Lindsay Marciniak
Senior Vice President
CCS Fundraising
Lindsay brings more than 13 years of experience working with non-profit organizations on fundraising, project management, marketing, and communications. Lindsay’s areas of expertise include major gifts, developing fundraising and marketing strategies, annual fund efforts, and managing comprehensive volunteer structures.
As a senior executive of the firm, Lindsay supervises and mentors team members within the Midwest and Central United States. She also regularly presents on fundraising topics to clients, board members, and development professionals across the country and has guest lectured at many non-profit management courses. Lindsay serves on the Board of Directors for the Cleveland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
During her tenure at CCS, Lindsay worked as the Campaign Director for The Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland’s $35 million capital campaign, which is one of the largest projects in the Cleveland organization’s history. She also served as the Campaign Director for Kiwanis International’s $110 million worldwide campaign, a partnership with UNICEF to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. In this capacity, Lindsay managed a 14-member staff team and coordinated a worldwide volunteer team of 6,000 campaign leaders.
Before joining CCS, Lindsay worked at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving. She also served as a fundraiser at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Deborah’s Place in Chicago, Illinois.
Lindsay earned a Master of Public Affairs with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with honors from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Julie Sullivan
President
Sullivan Foundation
Julie Sullivan is the president of the Thomas C and Sandra S Sullivan Foundation. This Family Foundation was established in 1992 by her parents with the hope that they could pass on their philanthropic belief that “to whom much is given, much is required”. Its mission is to “assist and/or provide educational opportunities to those persons who would otherwise not be able to provide such opportunities to themselves, or to provide aid and assistance to the poor and needy, primarily in greater Cleveland”. Julie is also a founding and current board member of the Sullivan Scholars Foundation which was established in 2002, to honor Tom and Sandy Sullivan. Sullivan Scholars offers scholarships to eighth graders and renewal funds for those students who have demonstrated and maintain exceptional academic work, community service and have a financial need in order to attend a private or Catholic high school in the Cleveland area. She is also a board member of Metro Catholic School, a K-8 diocesan school that is “rooted in the educational heritage of the Sisters of Notre Dame” and serves a diverse group of mostly poverty level families. In 2005 Julie earned an M.A. in History with a focus in women’s study from Cleveland State University, she earned a certificate in Spiritual Direction from John Carroll University in 2015 and she is an Associate of The Sisters of St. Joseph. Her greatest joy has been raising her now grown son and working with the extraordinary people who are dedicated to making a difference in our community.
Bob Gries
Gries Financial LLC
Bob Gries, a fifth generation Clevelander, spent 30 years as a Venture Capitalist and 50 years involved with the Cleveland Browns. He is passionate about philanthropy and is affiliated with dozens of Cleveland’s non-profit and civic organizations. He served 10 years as a board member of the Cleveland Foundation starting in the 1970’s and has worked with them on many projects since. He also was a board member in the 70’s on the Council on Foundations and involved with them for many decades thereafter.
He is an endurance athlete who in the past three and a half decades completed 108 adventures in 45 countries on every continent, which include ultramarathons, multi-day desert races, high altitude mountain climbs and biking trips up to 1,500 miles.
Bob is a Yale graduate, lives with his wife Sally in Shaker Heights where six of his seven grandchildren have grown up.
Bob is the author of Five Generations, a book of Cleveland History since the 1830’s when his family first arrived in our city. He has also written Aging with Attitude about his 108 adventures.
Ann Garson
Assistant Vice President of Funds and Foundations
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Ann Garson has been with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland for 12 years and is Assistant Vice President of Funds and Foundations. A lawyer by training, she facilitates the grant making of family foundations, working with them to engage multiple generations and fulfill their philanthropic goals. She manages grant requests from both the Jewish and general communities that are submitted for consideration to the 50+ supporting foundations affiliated with the Federation. Ann also staffs the Endowment Fund Committee of the Federation which makes grants supporting the needs of Cleveland’s Jewish and general community. Her passions include, running, horseback riding, reading and making the world a better place.