Tammie Ruda, Better Telescope Consulting

Tammie Ruda has witnessed the transformational power of education and of fundraising and is committed to bringing those benefits to the institutions with which she partners. Recognizing that fundraising is an art and a science, Tammie helps clients enhance their data-based decision-making and strengthen their relationship-based fundraising efforts.

Since 2019, Tammie has consulted with nonprofits and educational institutions and provided services that include analyzing and interpreting historic and current results as well as assessing readiness for annual, capital, and comprehensive campaigns; coaching and training staff and volunteers; and helping to build the infrastructure required to manage and execute fundraising and engagement efforts.

Before consulting, Tammie spent over 25 years in higher education, working on five major fundraising campaigns, including three with goals over $1B. She led the annual funds at Harvard and Brown, served for three years as chair of the Annual Giving Directors’ Consortium, and received the Diane Thompson Award from the Northeast Annual Giving Conference. She also led prospect management, database conversion, and advancement information technology teams and helped establish the Alumni of Color Initiative, a comprehensive fundraising effort which engaged self-identified African American, Asian American, Latinx, Native American, and multiracial alumni in philanthropy to Brown University.

Tammie enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. She authored an article on the effective use of challenge gifts (Currents, March 2011) as well as two chapters in Donor Relations:  The Essential Guide to Stewardship Policies, Procedures, and Protocol (CASE, 1999). A frequent conference speaker and organizer, she has presented at and chaired conferences for practitioners at all experience levels. She received the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) Crystal Apple Teaching Award in 2010 and is a CASE Laureate.

Tammie volunteers as a high school debate coach and board member of the Massachusetts Speech & Debate League. She earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in History and Science (medieval and Renaissance astronomy) from Harvard College and her Ed.M. in higher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.