M. Linda Wastyn, PhD, CFRE, GPC
President

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Grant Writing and Research

• Strategic Planning Facilitation

• Fundraising Planning & Implementation

• Capital Campaigns and Feasibility Studies

• Board Development

Linda opened Wastyn & Associates in 2011 to help organizations better raise funds, research, and plan their future to make their ideas happen.

She started writing grants at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, beginning in the Alcoholism and Genetics Research Program followed by the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. She served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Bridgewater College in Virginia for 2 years , followed by 14 years at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA, where she served as Director of Grants and Research and Associate Vice President for Advancement, raising more than $17 million. 

At St. Ambrose, she gained extensive fundraising experience in campaign strategy development and management; major donor strategy development and solicitation; grant program development; advancement writing and marketing; prospect research; and database and prospect management. 

Linda served as a member of the St. Ambrose University Strategic Planning Committee for nine years and as its facilitator for six which included developing and implementing an inclusive, participative process that resulted in the University’s Five Year plan in 2009. She was also a member of the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee and the Steering Committee for Reaccreditation at St. Ambrose.

She has taught at the college level for most her professional career, including three years as a full-time instructor in the Communication Department at James Madison University in Virginia and two years in the Fundraising and Philanthropy Communication Program at the University of Iowa. She has also taught strategic planning, strategic communication, and organizational theory as an adjunct instructor in the Master of Organizational Leadership Program at St. Ambrose University and Strategic Planning for Communication and Fundamentals of Strategic Communication in the Master of Strategic Communication program at the University of Iowa.

Linda has actively participated in the Quad Cities Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Grant Professionals Association and frequently speaks at conferences for both organizations. She serves on the board for the Quad Cities Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Living Proof Exhibit, and Child Abuse Council.

Linda earned bachelor’s degrees in Politics and Communication from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree in Rhetorical Studies from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Illinois State University. Her dissertation examined the reasons why some alumni never give to their alma mater.