Building Blocks Speakers
Laura MacDonald, CFRE has worked professionally in fundraising and philanthropy for more than 40 years, although her interest in serving the common good may be traced to childhood experiences in church, clubs, and a large active family. When she joined a fundraising consulting firm in the early 1980s, she drew on skills learned in television production and corporate communications to tell the stories of hundreds of nonprofit clients.
Her fundraising acumen was sharpened in the late 1990s when she served alongside a remarkable corps of dedicated professionals during The Ohio State University’s first billion-dollar fundraising campaign.
Building on these experiences, she established Benefactor Group in 2000; a firm that has applied its founding principle of “serving those who serve the common good” by helping hundreds of organizations fuel their cause with powerful fundraising, people, and systems. As founder and principal of the firm, her counsel is sought by leaders in arts and culture, higher education, healthcare, human services, and other nonprofit causes.
Laura is constantly curious about trends in fundraising and philanthropy and an astute storyteller. She is a frequent speaker at local, regional, and national conferences (AFP, AAM, AMDA, Charitable Giving Coalition, etc.) and has addressed hundreds of nonprofit boards. Her articles related to advancement and philanthropy have appeared in Advancing Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, Forbes.com, and other professional publications, and is consulted widely by publications such as The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Penta Barron’s, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and was named her chapter’s “Fundraising Professional of the Year” in 2007. Laura is the author of The Endowment Handbook (Wiley, 2024).
She has served the sector through involvement in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, American Alliance of Museums, The Generosity Commission, and especially her service on the boards of the Giving Institute and the Giving USA Foundation. She chaired the latter from 2020 to 2022, helping to steer the organization through a period of extraordinary disruption, while advancing the understanding of philanthropy’s role in society. She is frequently called upon as a strategist, speaker, writer, panelist, commentator, and facilitator.
Kristin Shore, CAP is the Senior Director of Development, Education & Marketing, Gift Planning at Kansas University Endowment Association in Lawrence, Kansas. With twenty years experience in fundraising, financial services (previously licensed financial advisor), and healthcare information technology, she has spent the last nine years specializing in planned giving, retirement giving strategies and estate planning. Kristin served as the 2021 President of Mid-America Charitable Gift Planners in Kansas City and held roles such as Co-Chair of Building Blocks and Sponsorship Chair. She has presented locally and nationally, sharing her expertise in gift planning. Kristin holds a Bachelor's degree in Health Information Management from the University of Kansas Medical Center (Rock Chalk!) and is passionate about making an impact through philanthropic support to build a greater KU. She received her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy Designation earlier this year.
Betsy Lynch, is a proactive problem solver for small businesses. She represents small businesses in contract and vendor disputes, loan negotiations, bankruptcy, and also helps protect assets using estate & succession planning tools. She received her Bachelors degree in Business and Finance from Westminster College in 2002 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2005. While clerking for the Honorable Robert L. Trout, an Associate Circuit Judge in Jackson County, she gained experience with landlord-tenant matters, collection suits, small claims matters, county ordinance violations, and civil trials. She left the clerkship in 2007 to practice bankruptcy law at a small law firm in Kansas City. In 2011, she, like many of her clients, opened her own business where she practiced in the areas of business law, bankruptcy, and estate planning, representing small business owners in all areas of asset protection for over twelve years. She joined Chinnery Evans & Nail, PC in 2023 in an effort to provide more comprehensive services to her small business clients.
Betsy is a legal contributor on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” for her knowledge on bankruptcy-related matters. She was also featured as a contributor on “Planet Money” and the podcast “Case Closed.” Betsy has been named Best of the Bar by the Kansas City Business Journal 6 times. She was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine 8 times. In the Spring of 2014 she was honored as a Rising Star of Philanthropy by the Independent magazine and NonProfit Connect for her volunteer service in the Kansas City community. Betsy was appointed to the City of Kansas City's Fairness in City Contracts board, where she served for 5 years. She is one of the first nine women appointed to a city board or commission through the Women's Foundation Appointments Project, which works in conjunction with the Mayor's office to improve the number of quality women appointed to city board positions. She is a Spring 2015 graduate of the Citizens Academy for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and a 2013 graduate of the Show Me Series for Excellence in Public Service. Currently Betsy serves the Kansas City, Missouri community as a Commissioner on the City Planning Commission and volunteers as a leader with her children’s Scout troops.
Betsy sits as the Legal Advisor on the Executive Committee to the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation. She spent nine (9) years on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph with three (3) years as Chairman of the Board. She previously served on the Council for the Young Lawyers Section of the Missouri Bar Association (3 years) and the Boards of Directors for the Kansas City Bankruptcy Bar Association (3 years) as well as the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City (8 years). She also served on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri (3 years) and provides volunteer legal services for Military Matters and the Volunteer Attorney Project, all while volunteering for a number of other organizations that help improve the Kansas City community.
Betsy is married to Jake Lynch, and they live in Kansas City, Missouri with their three children. Betsy enjoys traveling to National Parks throughout the country, being the Den Mother for her kids Scout Troops, coaching youth sports teams, and taking her kids hiking.
Lois Buntz is an author, former nonprofit executive, and fundraiser. As CEO of United Way- ECI, Lois raised more than $150 million. She has served as an adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa and Assistant Professor at Clarke University. She holds BA- University of Wisconsin, an MSW-University of Iowa and a certificate- Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Stanford University. Ms. Buntz has served on more than twenty nonprofit boards. Her book, Generosity and Gender, is the winner of the 2024 Association of Fundraising Professionals/Skystone Partners Prize for Research on Fundraising and Philanthropy.
In 2017, Ms. Buntz established her own consulting business, Lois Buntz Consulting, specializing in fundraising, board development, strategic planning, and most importantly women’s philanthropy. She presents a local and national conferences, and provides workshops, training, and seminars to a wide range of domestic and international nonprofits, United Ways, philanthropy organizations, and women’s organizations.
Lois and her husband Bob have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. They love to bicycle, travel, golf, and volunteer in their community.
Panelists:
Mark Hass partners with individuals, intergenerational families, family offices, and foundations to meaningfully connect them with, and impact, the hospital’s mission through provisions in their estate. Along with his colleagues in the Department of Philanthropy, he collaborates with hospital administration to activate funding initiatives that ensure the hospital’s promise of a world of well-being for every child that walks through our doors, irrespective of their family’s financial circumstances.
Prior to Children’s Mercy, Mark worked in the for-profit publishing sector and served on various nonprofit health and human service boards in the Kansas City area as a trusted resource for executing marketing and fundraising initiatives. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and resides in Brookside with wife Amanda, daughter, and spunky wire-haired Griffon (aka “Stormin’ Norman”).
Andrew Lang serves as the Vice President of Philanthropy for Starlight, where he has worked since 2014. In his role, Andrew is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic philanthropic plan for Starlight, maintaining strong community and donor relationships, and representing Starlight’s mission and vision externally. Nothing gives him more excitement than helping raise awareness and support so future generations can experience Kansas City’s most unique outdoor treasure!
In the community, Andrew is thrilled to serve as President Elect for the Mid-America Charitable Gift Planners, and has enjoyed serving as a Co-Chair for the Building Blocks committee for the past two years. He is a proud 2020 alum of the Centurions Leadership program, a Big Couple with his wife through Big Brothers Big Sisters, and is a former member of Connext, Top Gun and rockstar class of 2020 for Art That Blows.
Jonathan Schwartzbard has been serving as the Director of Transformational Giving at the Jewish Federation for the past 2 years. In his role he focuses primarily on Planned & Legacy Giving while also working on Major Gifts, Family Philanthropy and Corporate Sponsorships. Additionally, he serves on the leadership team. Prior to this role he served as the Midwest Regional Director for American Friends of Sheba Medical Center raising funds throughout the Midwest for Israels largest hospital. In his first stint with Federation, he served as the Director of Campaign & Corporate Sponsorship for three and half years.
Jonathan is very passionate about the KC Jewish community and working in his professional role and volunteer positions to continue to grow the community and partner with other agencies and individuals. He is currently serving on the board of the community day school (HBHA), the Vaad-Hakashruth, Congregation BIAV and co-chairing the housing committee for the upcoming 2026 JCC Maccabi games in Kansas City. Prior to joining the non-profit world, Jonathan’s background was in sales (sports advertising and meeting/event planning services.) Jonathan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Queens College in New York. He and his wife Kaley have been married since 2009 and are the proud parents of 13-year-old Eliana, 11-year-old Noah and 8-year-old Danielle, who attend the local Jewish day school (HBHA.)
Moderator: Ruth Brackeny is a partner at Lathrop GPM with more than 25 years of experience guiding high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients through estate planning, charitable giving and legacy preservation. Known for her responsiveness and deep client relationships, Ruth has worked with multiple generations of families to develop creative, tax-efficient strategies that support long-term wealth transfer and philanthropic goals.
Her practice includes advising on complex estate and gift tax matters, trust and estate administration, and charitable structures such as private foundations, charitable remainder trusts, and donor-advised funds. She also leads family meetings and educational sessions to prepare younger generations for stewardship and giving.
Ruth is a frequent speaker on estate and tax planning topics and has presented at the Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium, UMKC School of Law, and community organizations such as Wayside Waifs. She has been recognized by Chambers High Net Worth Guide as a leading practitioner in private wealth law and was honored with Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s 2025 Women’s Justice Award for Transactional Practice.
A passionate community advocate, Ruth has served on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City, Wayside Waifs, and the Starlight Theatre Planned Giving Advisory Council. She is also a member of several giving circles and planned giving councils.
Outside of work, Ruth enjoys hiking, biking, live music and traveling—especially to U.S. National Parks, with 15 of 63 already explored. Her commitment to service and generosity is inspired by her father, a small-town attorney who modeled integrity and compassion in both life and law.
