Nathan Berkas Email & Phone Number

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

At Big City Mountaineers, we bring the transformative power of time spent in nature to a generation of young people who face increased barriers to outdoor access, as well as other systemic challenges in their lives. A BCM experience helps youth better connect with themselves, with nature, with their community, and with a sense of joy. By providing free, fully outfitted, and professionally led outdoor and backcountry trips, we’re able to give youth ages 12 to 18 the opportunity to strengthen their skills, their mental and physical health, their social-emotional well being, and help them become better stewards of our planet. We engage young people in six metropolitan regions across the country, including Boston MA, Minneapolis MN, Denver CO, Seattle WA, Portland OR, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lead a comprehensive program for advancing Augsburg University's engagement of its alumni as well as all current/future benefactors to the Augsburg Fund and core mission support. Supervising a team and leadership volunteers, I lead and inspire others to connect their work with the overall goals of the institution. • Serve on Institutional Advancement’s leadership team and assist in planning and implementing divisional priorities and strategies. • Develop and execute a comprehensive program for alumni relations, lead strategies to identify and engage alumni and friends that will support Augsburg’s mission, increase pride and awareness of Augsburg, and grow participation rates and dollars raised for the Augsburg Fund and core mission support.• Responsible for expanding, deepening, and broadening the alumni and annual giving work at Augsburg University. This work assumes strategy and implementation of all events throughout the year (including Homecoming, networking events, Give to the Max Day, etc.), and works to raise more than $1.1 million annual for the Augsburg Fund.• Act as primary staff liaison to Augsburg’s alumni board, organizing and executing board activities, committee work, and alumni-to-alumni and alumni-to-student events.• Lead comprehensive plan to manage communication strategies for Institutional Advancement coordinating with VP and communications staff.

Oversee and lead program and operation of all facets of Wilderness Canoe Base: from the recruiting, hiring and supervising of year-round and seasonal staff, to the management of day-to-day operations, to the development efforts toward the annual budget and the completion of a $1.4 million Campaign, to overseeing a $800,000+ budget, to recruiting new organizations to participate in Wilderness Canoe Base. This work requires a strategic vision, an ability to communicate effectively with staff and outside constituents, and a keen attention to both the minute detail and the big picture.• Recruit, hire, train and support all summer staff, volunteers, alumni guests, and high school counselors in training. Training requires a range in competencies from theologically sound bible study, to camping skills, to youth development and mental health conversations, to unconscious bias trainings, to so much more. • Build relationships with past staff, alumni, partner organizations, pastors, church staff, and other entities to ensure that there is open communication and dialogue about mutual needs, opportunities for partnership, and fundraising possibilities.• Strategize and facilitate long-term plans for Wilderness Canoe Base including: projects related to site and facility upgrades and improvements, diversifying the constituent base of staff, guests and campers, expanding the base of users, and creating new ways that Wilderness Canoe Base partners with users after they leave.• Write, create and train staff in bible study materials that are grounded in ELCA tradition, and contextual to the setting of Wilderness Canoe Base.• Direct camp in a way that adheres to the high standards of the American Camp Association, Minnesota Department of Health, and Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp Board. ACA re-accreditation took place in 2019 for Wilderness Canoe Base.

• Manage operations and projects to develop resources, support staff, communicate with external constituents and host events to further the fundraising efforts of Global Church Sponsorship.• Develop relationships with individual donors, congregations and key stakeholders to raise support for Global Church Sponsorship programs and ministries totally $33 million over the course of a 5 year Campaign.• Speak at congregations, board and committee meetings, and with organizations to share the story of the work of Global Church Sponsorship and cultivate future support. • Work collaboratively across many units, teams, and staff, both internally and externally to forward the fundraising efforts of ELCA Global Church Sponsorship.

Chicago, Il

• Developed strategic fundraising and marketing initiatives to more broadly share the story and raise support for ELCA Global Church Sponsorship ministries• Managed operations and special projects to increase productivity in office• Charged with creating fundraising and stewardship efforts for mid-level donors to both ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response• Coordinate, manage, and plan for ELCA World Hunger Planning Team - a 9 person cross-unit team of program directors connected with ELCA World Hunger

Chicago, Il

-Frontline communications contact for constituents - Pastors, ELCA Members, Youth Directors, Young Adults, etc. - about the ministry and scope of ELCA World Hunger-Tasked with helping to support, broaden, and strengthen the network of 500+ Hunger Leaders

-Created order forms and requests, and contracts for Print and Television advertisements for 8 major clients including Luxottica/Lenscrafters, Microsoft, and Samsung-Dealt with discrepancies with price, positioning, dates, and other errors that may have occurred-Audited advertisements to make sure that they ran correctly-Made phone calls and was in contact with local markets across the country

-Created and produced high-quality coffee drinks in a quick and timely manner-Took orders and rung up sales efficiently and precisely

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Religion/Religious Studies

Education record