John Kendrick is a Senior Consultant with Michael J. Worth & Associates in addition to leading his own private consulting and coaching practice, John B. Kendrick Philanthropic Consulting. An experienced planned giving leader, he led the planned giving fundraising program at the George Washington University from 2008 to 2020, helping the university raise $196 million of new attainment in the $1 billion “Making History” campaign (2011-2017) and $300 million during his entire tenure at the university. Following his retirement from full-time work at GWU, Mr. Kendrick has been engaged as a consultant by non-profit organizations in higher education, secondary education, health care, the arts, wildlife/conservation, public policy, and information technology.
| Mr. Kendrick focuses on helping organizations build high performing development and planned giving programs. This includes the evaluation of existing programs, assistance with building enhanced programs, and the coaching of planned giving directors and staff. An area of special expertise is the design and implementation of Legacy Challenge programs. In addition to leading two highly successful Legacy Challenge initiatives at GW, Mr. Kendrick has presented on implementing Legacy Challenge programs to national audiences hosted by the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners and The Stelter Company. |  |
Under Mr. Kendrick’s leadership, GWU expanded the university’s emphasis on gift planning, instituted a liaison program that enhanced central planned giving office support for school and unit-based gift officers, oversaw the university’s first full-service real estate philanthropy program, and revamped the university’s planned giving marketing program. He initiated two innovative Legacy Challenge programs that achieved significant increases in new planned giving commitments (a doubling of gifts received during a four-month Challenge fielded in 2017, and a 40% increase in the number of new planned gifts received during a full-year Challenge fielded in 2019) and implemented successful alumni survey programs that identified hundreds of existing bequest commitments and new prospective planned giving donors.
Previously, Mr. Kendrick was the Director of Planned Giving for the Smithsonian Institution from 2005 to 2008, where he led planned giving fundraising for 19 museums and nine research centers. He also held development positions at the National Academy of Sciences and Hood College. His development positions followed an 18-year career in advertising, publishing, and marketing. Mr. Kendrick served as a Vice President at DDB, a national advertising and marketing firm, and was Vice President and Managing Director for two successful start-up marketing companies: On Target Media (now PatientPoint Health Technologies) and Targeted Marketing Solutions, Inc. (now MyMove LLC, owned by Red Ventures, LLC).
Mr. Kendrick has a BA degree in Economics and Government from Cornell, an MBA from Wharton Business School, and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism. He also holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation (CAP®) from the American College of Financial Services. In 2018 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Capital Gift Planning Council for service to the Council and to the gift planning profession.
