The idea for Philanthropy Expert LLC came as an epiphany one Sunday morning in 2011 when Melanie Ulle was meditating. She had a vision that included the name of the company, the vision and the impact the company would make for the community and the organizations it would serve.
As a mother of two girls with a full-time job, Ulle bootstrapped the company with her own dollars, worked eighty-hour weeks, missed important life events and shed many tears. Eventually, the nonprofit started generating enough revenue to take off and recruited consultants who care for the organization’s clients and consider themselves extensions of the teams they serve.
Philanthropy Expert LLC meets the needs of corporations and family offices seeking to give dollars away effectively and helps nonprofits professionalize their development shops to improve outcomes. Experts in strategic planning, fundraising, board development, philanthropic visioning and foundation relationships, Philosophy Experts is relentless in its commitment to improving outcomes for nonprofit and philanthropic partners.
“Melanie Ulle has been a leader in the nonprofit community for decades,” said her staff. “As a teacher, mentor, development officer, board member, media source and consultant, she is known throughout Colorado as a leader in philanthropy.”
Ulle has co-chaired the curriculum committee for the Institute for Leadership in Development at the University of Denver and has mentored development officers for 15 years. Having led several major fundraising campaigns in Colorado, including one that broke every record in the state, she has been a yeoman, committed to the field. Ulle has served on over 20 boards, worked with over 100 nonprofit clients and runs the philanthropic program for a national foundation. Under Ulle’s leadership, Philanthropy Expert’s work exceeds $15 million per year.
Her efforts have been recognized with the Governor’s Fellowship and the AIE Fellowship. Ulle was recognized as a Champion for Change by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was named one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women by the CWCC. The Denver Foundation awarded her the Philanthropic Leader of the Year, too.
According to Ulle, successful leaders must be willing to pivot and show immense flexibility and adaptability. “There are so many unknowns in every industry as we react to the fast pace of technology, changes in generational work habits and expectations, and external global challenges that are entirely outside our control,” she said.
Tapping into her superpower, Ulle said having confidence in yourself and your mission is essential as a leader. “I have been accused of having the ability to befriend a brick wall,” she said. “I have had the fortune of having too much confidence in my own social skills, which has been very helpful in both business and in life.”
