Pearl D. Shaw, CFRE, is a fund development strategist and nationally syndicated writer with management experience in the private and non-profit sectors. As a principal at Saad&Shaw she works directly with diverse nonprofit and higher education leaders conducting feasibility studies, designing fundraising programs, and leading training sessions that engage trustees, volunteers and staff.
Prior to forming Saad&Shaw she headed her own firm, Phrased Write, providing nonprofit organizations with proposal writing, executive coaching, and strategic fund development services. She has also served as development director of the Women’s Funding Network, an international association of more than 150 women and girls’ foundations, and as a major gifts officer for Mills College. Her private-sector experience includes operations management, business development, and marketing for a software development firm. As a principal at Saad & Shaw she works directly with diverse nonprofit leaders conducting feasibility studies, designing fundraising programs, and conducting fundraising training sessions that engage trustees, volunteers and staff.
An accomplished writer Pearl is the co-author of the nationally distributed weekly column FUNdraising Good Times published in 30 publications across the country and in blog format. She is also the co-author of three books on fundraising, Prerequisites for Fundraising Success and The Fundraiser’s Guide to Soliciting Gifts and The Grand Experiment.
Pearl serves on the board of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the marketing committee of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis. She holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University East Bay. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and a graduate of the Leadership Memphis class of 2012. She is married to Mel Shaw.