Alumnus Dr. Robin Ganzert ('87, MBA '91) Wins Fiduciary Leadership Award
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — American Humane Association President & CEO Dr. Robin Ganzert was today honored in the category of “Visionary Leader” as she won a coveted “Fiduciary Leadership Award” from the Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. According to the IFLC, the national award is bestowed once a year on extraordinary individuals in the charitable sector who have provided outstanding leadership to the nonprofit community and through the devotion of their time, intellect, and insights are leading the way to better care of donors’ contributions.
Dr. Ganzert was not able to attend the ceremony personally to accept the award as she was 12,000 miles away on a charitable mission to deliver much-needed funds to support the ongoing work of helping the victims of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. Although she was not on hand to receive the award herself, she sent the following message: “I thank the IFLC for this great honor and commend the Council on their tireless work to improve financial stewardship in the nonprofit world. In the mission-driven sector, good stewardship translates to helping more children, protecting more animals, keeping our air and water cleaner, and helping create more change for good.”
Ganzert has a long history of accomplishment in the philanthropic field. Upon joining American Humane Association in October 2010, she began working to dramatically increase global awareness of the organization, improving its operational efficiency, and enhancing the effectiveness of its programs — as well as establishing new efforts of national significance, including the Animal Welfare Research Institute, Children’s Innovation Institute, the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards™, and a groundbreaking new research study on the effects of animal-assisted therapy on children with cancer. To increase American Humane Association’s visibility in the public, philanthropic and legislative sectors, Dr. Ganzert established the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and initiated extensive public awareness efforts, conducting numerous interviews and public appearances; building a large, diverse “celebrity cabinet”; holding signature events in key philanthropic markets; implementing a National Humanitarian Medal program; and launching a $50 million capital campaign.
Prior to joining American Humane Association, Dr. Ganzert served as Deputy Director of Philanthropic Services at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., where she provided senior leadership and management for global philanthropy. Before that, Dr. Ganzert was Senior Vice President and National Director of Philanthropic Strategies at Wachovia Wealth Management, a division of Wachovia Bank, N.A. She formerly served as the National Director of the Wachovia Center for Planned Giving.
Dr. Ganzert frequently presents at international and national industry forums on family philanthropy, best governance practices for nonprofits, and charitable giving strategies. Her international speaking engagements include U.S. State Department events in Ireland and Russia, and industry events in Sweden and Singapore. She served on the faculty and presents frequently at the National Conferences on Planned Giving, Council on Foundations, and regional planned giving and estate planning groups. She has published in the Journal of Financial Planning, Philanthropy Journal, and Advancing Philanthropy.
Dr. Ganzert received her B.S. and M.B.A. from Wake Forest University and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds five professional financial management and accounting certifications, including Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Management Accounting.
She serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the ALS Association, based in Washington, D.C.; on the editorial board for Advancing Philanthropy; and on the advisory board for the Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now.
“Robin Ganzert is a visionary and a thought leader within the non-profit world,” said Michelle Sly Laughlin, executive director of Endowment and Foundation Community for the Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council. “Her enthusiasm for advancing the non-profit community toward a standard of stewardship excellence knows no bounds. She has demonstrated great mentorship to other non-profits through her work with IFLC, compelling them to unite around a shared vision and leading them along the path to stewardship excellence.”
About American Humane Association
Since 1877 American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting children, pets and farm animals from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we’re also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.
About IFLC
IFLC is a community of people who serve others in the capacity of a trusted steward. We are Investment Stewards. The subjects of our stewardship are employees of organization’s who have money invested in retirement accounts. Other members of IFLC’s community serve as trustees for non-profit organizations and are responsible for the safe management of donations made by charitable givers. IFLC promotes aggressively ways for Investment Stewards to be better fiduciaries. We accomplish this by providing members of our community a place to find; Thought Leadership without commercial “spin”, other people who share a Common Interest, a safe place for Peer Interaction, the latest on Fiduciary Standards, and Education on all things fiduciary. Since Investment Stewards rely on third party vendors in order to meet their responsibilities, IFLC also advocates uniform standards for Service Providers. Standards endorsed by IFLC distil a consensus from the broadest possible base of stakeholder groups. In order to receive IFLC’s endorsement, standards must emerge from expert input provided by those closest to the needs for the standards and to the results of implementing them. In this way, although voluntary, fiduciary standards endorsed by IFLC are widely respected and accepted by public and private sectors in the U.S. and internationally. When adhered to by Investment Stewards and Service Providers, standards improve competency, reduce conflicts of interest, and increase trustworthiness. In order for practices to qualify as an IFLC endorsed standard, we require that they be based on relevant fiduciary rules found in pension laws, trust laws, the law that guides charities on the management and investment of funds, court cases, and best practices. Our operating costs are covered by membership dues, income from programs offered to Investment Stewards, and partnerships with organizations that are not Service Providers. The IFLC community is leading a much needed reformation in the methods Investment Stewards use to manage safely other peoples’ money. As a not for profit entity, IFLC is ideally suited to fulfill its mission as a community of leaders striving for stewardship excellence.
