Chris Hernandez, MBA, CMA, CHFP
Chief Financial Officer, UCLA Health, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Director of Operations, The Trevor Project (2009-2012)
I have had the good fortune of working with Brian. His leadership and strategic focus make him a stellar Development partner to work with. Brian can articulate the needs and mission of organization above and beyond others in his field. For guidance and consulting on any Development needs, Brian is my go-to!
Laura McGinnis
Public Relations, Public Affairs, Marketing, and Events Specialist
Communications Director, The Trevor Project (2010-2014)
Brian is an excellent development strategist and relationship steward. He understands the complexity of donor and organizational needs, and excels in creating streamlined revenue streams and implementing successful giving strategies. He is dedicated to strong performance and achieving an organization's mission, and that dedication and skill, as well as his sense of humor and genuine excitement for the job make Brian a talented and valued colleague. He is an asset to any organization he is with.
John Clayton
Chairman, Board of Directors; Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena
CEO, Clayton Industries
Brian came to the Boys & Girls Club during a time of transition for our organization. The Board hired him because of his background as fundraiser and our goal to grow the organization and provide a long-term, sustainable revenue strategy for the Club.
Under his leadership, we completed a new strategic plan to guide the organization through the end of this decade. Brian maintained fidelity to the plan and supported the Board as we worked towards our goals. At the core of our plan was the goal to serve more children and teenagers. Brian grew our membership by 30% during his tenure. With his departure this month, we are serving 15% more members every day.
Brian was successful in increasing revenue, which was critical as we were serving more children. He implemented strategies that specifically grew our corporate sponsorship and earned income from renting our facilities to community partners. He was able to increase our rental income by 50% by maintaining strong relationships with our partners and maximizing available time outside of our program hours. He worked diligently to raise our profile and develop stronger relationships with our individual donors by building on our 80 yearlong reputation.
I enjoyed working Brian, as he was a great partner with the Board of Directors. He filled an important role during his time with the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena and together we accomplished more than we had expected. He left a big impact on the Club during his time with us.
Brian Cordova-Brookey
Partner, Tucker Ellis LLP
Past Chair, Garden Party for Trevor
I write to offer my enthusiastic recommendation of Brian Davis… I am a former Board member of the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. As part of an LGLA annual gala several years ago, I organized and ran a silent auction, with all proceeds to benefit The Trevor Project. Brian Davis was my liaison at Trevor, and offered guidance and support as we launched the first of what would be an annual auction to benefit worthy LGBT causes.
After the auction, Brian encouraged me to stay involved with Trevor. I agreed, and Brian quickly got me involved with the Development Committee of Trevor. Brian's stewardship was very effective, and he kept encouraging me to increase my involvement, and my contributions, to Trevor (ultimately, I increased my annual donation to Trevor five-fold).
During the time Brian was at Trevor, I was able to observe firsthand many of his skills. Brian is smart, creative, passionate, organized, and hard-working. Brian is able not just to attract new donors, but to make every donor feel valued. I have never known anyone with a better recall of people's names, including the names of spouses and children, and Brian uses that talent to make donors (and others) feel important and special whenever he sees them.
That is one of the reasons the donors Brian stewarded frequently increased their contributions, and one of the reasons any time Brian asked to me to do something as a volunteer, I said yes. Brian has a rare combination of fund-raising acumen and interpersonal skills that make him very effective in development.
Stephanie Bronson
TEEN LINE Board of Directors
I first met Brian when he served as the Development Director for TEEN LINE, a teen to teen help line for young people staffed by trained teenage volunteers. Both my children were volunteers with TEEN LINE; the organization is very important to our family.
As a small organization, TEEN LINE had relied on the support of parents for many years. For us to grow, we had to look for new ways to raise money and bring more people into the organization. Brian empowered parents and the volunteers to establish new sources of revenue, and served as a fundraising mentor as we worked to implement new programs and grow TEEN LINE.
Under Brian's leadership, a group of our teen volunteers launched “Summer Lovin'" which raised more than $30,000 In Its first year! When one of our parents found her friends excited about a fundraising boutique we hosted at the Food for Thought Luncheon, Brian worked with her to develop it as a stand-alone fundraiser. Brian was a beloved member of the team and a favorite of the teens.
Brian is an incredibly talented fundraiser and creative development executive. I believe that you will see that he can find new sources of revenue, generate excitement among your donors and leadership.
David McFarland
Filmmaker, Alone in the Game
Former Chair, Board of Directors; Interim Executive Director & CEO, The Trevor
Project
It is my great pleasure to recommend Brian Davis... I worked very closely with Brian when I served as Chair of the Board of Directors and subsequently as Interim Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project. Brian approached his role as Major Gifts Officer with enthusiasm and professionalism, and drove our major gifts program - Circle of Hope / Friends of Trevor - strategically and effectively.
When I served as Chair of the Board of Directors, The Trevor Project catapulted to the front of a national dialog addressing LGBTQ youth suicide, crisis intervention methods, and the isolation created by bullying and harassment of our young people. With that attention, came a great responsibility to seize the opportunities presented to the organization to help LGBTQ youth.
As Brian directed our major gifts program, he focused on building relationships with our donors and maintaining those relationships for years to follow. Many donors who contributed for the first time in 2010 - 2012 were well-stewarded and came fully into the Trevor family. Trevor still sees their giving today at TrevorLIVE and/or the annual Garden Party filling the growing list of Friends of Trevor. This was no small feat, but Brian’s vision, strategic planning, personality and most of all his personal attention to donors helped Trevor sustain what could only be described as meteoric growth. Furthermore, his fundraising abilities helped Trevor grow its cash reserves from $350K to $2.8 million in a year’s period of time (2011- 2012).
Today, The Trevor Project flourishes because of this dramatic growth, successfully meeting the demands for its programs in communities all across America. Because of Brian’s contributions, the organization is able to help more young people, its allies, and advocate nationally on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
Christopher Stewart
Founder & Principal, Bumblecrumpets
Owner, Christopher Stewart Photography
I’ve worked with and known Brian Davis on a personal level for five years and can wholeheartedly recommend him… He would do an outstanding job and bring a wealth of experience mixed with down to earth charm and hard work to your amazing organization.
I first met Brian in the summer of 2010. There had been a rash of publicized gay teen suicides and I was made aware of The Trevor Project. Brian was, at that time, serving as their Major Gifts Officer. I wanted to make a donation, but instead he shepherded me through the process of actually organizing my own fundraiser. He taught me that I could share my story as someone who had also attempted suicide to raise awareness and expand fundraising efforts even more. Together, we raised just over $25,000 in one night from my friends and family. Additionally, he helped me feel comfortable increasing my own giving to that organization.
Brian also shows compassion for others without an agenda or concern for his standing. He cares about those he deals with and the lives he affects through his work. It is the one thing that impressed me most about him as a professional. He has a magnificent heart. Brian is a world-class individual, with tenacity for fundraising, donor support and, is full of love.