Bob Hartsook’s billion-dollar fundraising career expands with new emphasis on research
At the time, it was just one of a handful of fundraising campaigns to hit the $100 million mark. Bob Hartsook embraces fellow Citation recipient and Emporia State chapter brother Ed Hammond, ’66, on stage after receiving SigEp’s Citation award.
Over the last 30 years, Bob Hartsook, Emporia State ’70, has established one of the country’s most successful fundraising consulting firms and helped more than 6,000 clients raise $231 billion. Though it was clear from the start that his career would be defined by leadership, it was only after successful stints in higher education and nonprofit management that he discovered the unique way he’d help organizations realize their potential. After completing a bachelor’s and master’s program at Emporia State, Hartsook was hired to serve as dean of 34
sigep journal Fall 2017 | sigep.org
students at Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas. He was just 23 at the time. Less than two years later, he was named vice president of the college. The appointment made him the youngest person in the country to hold an executive position at an institution of higher education. After a few years at Colby, Hartsook was ready to pursue a new challenge and enrolled in law school at Washburn. He was named executive editor of the law journal and refined his skills as a writer, a natural strength that would later serve him well as a fundraiser. Following law school, Hartsook was called back to a full-time leadership role. The Kansas Engineering Society offered him a job as its executive vice president, and he helped the cashstrapped organization conduct a small, $100,000 capital campaign. The experi-