William Sturtevant, Ph.D
Bill Sturtevant is the current Sheth Foundation Treasurer and has been with The Foundation since 2000. He is Senior Vice President for Principal Gifts at the University of Illinois Foundation. From 1980 until 2004 he was Vice President for Planned Giving and Trust Relations and built what is considered by many to be one of the nation’s preeminent gift planning programs.
Mr. Sturtevant arrived at the University of Illinois at the onset of its first fund drive. He was responsible for the strategy and the actual calling on the significant number of major gifts in that campaign. He played a central role in the University’s successful $1.5 billion campaign and has been orchestrating lead gifts to the current $2.25 billion efforts.
Mr. Sturtevant’s responsibilities now encompass developing and implementing strategies for donors and families capable of gifts at a level of $5 million or more. During his years at Illinois, he has been directly involved with over $500 million in major gifts. He oversees a staff of ten.
Early in his career, Mr. Sturtevant used his MBA background as an entree in private industry. His first fundraising experience was in public television, and at the Western Michigan University Foundation, he formed his planned and major gifts skills.
Bill Sturtevant is a nationally recognized specialist in major and deferred gifts planning and solicitation strategies. He earned the Certified Financial Planner designation in 1984 and regularly assists a variety of charitable organizations with complicated or unusual gift situations. He has been listed in Who’s Who, and in 1995 he was honored as Planned Giving Professional of the Year by Planned Giving Today.
His seminars and presentations are extremely popular and he is a frequent speaker before development professionals, hospital groups, and civic organizations. He authored The Artful Journey: Cultivating and Soliciting the Major Gift which was published in 1997, updated in 2004, and is a best seller in the fundraising field.
Mr. Sturtevant also serves as a member of the Board of the Lauritsen Family Foundation. He is a founding Director of the Institute for Charitable Giving. A teacher as well as a doer, he is rigorous in his pursuit of professionalism in fundraising and committed to the highest ethical standards. His guiding tenet is that dedication to the best interests of our donors is the only way to achieve the objectives of the charitable organizations we serve.