Amanda Davis (MPA ’02) has been named the new University of Missouri-Kansas City chief advancement officer and president of the UMKC Foundation beginning Nov. 2. Davis has extensive experience in university fundraising, including the creation of advancement infrastructure and the development and execution of a comprehensive $2 billion campaign.
Davis began her fundraising career in Kansas City in 2002, generating more than $600,000 annually for Genesis School. She has extensive knowledge of UMKC and the UMKC Foundation through her work as director of advancement for the UMKC Law Foundation from 2009-2011.
Continuing to build her career in university advancement, her most recent role was assistant vice president for campaign leadership at the University of Oklahoma Foundation, where she developed programs and policy to accelerate advancement outcomes. Her focus on identifying gift opportunities and prospects contributed to more than $300 million in annual fundraising results.
Davis brings a deep understanding of the Kansas City and UMKC communities. She will have dual reporting responsibilities to UMKC Chancellor Mauli Agrawal and the UMKC Foundation Board of Directors. She will also serve on the university Executive Council and have broad authority to shape and build an advancement program supporting UMKC and UMKC Athletics through annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, major gifts and gift planning programs, endowment, capital campaigns, stewardship and advancement services.
“Amanda has significant experience and success at large universities that will be key to taking our UMKC Foundation to the next level,” Chancellor Agrawal says. “She has a passion for cultivating new donors and bringing advancements in technology to improve the way we do business. In addition, we are thrilled that she knows and understands our Kansas City community and we will be excited to incorporate her ideas here at UMKC.”
She is ready to leverage the existing strengths of the UMKC Foundation for long-term university and community growth and success.
“With the successful staff that is already in place, and the support of the UMKC Foundation board members who are passionate about the community as a whole and the accomplishments of individual students, I know we can execute the vision for accelerating student success, generating significant growth in research and the commitment to further healthcare delivery for the region,” Davis says.
Jerry Reece, chair of the UMKC Foundation Board, says he has high expectations for Davis.
“We are confident that under Amanda’s leadership the UMKC Foundation will continue to be a trusted community partner and exceed its goals for the development of the university,” he says. “We look forward to her engagement with the university and Kansas City communities.”
Co-chairs for the search were Warren Erdman, executive vice president Kansas City Southern Railway and UMKC Trustee and Sheri Gormley, chief of staff, office of the chancellor at UMKC.
Davis is excited to be back in Kansas City and ready to reestablish her community ties.
“One of my favorite quotes is from Horace. ‘Begin, be bold, but venture to be wise.’ This corresponds with my view of UMKC. There’s a vision and an opportunity to be exceptional,” she says.