Hank Rosso was a Master Teacher and a gentle soul except when the people and things he loved were threatened. 

The first time I met him I thought he was an unlikely messenger for the cause of professional fundraising. He had a slight, but noticeable, speech impediment and he was hard of hearing due to a war injury. He was advanced in age (describing himself as “an old walrus”) and The Fund Raising School that he founded and operated with his feisty wife, Dottie, was a low budget, low overhead “mom and pop” enterprise.

Boy was I wrong! The moment Hank opened his mouth to teach, out came wisdom, humor, practical insights and genuine humanity flowing like milk and honey. On closer inspection, The Fund Raising School showed itself to be a first-rate, deeply professional organization that was dedicated to teaching  the art (and a little science) of fundraising in a systematic and impactful way that was totally new to the world of philanthropic fundraising

I was a young development officer then (the 1980s) and I had been taught to be skeptical of people who saw themselves as “merely” fundraisers. Boy was I wrong! As taught by Hank Rosso, “fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.” It is nothing like twisting people’s arms or selling them something they don’t want to buy. And fundraisers are people who are privileged to present people with opportunities to make a difference in the world through their giving and, as a result, to experience profound joy.

Hank was a simple man. I got to know him personally through workshops we conducted in three neighboring Catholic dioceses. I would speak about the spirituality of stewardship and Hank would explain how stewardship principles can be put into practice through the art of professional, systematic fundraising.

“You can raise more money with an organized approach to fundraising than with a disorganized approach,” he said frequently. How simple. How often misunderstood.

As with all entrepreneurs, Hank had to face the questions of succession and sustainability. His dream was to ground The Fund Raising School in the academy so that it’s teaching would be enriched by research and reflection and, in turn, it could provide students with practical wisdom based on experience “in the field.” But Hank was fiercely protective of The Fund Raising School and it’s people. He refused to settle for anything less than excellence in his school and its teaching, and he refused to turn it over to anyone (or any institution) that did not share his vision.

Hank’s dream came true in 1987 when The Fund Raising School became an integral part of Indiana University’s Center On Philanthropy (now The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy). The genius of Henry A. Rosso, his charisma and insights, were institutionalized with this move. That’s not an easy thing to pull off, but it worked thanks to the leadership of IU’s Dr. Gene Tempel and many others who truly believed that the Rosso approach to teaching fundraising could be successfully transplanted to a great university and, in the process, be nurtured, cultivated and grown.

I am deeply grateful to Hank Rosso for all that he taught me about the gentle art of fundraising. May his name always be associated with teaching the joy of giving!