Meet Mary Grace Herrington

Mary Grace Herrington is a skilled, insightful leader whose accomplished career has helped her amass expertise in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major and principal gifts. As an accomplished fundraising leader, she can collaborate with both business and programming units to identify priorities in funding and develop appropriate fundraising strategies. She is skilled at portfolio development as well as prospect management and has amassed experience in all aspects of campaign development, execution, and performance reporting.

Currently in her career, Mary Grace Herrington is the Vice President of Development for the Forté Foundation. Here, she works to increase the number of women enrolled in specialty master and MBA programs alongside an alliance of business schools and leading universities. Mary leads all fund development activity in regards to identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding nearly $4 million in gifts from foundations, individuals, and corporations. While supervising development professionals across four regions, she’s also leading data management efforts for CRM strategies, research, and prospect management. Mary is also responsible for providing oversight when it comes to direct response marketing, personal visits, and donor events, as well as liaising with Board committees, including Development and Finance committees.

Previously in her career, Mary Grace Herrington worked with NPR & PBS through Ideastream as their Chief Development Officer and with NPR out of Iowa State University as their Executive Director. Additionally, Mary served as the Assistant Vice President at Creighton University.

Mary Grace Herrington graduated from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. She then went on and earned her Master of Arts in Public Administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Mary is also a CFRE (Certified Fund-Raising Executive), certified by the International Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Mary is also an active member of her community. She has served as a member of multiple organizations, including the Women’s Giving Alliance, the Planned Giving Council of Northeast Florida, the Association of Fundraising Professionals - First Coast Chapter, the United Way of Greater Cleveland Women’s Leadership Council, and the Northeast Ohio Planned Giving Council. Mary Grace Herrington has also spent time on the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, the Iowa Historical Foundation, and the Des Moines West Side Chamber of Commerce.