Dan Shephard is Principal of The Shephard Group, which provides training, coaching, and consulting services focused on the skillsets most valuable to frontline fundraisers.   A veteran of the not-for-profit sector since 1986, Dan knows from personal experience the value to the charitable gift planner of being equipped with both the competence and the confidence to engage a potential donor in a discussion that will result in a significant gift commitment.

He is the creator of The Four Decisions – How to Lead Your Donor to Each, which serves as the foundation of his training programs on conversational gift planning.  He has taught hundreds of fundraising professionals at such nonprofits as Columbia University, Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Florida International University, the Smithsonian Institution, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Dan began his fundraising career in the performing arts, serving as Director of Development for The Fulton Opera House, New American Theatre, and Pittsburgh Public Theatre.

During his time in higher education he served as Planned Giving Director for the Florida State University Foundation, Director of Development for the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, Director of Gift Planning for The Citadel Foundation, and Director of Development for the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.