Kerry Kruckel Gibbs is Vice President for Development for WNET.ORG, the premier public media provider in the New York metropolitan area and parent company of nationally respected public television outlets THIRTEEN and WLIW21. In this position, she oversees all fundraising activities – including membership, major gifts, foundation support, and national and local underwriting – for a diverse, not-for-profit public media institution.
A development professional with 20 years of experience in institutional, mid-sized and small non-profit fundraising, management and external relations, Kruckel Gibbs came to WNET.ORG from the NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where she had served for 10 years in a series of increasingly responsible positions, culminating in the post of Managing Director, Alumni Relations and Development.
While at NYU, Kruckel Gibbs closed a $10 million facility naming gift, and successfully raised $190 million on a $150 million campaign goal as part of NYU’s $2.5 billion campaign. She also increased restricted giving by 345%, doubled annual giving and brought in over 100 new major gifts donors during a five-year period at the $500,000, $1 million, $2.5 million and $5 million levels, raising $38 million in restricted gift revenue and $5 million in annual fund support in 2008 alone.
In addition, she reengineered leadership boards and created a seamless pipeline for increased strategic engagement and giving at board levels and provided leadership development and management support to three leadership boards. She also served as chief development and alumni liaison to the Board of Overseers and the Development Committee. As part of her duties, she oversaw alumni relations programming for 80,000+ alumni living in the U.S. and abroad, 90+ alumni events, conferences and programs, and the Stern School’s. conversion to new social networking platform for alumni reunions, events management, affinity outreach and engagement. She also managed a communications team contributing to a holistic alumni communications portfolio including e-newsletters, magazines, and website.
Kruckel Gibbs went to NYU from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she served first as Director of Parent Giving and Associate Director of Annual Giving from 1996 to 1998, before becoming Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations from 1998 through 2000. While at SMU, she served on a senior development team managing the university’s $400 million capital campaign, managed a $20 million corporate and foundation portfolio for the six graduate and undergraduate schools, and worked directly with the president and provost on gifts of $1 million+. She also launched a formal parent giving program, established a parents council and managed a personal portfolio of 150 alumni and parent donors.
Before going to SMU, Kruckel Gibbs was Director of Development at New York Methodist Hospital, where she increased annual giving 60% to $1 million in 12 months through special events, direct mail and local community outreach campaign.
Previous to that, Kruckel Gibbs was a Director at Ghiorse & Sorrenti, where she served as on-site fund raising consultant for Maimonides Medical Center’s $30 million capital campaign and St. Frances Health Care System’s $45 million capital campaign.
Earlier, she was a Director with Community Counseling Service, serving as a fundraising consultant for such clients as: Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Archdiocese of New York, Pascack Valley Hospital, Ridgewood Public Library, and Volunteers of America.
She began her career as a Program Associate for Community Relations with National Association of Life Underwriters.
Kruckel Gibbs is a member of Women in Development, CASE, and AACSB. She serves as Chair of the Fund Raising Committee and a member of the Finance Committee of St. Saviours Church in Brooklyn, New York. She is also a member of the Capital Campaign Advisory Board of Visitation Academy in Brooklyn.
Kruckel Gibbs holds a BA in Political Science from Georgetown University.
She is married with four children.
