About Us
Advisors
We believe the company you keep says something about you. We are proud to have a group of individuals who have been trusted advisors over the years and continue to give wise counsel.
Randy Oostra
Managing Partner
BlueprintN1
Mike Hylant
Executive Chairman, Board of Directors
Hylant Group
Aly Sterling
President & Founder
Aly Sterling Philanthropy
Bruce A. Bartoo
President & Chief Gratitude Officer
Gratitude Health Group
Don Rettig
President
Owens Corning Foundation
Leslie Chapman
Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Calvin and Christine Sweeney
President and Executive Director
Art Tatum Zone
Kathleen Krueger
Executive Leader and Chief Operating Officer
Marshall & Melhorn
Dan Farrell
Retired Business Owner and Philanthropist
Rick Weinstein
Director and Fundraising Executive
BigHeart Philanthropy
Hayley Studer
Chief Executive Officer
achi
Our Founder & Lead Philanthropy Architect - Gary Cates
Gary doesn't just manage campaigns; he designs them for high-performance output. A preeminent voice in the field, Gary is known for his willingness to speak truth to power—most notably at a high-level summit in Washington D.C., where he stepped off-script to challenge traditional assumptions about social determinants and resource allocation. This bold, "Architectural" approach has defined a 40-year career spent moving hundreds of millions of dollars from "intent" to "impact." His tenure as a senior executive at ProMedica—specifically his collaboration with Randy Oostra to pioneer the integration of philanthropy into healthcare strategy—remains a cornerstone of his "For-Profit Mindset" approach. This work set a national benchmark for how social equity can be transformed through strategic, investment-grade philanthropy. Today, through mach73, Gary leverages that deep "boots-on-the-ground" wisdom alongside proprietary AI-assisted analytics. By identifying Values Signature Alignment and measuring Donor Readiness, he provides clients with the technical precision needed to accelerate their missions at Mach speed.
(Go to our Library section to obtain a copy of Gary's bio.)