Our Why
We are driven by a shared purpose: to help others, create lasting impact, and find joy in their work.
Our careers in nonprofit leadership and higher education have given us the opportunity to lead, serve, and grow alongside incredible teams.
We have learned that success is built on collaboration, listening, and strategic clarity. By addressing challenges head-on, developing thoughtful solutions, and building strong teams, meaningful results follow.
Together, we bring these experiences to you, so you can lead with confidence and achieve lasting impact.
Our Leadership
Deborah Kirchhoff
Mitzi Richards
Deborah “Debbie” R. Kirchhoff, MBA, CFRE, is a strategic higher education and nonprofit leader with more than 25 years of experience building partnerships, advancing innovation, and leading transformational initiatives across the Kansas City region. She recently retired as Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Kansas State University Olathe, where she has played a key role in strengthening industry engagement, building programs, expanding professional education programs, generating sustainable revenue, and advancing collaborative research initiatives.
Throughout her career, Debbie has demonstrated exceptional success in strategic planning, fundraising, program development, and organizational leadership. During her tenure with Kansas State University, she secured $5 million in federal appropriations for the Olathe campus, secured record philanthropic support for the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Olathe campus, including leading efforts that generated $12 million in a single fiscal year. She has also cultivated strong partnerships with industry, government, and academic leaders to launch innovative initiatives such as 1Data, and workforce-focused educational programs and research that are recognized nationally for excellence.
Prior to her work in higher education, Debbie held executive leadership roles with several nonprofit organizations focused on community service, education, and violence prevention. Her expertise spans resource development, board engagement, organizational strategy, communications, and operational leadership. She is also an active consultant, advising nonprofit and community organizations on strategic planning, revenue generation, and leadership development.
A respected collaborator and community connector, Debbie is known for building strong relationships that drive meaningful impact. She has received recognition from the University Economic Development Association for innovative university-industry partnerships, United Way of Greater Kansas City, and has been honored by the Kansas Children's Service League for her lasting contributions to the organization and its mission.
Debbie earned her Master of Business Administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University and her Bachelor of Science in Business from Kansas State University. She has held the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and the Strategic Doing Certified Workshop Leader certifications.
Mitzi Richards brings more than four decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and institutional advancement, with a career defined by building meaningful relationships and advancing mission-driven impact.
She began her career in healthcare nonprofit leadership, serving for seventeen years in executive roles that grounded her work in community-centered service and organizational stewardship. This early experience shaped her deep understanding of the vital role nonprofits play in strengthening communities.
In 1998, Mitzi joined the Kansas State University Foundation, where she spent twenty years in progressively senior leadership roles. She led advancement efforts for the College of Engineering, successfully tripling its endowment and expanding opportunities for students and faculty. She also managed principal gift donor relationships and played a key role in advancing capital projects aligned with institutional priorities. Later, she led Corporate and Foundation Relations for the university, cultivating strategic partnerships that connected corporate and philanthropic investment with university initiatives.
A recognized leader in her field, Mitzi was a founding contributor to the establishment of the National Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) in 2007, an organization dedicated to strengthening university-industry partnerships worldwide. She went on to serve as Co-President in 2013, helping shape the organization’s national presence and impact.
Following her university career, Mitzi expanded her perspective by leading marketing for a financial services firm, where she gained valuable experience in client service delivery and aligning financial strategies with philanthropic goals. This work continues to inform her ability to bridge conversations between donors, advisors, and nonprofit organizations.
Most recently, she served as Director of Philanthropy at the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, where she spent four years deepening donor engagement and strengthening the role of community philanthropy across northeast Kansas. Her work focused on connecting donors’ values with community needs while supporting board and leadership development.
Mitzi’s work always begins with a conversation. She partners with nonprofit leaders, board members, and donors to bring clarity, focus, and practical strategies to fundraising, governance, and engagement, helping organizations build meaningful relationships and sustainable philanthropic growth that benefits communities for generations.