GG+A was founded more than six decades ago on the principle that philanthropy is one of society’s most powerful transformational tools

Our History

Based in Chicago, the firm developed early relationships with a diverse range of members of the nonprofit sector, including Antioch and Berea Colleges, South Chicago Community Services, and the YMCA. Over the following decades, GG+A expanded to serve clients worldwide with a sophisticated mix of expertise in institutional advancement, custom-built analytical tools, and best-practice methodologies.

GG+A has provided philanthropic consulting services to more than 3,000 nonprofits in five arenas: higher education, independent schools, healthcare and academic medicine, arts and culture, and civic organizations. In the higher education and academic medicine sectors alone, the firm has provided counsel to more than 30 of the top 50 globally ranked universities; nearly all members of the Association of American Universities; more than 100 of American’s most distinguished academic medical centers and hospitals, distinguished public research universities in every state; flagship public universities in 46 states, more than 50 British and European universities, distinguished universities and medical centers in Australia and Asia, Canada’s leading research universities, independent schools, as well as arts, human services, and other nonprofit organizations around the world.

Our client partners have conducted 97 of the 179 campaigns of $1 billion or more completed to date. Currently, our clients are engaged in fundraising campaigns with a total value of nearly $60 billion. Individual client goals have ranged from $5 million to more than $6 billion, which demonstrates the firm’s experience in serving nonprofits of all sizes.

Why We Stand Out

• Strong working relationships with high-profile philanthropic networks and individuals
• Expertise in building and guiding advisory boards, governance boards, and campaign leadership boards
• A high-performance culture that values knowledge, skill, teamwork, and accountability
• An enduring commitment to working collaboratively with clients to build sustainable fundraising programs to fulfill their missions
• Pioneering use of analytics to guide philanthropy strategy and tactics
• Proven ability to create and help implement comprehensive fundraising plans that achieve defined goals
• Deep experience in the full range of advancement disciplines, including major gift fundraising, annual giving, alumni relations, advancement services, strategic communications, and philanthropic analytics