Patty Rosely fine-tuned her talents into a career in philanthropy

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN FUNDRAISING

As a young woman, M. Patricia “Patty” Rosely did not envision a career in philanthropy. Spending 40 years in nonprofit management and earning a Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals was not something she could have imagined. 

Rather, it was a confluence of talent, personality and circumstance – including a strict professor, a prescient roommate and a flooded job market – that put Rosely on a memorable and successful career path. 

“If you’d told me in 1985 that I’d focus my efforts in development, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Rosely said. “But it ended up being this incredibly rewarding experience.” The joy she felt working with staff, volunteers, donors and board members to fulfill the missions of nonprofit organizations exceeded her expectations, she said, “in terms of how much it filled my soul.”

Building relationships, revenue

Best known for her work at Playhouse in the Park, Beech Acres and OneSource Center, Rosely, who recently retired, helped raise more than $55 million during her career. “Patty has been one of the best fundraisers in the Greater Cincinnati region for many years,” said Danielle Gentry-Barth, executive vice president, agency advancement and veteran services, at Easterseals Redwood. “Patty is a great listener and an exceptional strategist – both important ingredients for making personal relationships and growing revenue.” 

Christie Brown, CEO of OneSource Center, touted Rosely’s kindness and her ability to break big goals into manageable steps. “She genuinely cares about people, both those she works with and the donors she solicits. Working with Patty’s warm and positive demeanor makes everything seem possible.”

Rosely grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of educators. She absorbed the spirit of compassion and giving early, putting coins in the children’s basket during the One Great Hour of Sharing at her church and, over decades, providing loving attention to a “very special sister with special needs.”

She was “a big arts kid” in high school who saw her future in teaching. She sang in the chorus and danced in high school musicals, and was so proficient at the piano that she could play Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Sonata. 

At Western Michigan University, she majored in English. A planned double-major in theater was nixed when a senior design professor expected scene-design drawings to be drafted. “Well, I can’t draft, I can’t pass this class,” Rosely recalled. “Thanks to the professor, I got a theater minor instead of a major.”

That academic change left room for another minor, which would help steer Rosely’s career at a time when the last wave of the baby boom generation was graduating and entering an already-packed job market.

“As I was working toward the end of my degree in 1981, thinking I would teach English and be a theater director at school, I realized, unfortunately, that there were no teaching jobs in Michigan, which is hard to believe these days. I didn’t want to move to Texas where all the jobs were. I needed to get something else, so I picked up an accounting minor. 

“That was actually a critical piece of my success in my career, because when you go into nonprofit management and fundraising, you really need to understand numbers and how finances work and how a budget gets put together.”

While Rosely pondered her future, a roommate suggested that she become a business manager at a theater. Rosely embraced the idea and landed a 10-month, low-paying internship in business management at the Indiana Repertory Theater in Indianapolis. “I got a lot of experience and realized I loved nonprofit management,” Rosely said.

She launched her career as business manager at a theater in Lansing, Michigan, and then spent several years as executive director at the Council of Performing Arts for Children in Grand Rapids. Overseeing “a small, scrappy nonprofit,” she said, offered the best kind of training. She was responsible for programming, marketing, fiscal management and fundraising. 

Management segued into philanthropy. “I was thinking I’d be more a general manager person, but at every job I had the biggest need was to raise more money,” Rosely recalled. “So my English degree served me well. I became a grant writer and also knew I needed to develop a full suite of fundraising skills to become an effective chief philanthropy officer. AFP and other training courses grounded me in the field and set me up for success.” 

Cincinnati successes

Rosely moved to Cincinnati in 2006 to become development director at the Playhouse. During her 11 years there she logged some of her proudest achievements. She helped plan the transformative capital campaign that created a new $50 million mainstage theater complex and Moe and Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre. She spearheaded a $10 million endowment campaign in honor of retiring Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern. And she established and grew the Leading Ladies program, which engages new donors. Today, Leading Ladies brings in more than $100,000 a year and is the single largest annual Playhouse production sponsor. 

More than a fundraiser, Rosely proved an invaluable mentor. In this capacity, she became a teacher after all. She has relished helping young development professionals “find their stride and focus on what their gifts are and then create a team environment where all cylinders are firing.”

Gentry-Barth, who worked with Rosely and others in the early 2010s to revitalize the Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, said “Patty was, and still is, a great advocate for the professional development, education and growth of fundraisers. She has been a fabulous mentor to many, and I’m fortunate to be just one of the people to have learned from her.” 

At OneSource Center, Rosely coached Brown in the art of the ask. “I’m new at asking for major gifts,” Brown said. “She set us up for success with our first major gifts campaign. In order to get me over the ‘choke phase,’ she had me practice in front of the mirror until the words rolled off my tongue. And it worked!”

Rosely is optimistic about fundraising’s future but says burnout and income disparity between chief development officers and non-executive staff are a concern. “To keep the best and brightest in our field – and across the nonprofit sector – salaries and benefits, including retirement, must be increased to become competitive and flexible.”

Rosely has attended nearly every National Philanthropy Day event since moving to Cincinnati and is humbled to find herself one of the AFP’s nominees. “I was able to read these amazing nomination letters that made me cry,” she said. “The whole experience made me very emotional. I’m honored to be part of this class of impactful community leaders. An added bonus: We are all women change makers!”