Rising Professionals of Color in Fundraising

Birgit Smith Burton is the Chief Executive Officer

of AADO, the African American Development

Officers Network, which she founded at Georgia

Tech in 1999 to provide professional

development, education, employment support,

mentorship, and networking opportunities for

fundraisers of color. She is a well-regarded

speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity

and has authored articles on diversity in the

fundraising profession. Birgit co-authored the

book The Philanthropic Covenant with Black

America, contributed to the book Five Minutes for

Fundraising, A Collection of Expert Advice, and shares her personal story in the book Collecting

Courage, which tells the lived experiences of

Black women and men working in the nonprofit

and charitable space (published fall 2020).

During her 26-year career at Georgia Tech, she

led her team in raising over $750M from private

philanthropic foundations to support programs,

scholarships, and capital projects. Birgit was

selected to participate in the first cohort of

Leading Women @ Tech and received the team

award for Outstanding Achievement in Research

Program Development for the Marcus Center for

Therapeutic Cell Characterization and

Manufacturing.

For over a decade, she has served on the global

board of the Association of Fundraising

Professionals (AFP), and she recently concluded

her tenure as Chair of the AFP Global Board. Birgit

received the Opportunity and Inclusion Award

from the Council for the Advancement and

Support of Education, which recognized herleadership in fostering inclusion and diversity

within the fundraising profession. In 2020, the

R.I.S.E. Fund was established in Birgit’s honor

with a mission to advance women of color in

fundraising by providing Resources, Inspiration,

Support, and Education.

Birgit is the recipient of the Be Haas Lifetime

Achievement Award, which honors her

exceptional contributions to the field.

In addition to serving as chair of the A.E. Lowe

Grice Scholarship Fund, which honors her

grandmother, Birgit serves on the advisory

council for Somos El Poder (A National Latinx

Fundraising Institute) and the advisory

committee for Women of Color in Fundraising

and Philanthropy (WOC). She is a member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

She holds a bachelor's degree in media

communications from Medaille University in Buffalo, New York.