Malcolm Kelly

Senior Consultant, Ireland

Malcolm Kelly’s 25-year career in the United States and in Europe has included government and non-profit administration and fundraising in the university, independent school, and membership association sectors.  With a particular interest and experience in developing multicultural and trans-national fundraising in diverse settings, he serves Brakeley U.S. clients fundraising internationally and Brakeley Europe clients active in North America.

He joined the firm of Brakeley Europe in February 1998 and served in the interim rôle of Secrétaire Général, Fondation Louvain, resident at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, until March 2000.  The Fondation's first campaign, the first of its kind at any Belgian university, has raised EURO 25 million for key development objectives in interdisciplinary research, academic chairs, new pedagogical methods, increased use of information technology, and expanded international faculty exchange.  As Secrétaire Général Mr Kelly directed the process of top-level board formation, the recruitment and training of a team of 4 professionals and 1 support staff, and the successful integration of professional fundraising within this large, complex, and diverse institution.

A native of Dublin, he joined the Irish Department of Finance in 1981, and represented Ireland at the official level at a number of European Union policy groups in Brussels.  He emigrated to the United States in 1985 to take up a position at the US Naval Institute, Annapolis, where he developed the first major-gift capital campaign at this 120 year-old institution.

As Director of Alumni Programs at the University of Maryland, University College, Mr Kelly established an active alumni association serving over 40,000 graduates.  His experience in independent and international school education development includes annual and capital fundraising programmes at The Key School (Annapolis, Maryland), the International School of Amsterdam, the American School in Paris, and the Washington International School.

He has delivered a number of fundraising, admissions and membership marketing and strategic planning workshops, including presentations on multicultural fundraising and communication at the National Association of Independent Schools/Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Development Conference (Boston), the European Council of International Schools bi-annual Development Conference (Munich), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference on Fundraising (Miami).

In addition to orientations for Brakeley colleagues managing campaigns in The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Germany, he has provided campaign planning, gift administration, database, and international prospect research training for Brakeley Europe clients Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, and Umeå universitet, Umeå, Sweden, among others. 

His recent projects in the U.S. have included an in-depth audit of the Washington National Cathedral’s fundraising performance.  His work lead to significantly improved understanding of the Cathedral’s donor base in terms of ongoing giving for operations and eventual estate and planned gifts and resulted in more coherent fundraising planning.

Mr Kelly graduated from University College, Dublin in 1981 with a BA in Italian and History of Art. He speaks French fluently, Italian, some Irish and a little Dutch.  Now a United States citizen, his U.S. home is in Virginia and his Irish home is South of Dublin.