Boston Foundation names Kate Guedj Vice President
August 31, 2005
Boston –The Boston Foundation has announced that Kate R. Guedj has been named Vice President of Donor and Philanthropic Services. Her previous title was Director of Philanthropic Services. In this role, she is responsible for designing and managing support activities for donors and for working with fund advisors to oversee how donor-advised funds are provided to a wide range of non-profit organizations that receive support from the Boston Foundation. In her role, she also oversees educational programming for donors and prospective donors, establishing one-on-one and group consultations to develop and support the overall philanthropic growth of the Foundation.
Before joining the senior staff of the Boston Foundation in 2000, Guedj served as Director of Programs and Services for the Massachusetts Bar Association. There she led a staff of 22 serving 18,000 members of the association in the state. She was responsible for marketing and member benefits, including continuing legal education and community service activities. She created strategic partnerships for the Bar Association and initiated a strategic plan for that organization.
Earlier, she served as a Director of Membership and Grants Coordination with the Council on Foundations in Washington, D.C., where she oversaw membership relations with 1,300 Council member foundations across the country.
“As the philanthropic mission has grown, Kate’s ability to manage this critical part of the work of the Boston Foundation has been tested,” said Paul Grogan, President and CEO of the Foundation. “The board, donors and I all agree: she has met the challenge. We look to her to develop our services to individuals, families and corporations as their partner in philanthropy.”
Guedj leads a team of five professionals, including the newly appointed Philanthropic Services Officer Jenna Smith Gomes. Philanthropic and Donor Serves at the Boston Foundation works with donors to help select and support charitable programs, identify and evaluate new funding opportunities, learn about current areas of need in the community and plan for the future involvement and participation of family members in philanthropic endeavors. Philanthropic and Donor Services is donors’ gateway to the myriad of programs and services, knowledge and expertise offered through the Boston Foundation.
Guedj also served as a former member of the Stewardship Committee for Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston, and as a Trustee for the National Conference of Bar Foundations, which is based in Chicago. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in the Division of the Humanities.
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The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, has an endowment of almost $675 million. In 2004, the Foundation made $51 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, and received gifts of $41 million. The Boston Foundation is made up of 750 separate charitable funds, which have been established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a civic leader, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to build community. For more information about the Boston Foundation and its grant making, visit www.tbf.org , or call 617-338-1700.