Gregory S. Jeffrey is a fundraising consultant serving Catholic schools, parishes, religious orders and apostolates.
He is founder of Catholic Development Group LLC.
In his 31-year career, he has worked with a number of consulting firms and served over 60 clients throughout the U.S. Mr. Jeffrey has completed over 4,000 major gift solicitation calls and personally raised $150 million on behalf of Catholic clients. He especially enjoys mentoring young development professionals, and recently created several tutorials on how to conduct Feasibility Studies and Capital Campaigns.
He is a 1978 graduate of Sacred Heart High School in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. After completing an undergraduate degree in music, he returned to his high school alma mater in 1986 as a development officer. In 1989 he left his position at Sacred Heart to pursue an MBA at the University of Notre Dame. After graduation, he served with a number of development consulting firms, and since 1996 has been principal of his own firm.
In 1998, his long-standing interest in theology led him to seek an M.A. in Theology from Franciscan University. His theology degree, coupled with experience in development, gave him insights into the interplay of one’s financial and spiritual lives, and prompted his first book, Why Enough is Never Enough (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010).
Mr. Jeffrey has been a frequent guest on Catholic radio and enjoys public speaking. His wife Stella served ten years as Director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Fargo, and in 2020 completed a PhD in Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, DC.
Bryan Wilburn is Director of Development for St. Paul’s Newman Center on the campus of North Dakota State University.
Bryan joined the development team in 2015, responsible for the annual fund. He has also served as a lead strategist and solicitor of numerous major gifts. He went on to lead the fundraising team as it met a capital campaign goal of $21.5 million. The campaign is now funding construction of a 450-seat church, Newman Center offices and meeting space, and an 83 bed faith-based student apartment. The project, which spans an entire city block, is one of the most ambitious Newman Center projects in the US. With over $22 million raised to date, construction is now underway, with occupancy scheduled for fall 2021.
Bryan grew up in Glendive, Montana and graduated NDSU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Following college, Bryan dedicated four years of his life to Catholic missionary work the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) on multiple college campuses. His entry into fundraising began as a missionary, as it was his responsibility to raise his entire salary during those four years. Bryan and his wife Maura have four children. Bryan enjoys serving as a parishioner of Sts. Anne and Joachim parish and pretending to be a serious cyclist.
He continually works on building communication and leadership skills as a member and past president of Cass County Toastmasters in Fargo. As a part of Toastmasters, Bryan has competed and won multiple competitions, including 1st Place in the 2020 International Speech Contest for District 78, spanning all of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and northwestern Minnesota.