropic giving.”
Later this year, Sims will be applying these lessons and research to fundraising models for his Capstone project, the Clinton School’s culminating piece of field service work.
“I am excited to delve deeper into topics of equitable fundraising models in my Capstone, developing strategies that can revolutionize my profession in a way that wouldn’t be possible if I weren’t part of this phenomenal community of practice,” Sims said.
Sims is a graduate of the University of Arkansas System’s eVersity with a degree in university studies.
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