About
Fundraising leadership for lean teams—built to get results, not create binders.
I work with nonprofits that are doing important work—but don’t have the staff, time, or internal experience to run fundraising with consistency. My role is to bring calm structure, analytical clarity, and practical follow-through.
Over $100M raised
25+ years in nonprofit leadership
Major gifts + stewardship
CRM cleanup + reporting
Practical AI workflows (quietly)
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-j-barton
What I’m best at
- Stabilizing scattered fundraising into a clear plan your team can actually run.
- Major gifts discipline: portfolio focus, moves, follow-up cadence, stewardship.
- CRM and donor data cleanup so lists and reporting stop breaking.
- Execution support so “strategy” becomes visible work—not a document.
- Remote and hybrid leadership for distributed teams.
- Board and leadership alignment around priorities and reporting.
- Grant readiness + writing support when it fits the plan (not as a distraction).
- Quiet AI acceleration for drafting, cleanup, and reporting—without losing the personal touch.
If you’re looking for a 50-page strategic plan with minimal implementation, I’m probably not the right fit. I’m a builder and operator: we do the work, then your team can maintain it.
Credibility (selected highlights)
- UNICEF USA: major gifts portfolio growth; helped establish Florida as a distinct region and supported initiatives generating multi-million-dollar outcomes over time.
- Foundation Fighting Blindness: major gifts work across the Eastern U.S.; tasked with significant portfolio performance improvement.
- Pine Crest School: led annual giving/advancement programs and helped shift toward relationship-centered fundraising.
- Epilepsy Foundation: built and scaled development practices and supported national major gifts program work.
- International leadership: program and communications leadership across multiple countries with UN-related agencies and humanitarian organizations.
Want the full timeline? Use LinkedIn: View profile.
Who I’m a fit for
Lean and growth-ready nonprofits that need momentum—fast.
- You don’t have a full development department (or it’s stretched thin).
- You need an “adult in the room” to organize fundraising and make it executable.
- Your donor data is messy, reporting is inconsistent, and follow-up slips.
- You want practical leadership—strategy plus implementation.
Who should not hire me
- You only want ideas, not execution.
- You expect guaranteed revenue in 30 days with no internal participation.
- You want a large agency-style team with many specialists.