Kelly Smith Taylor is a dedicated fundraising and nonprofit development professional with a passion for driving year-over-year fundraising success and program impact through strategic planning. She finds inspiration in seeing organizations, teams, and individuals unlock their full potential.

Kelly’s journey in this field began in 1995 when she graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. During her undergraduate years, she gained valuable experience working in Washington, D.C., with the Congressional office of John Boehner organizing his yearly Farm Forum and working with the Republican House Conference Committee. In 2008, Kelly officially began working in nonprofit development as Vice President of Strategic Partners for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions (BIPPS) in Lexington, Kentucky where she spent close to 11 years advancing BIPPS work to move Kentucky from big government debt to prosperity. Her policy analysis was published in the Lexington Herald Leader. She has continued that core mission to advance liberty through philanthropy working as Director of Development at the Yankee Institute in Connecticut and at the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

Kelly’s passion lies in creating opportunities for fundraising growth and success for organizations that protect children, promote freedom and prosperity, devoted to historic preservation, drive education outcomes and champion faith.

Her expertise includes grant writing, strategic planning including systems and automations, High Dollar Direct Mail programs and High Dollar Prospect Acquisition. Finally, she enjoys helping clients creatively and clearly communicate an organization’s mission through the organization’s impact. What she enjoys most about her work in development is connecting and listening to people, understanding their vision, and finding alignment between mission and potential funders. Kelly is a creative thinker, focused doer, and connector who excels at distilling essential information to turn ideas into impact.

Clients