About Mike Schaefer

Fundamentally, I’m a builder. But I don’t like to build just anything – I like to build the right things.

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a couple decades supporting my community and our non-profit organizations in a variety of volunteer and leadership roles. I come from a family that has thoughtfully distributed the vast majority of its wealth - more than $160m - to charitable causes in ways that we expect will produce credible change for decades to come. While the path we’re travelling might be a bit less traveled, the good news is we have plenty of insight and experience left to share with others who want to create sustainable change through thoughtful philanthropy and strong donor relations.

Professionally, my career has bridged the gap between government (I worked in City Hall for many years as shared staff for 9 elected officials), Fortune 500 companies (where I was accountable for many governance and information technology functions), and fast paced start-ups.  I'm a Stanford Certified Project Manager, have plenty of six sigma process improvement training, and professional certification in Planned Giving.  When it comes to building community wealth -- I get the importance of collaboration, of bringing diverse viewpoints to the table, and never losing sight of our unique strengths.   What I am not is a financial planner or an attorney - instead I see myself as part of a team investigating and tracking philanthropic opportunities that best fit my clients needs.

CREDIBLE GIVING is all about building the future – combining vision with great data. I’ve walked plenty more than a mile in the well-worn shoes required to balance heart and head to make the best decisions possible. I welcome your inquiries – and look forward to working together.