Matt Hackler Email & Phone Number

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

I won't forget what it was like to sit at my desk at non-profits big and small, national, local and regional in scope, get the budget to bring in a consultant to lead a critical project for us and think "Thank God, someone's coming to help." All too often, even when the partnership was fun, what I was left with just wasn't targeted enough or practical enough to end up as more than a shiny binder alongside other shiny binders slowly gathering dust on a shelf. After seven years of building capacity for the nation's network for food banks, and more than 25 in the non-profit sector, I've learned what it takes to meet organizations -- and more importantly the people who drive them -- where they are in order to help them get where they dream of going. It's practical, custom, sometimes even resource-intensive work - but the missions we commit ourselves to, our communities, and our neighbors are worth it.

I worked with a team to develop, launch and scale a suite of capacity-building services to help food banks achieve their food sourcing, client access, fundraising and organizational development goals.

In this role, I provided fundraising capacity-building services to the 200-member Feeding America national network of food banks and food rescue organizations. I led a team that provided everything from distance learning and digital courses to deep-dive consultative services and multi-day professional development workshops -- all to help food bank fundraisers raise more money so that we can end hunger in the U.S.

Dallas/Fort Worth Area

In my time at the North Texas Food Bank I led a stellar team of corporate engagement and major gifts officers committed to inviting meaningful investments in the fight against hunger.

Dallas/Fort Worth Area & Washington, Dc Area

After years of foundation building, REAL School Gardens was ready to launch in its second region: the National Capital Area. I returned to the team from the Carnegie Museum of Art to refine its corporate-focused fundraising operation and secure leadership corporate partners for both the Texas and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Pittsburgh, Pa

My time at Carnegie Museum of Art coincided with the exciting lead up to the 2013 Carnegie International, a truly global experience of contemporary art. I was proud to help achieve the exhibition's fundraising goal at the earliest point in recent history and to partner with so many exceptional people who make such a complex institution open its doors everyday to the people of Pittsburgh and beyond.

I'm proud to have served as REAL School Gardens' first development director. In those days, we were a small but mighty family determined to bring hands-on learning to children in North Texas' highest need schools. 5 years and dozens of outdoor classrooms later, we were scaling into a national non-profit under the tireless leadership of Jeanne McCarty. The North Texas foundation community and leaders in corporate employee engagement (Wells Fargo, Texas Instruments, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and others) were early supporters of what is now a strong player in education reform.

The Board of Regents Ph.D. Fellowship is the top fellowship awarded by the University of Louisiana system. It provided me with the chance to focus on coursework and research as well as the opportunity teach an Introduction to Folklore course and course on the Novel and Short Story.

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, English Language And Literature/Letters

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, English Language And Literature/Letters

Master Of Arts (Ma), Arts Administration