Brief info

Advisor

Founder and President, i5 Fundraising
Senior Program Coordinator and Lecturer, Penn State University

Sophie W. Penney, Ph.D. is the founder and President of i5 Fundraising. She is also the Senior Program Coordinator and a Lecturer for Penn State fundraising leadership programs.

Sophie is a dynamic development leader with extensive expertise in building strategic fundraising initiatives within higher education and non-profit sectors. She is able to capitalize on the strengths of fellow professionals to identify, cultivate, steward, and solicit prospects, steward donors, and drive effective outcomes. She possesses exceptional skill in developing partnership alliances to advance organizational vision.

Sophie is the author or co-author of numerous books, articles, and reports including: Dollars for Dreams: Student Affairs Staff as Fundraisers (NASPA 2001) and Student Affairs Fundraising: Raising Funds to Raise the Bar (NASPA, 2019). She is a sought-after facilitator, teacher, and coach for aspiring and current fundraising professionals.

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The Aspen Leadership Group logo in white

Aspen Leadership Group (ALG) supports exceptional careers in philanthropy, recruiting presidents, executive directors, and chief advancement officers and helping them recruit, train, and inspire diverse, inclusive, and high-performing teams. Our search services and leader-to-leader consulting focus on building a team and a culture that enable an organization to engage all of its potential donors and volunteers and to drive unprecedented fundraising results.