JAMES D. YUNKER, EdD

Jim Yunker brings to each of the nonprofit organizations he helps the perspectives of a donor, volunteer, fundraising committee member, board chair, staff member, ceo, teacher, parent, and consultant. His ability to appreciate, understand and help organizations tackle the perceptions and realities of fundraising responsibilities of individuals in all of these roles has earned him kudos from those he has helped over the past 40 years.

First as editor of alumni publications and then assistant director of alumni and development at Ball State University, Jim was grounded in the importance of volunteer involvement. Over the intervening years, he has prepared and conducted fundraising and public relations programs for private colleges in the United States and in England as well as for professional associations. A consultant since 1983, Jim has guided organizations from Arts groups to Zoos in raising annual, major and capital funds while strengthening staff and volunteer resources and competencies along the way. Adept at helping volunteer leaders understand their responsibilities, he has guided many organizations in strengthening their leadership and board development practices.

Jim’s practical experience is balanced with a baccalaureate degree in journalism and a master’s in public relations from Ball State University which recognized him in 1995 as its Outstanding Journalism Alumnus of the Year. At Indiana University, where he earned his doctorate in higher education administration, his dissertation examined why people give. His association with Indiana continues through his involvement with the Center on Philanthropy which recognized him with its annual Spirit of Philanthropy Award in 2003. An active volunteer of a number of local and national organizations, he is past president of the board of directors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. In 2007-08, Jim was president of Cincinnati Rotary Foundation, director of the Cincinnati Rotary Club (2005-08). Currently, Jim is president of the Board of Pro Seniors, and Vice President of Cincinnati Citizen Police Association. 

In 2011, Jim was recognized for his local volunteer activities by being named Citizen of the Year by the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2008, Jim completed the FBI Citizens' Academy Program.  In 2009, he was recognized for his volunteer work in the Forest Hills School District with "The Friend of Children PTA Award" presented by the Turpin High School PTA.

As Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) alumnus, Jim is a member of the Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and past chair of its Ethics Committee. He is a member of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, founding director of the Association of Philanthropic Counsel (APC), and former member of the London-based Institute of Fundraising. Nationally, Jim serves as Chairman of the Board of the Giving USA Foundation, publisher of Giving USA and serves on the Board of Directors of the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. Jim is one of 16 original partners of Social Venture Partners – Cincinnati.

He and his wife, parents of an Ohio University alumnus and an OU junior, reside in Anderson Township, a Cincinnati Suburb.