Susan Holt | President & Senior Consultant

Susan Holt is a nationally recognized philanthropy leader, advisor, and coach with more than 40 years of experience helping nonprofit leaders and organizations achieve ambitious fundraising goals.

She founded Vision Philanthropy Group (VPG) in 2009 to help organizations unlock the potential of transformational giving. Her expertise spans health care and biomedical sciences, higher education, global health, cultural organizations, and other nonprofit institutions.

Susan is the creator of Bold Asking®, VPG’s signature coaching and training program designed to build the confidence, skills, and mindset needed to secure transformational gifts. Her approach demystifies major gift fundraising, brings greater purpose—and even joy—to the process, and empowers leaders and fundraisers to make the bold asks that can change the future of their organizations.

Throughout her career, Susan has led and advised successful campaigns ranging from $10 million to $1.3 billion and partnered with institutional leaders to secure individual gifts ranging from $1 million to $250 million for capital, operating, and endowed priorities.

Before founding VPG, Susan held senior development leadership roles at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, and National Jewish Health.

With undergraduate and graduate degrees in music and vocal performance, Susan brings the discipline, creativity, listening skills, and human connection of the performing arts to her work as a philanthropy coach and advisor.

Susan lives in Nashville with her husband. When she isn’t helping clients pursue gifts they once thought impossible, she enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren, studying voice, singing in her church choir, oil painting—and keeping up with Pilates and spin classes.

For more information about Bold Asking® facilitators, visit visionphilanthropy.com

“The research at Mass. Eye and Ear is a game-changer in developing future cures for blindness and deafness. We needed to accelerate our fundraising program to ensure our world-class scientists have the philanthropic resources they need to continue their discoveries. Susan has provided counsel to our entire team, and I needed to create a high-performing fundraising program. With her guidance, we have set audacious goals and are achieving fantastic results that exceed our expectations.” -Wyc Grousbeck, Former Chairman of the Board, Mass. Eye and Ear and Past-Managing Partner, Governor and CEO of the Boston Celtics