The Hertz Foundation raises $37.5MM toward its first-ever capital campaign

Learn how the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation transformed a modest fundraising operation, engaged its scientific community in philanthropy, and raised $37.5MM toward an ambitious $40MM campaign goal.

For more than 70 years, the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation has supported some of the nation’s most promising scientists and engineers as they pursue PhDs and careers addressing major scientific and technological challenges.

Hertz Fellows receive funding throughout their PhD programs, with the freedom to pursue research wherever their questions lead. The foundation continues supporting fellows throughout their careers through mentorship, career development, and a lifelong community that today includes approximately 1,300 Hertz Fellows.

Hertz Fellows have gone on to pioneer new scientific fields, launch companies, explore space, advance human health, and develop technologies with the potential to improve millions of lives.

The Challenge:

For most of its history, the Hertz Foundation didn’t need a traditional fundraising operation. The foundation became a public charity in 2010 and had only recently begun asking its community for philanthropic support. A small number of Hertz Fellows had made significant gifts, but there wasn’t yet a broad donor base or a strong culture of philanthropy.

When Wendy Connors joined the organization to lead its advancement efforts, she was charged with determining just how much philanthropic potential existed within the Hertz community.

The opportunity was significant. Hertz wanted to increase the number of fellows it could support, strengthen lifelong resources for its community, expand partnerships, and secure its financial future. But first, the organization had to answer a fundamental question:

Could an organization with little history of major-gift fundraising successfully launch a $40MM campaign?

The Solution:

Capital Campaign Pro paired Wendy and the Hertz Foundation with Advisor Paula Peter to assess the organization’s fundraising potential and develop a strategy for what would become its first-ever campaign.

Rather than having an outside consultant conduct donor interviews, Wendy wanted to meet with members of the Hertz community herself. With support and guidance from Capital Campaign Pro, she conducted a campaign study that allowed her to build relationships while learning what fellows and other supporters valued most about the foundation.

The results demonstrated substantial philanthropic capacity and a deep commitment to Hertz’s mission. They also showed that $40MM would be a stretch.

For a board understandably concerned about publicly committing to a goal it might not reach, the data from the campaign study provided the evidence needed to move forward with confidence.

The foundation launched MAKE HISTORY, a $40MM campaign designed to provide more fellowships, strengthen lifelong support for Hertz Fellows, expand the foundation’s reach and partnerships, and put the organization on stronger financial footing for the future.

The Impact:

As of July 2026, the Hertz Foundation has raised $37.5MM toward its $40MM goal, with the campaign scheduled to conclude by December 31, 2026. But the campaign has changed much more than the foundation’s balance sheet.

“Every campaign needs objectivity. So having outside support through an organization like yours was critical. I wanted outside counsel and guidance, but I didn’t want someone to do the campaign study for me. I wanted to develop those relationships, because I didn’t have them yet. I started doing research. I found you. And it really has been a successful partnership.”

Wendy Connors, President, Fannie and John Hertz Foundation

Before MAKE HISTORY, many members of the Hertz community had little experience thinking about the organization philanthropically. Wendy recalls an early board meeting where members were still asking about the difference between an annual gift and a campaign gift.

Over the course of the campaign, that culture changed. Key outcomes include:

• $37.5MM raised toward a $40MM campaign goal
• The foundation’s first-ever public capital campaign
• A campaign designed to support 25 new PhD fellows annually
• Significant growth from annual gifts to major and multi-year commitments
• A campaign advisory group that brought additional non-board volunteers into fundraising
• A threefold increase in the foundation’s volunteer fundraising force
• Board members and volunteers who once said they didn’t want to fundraise now actively soliciting gifts
• Successful new participation efforts, including Giving Tuesday and a dedicated giving week
• A stronger and more systematic development operation positioned to continue well beyond the campaign

As Wendy observed, the campaign helped generate a philanthropic culture capable of sustaining the Hertz Foundation long after MAKE HISTORY concludes.

Looking Ahead:

The MAKE HISTORY campaign is approaching its $40MM finish line, but perhaps its most lasting accomplishment is the fundraising capacity the Hertz Foundation has built along the way.

“It continues to be a privilege working with Wendy and the development team at the Hertz Foundation. Under Wendy’s leadership, this very first campaign has transformed the culture for fundraising across the Hertz community – donors, board members, volunteers, Fellows and staff. The legacy of this campaign will prove to be even greater than the dollars raised and the Fellows funded.”

Paula Peter, Capital Campaign Pro Advisor

The campaign gave Wendy and her team a way to identify and articulate what makes Hertz distinctive. It helped donors move from annual giving to larger, multi-year commitments. It dramatically expanded volunteer participation in fundraising. And it helped create a culture in which the Hertz community increasingly sees philanthropy as another way to invest in the future of science and technology.

As Wendy put it while nearing the campaign’s conclusion, “More importantly, I really feel like we’ve built something sustainable that will take us beyond the campaign.”

With $37.5MM already raised, the Hertz Foundation is close to completing its first-ever campaign. And it will emerge from MAKE HISTORY with something it didn’t have when the campaign began: a strong, engaged fundraising community prepared to support the next generation of Hertz Fellows.