Naomi Horne is an accomplished major gift officer and endowment-builder in higher education. Well-versed in the academic theories of nurturing donor relationships and creating impactful advancement programs, Naomi values artful, cultural competence and innovative problem-solving through service to vulnerable communities. Her practical expertise in intercultural and emotional competence extends to stewardship, donor engagement, donor communications, fundraising marketing, planned giving, annual campaigns, grant application development, and reporting.

Philanthropy is an opportunity to make a positive impact on causes one cares about, and Naomi brings inspiring true stories from the Arctic about philanthropy. Her newest venture is working with wealth management and insurance firms to speak directly to would-be donors and persuade them to identify a cause they would like to support through philanthropy, and then facilitate that gift.

Naomi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Alaska Southeast. Naomi was conferred the CFRM (Certificate in Fundraising Management) by The Fundraising School at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University at Purdue in 2012 and the highly-sought CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) in 2011 by CFRE International. 

Naomi has nearly 20 years of experience in philanthropy services, personally raising nearly $8.9M in contributions from both US coasts, and has cumulatively served 40+ nonprofit organizations who have raised countless millions more. During her 15-year tenure at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Naomi managed major donors, pioneered philanthropy programs, and played a pivotal role in the founding and advancing UAF's inaugural Development Office, and a pivotal role in advancing her alma mater, the UAF College of Liberal Arts during historic budget cuts.

Areas of Focus 

• Evaluating fundraising programs for effectiveness, cultural literacy, and donor retention
• Diversifying an existing donor or grantee base
• Forging new donor or grantee bases from scratch
• Solving challenges in the fundraising pipeline
• Building new annual, major and planned gift programs
• Professional board development
• Pre- and post-award grantee services, including grant writing, editing and submissions
• Providing ground-level fundraising support for small and large organizations
• Being an ally, advocate and coach to weary nonprofit boards, leaders and staff as they navigate troubled times (my favorite part!).