Semple Bixel Associates, Inc. Founder And Past President - NJ Fundraising Consultants

Robert F. Semple's fundraising career spans 35 years of diverse experience. His formal education includes a B.A. in Literature and an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing. He entered the field as Director of Development at Manhattan College and then was appointed Vice President of Development/Public Affairs at the Institute for International Education.

Bob is a graduate of Harvard University's Institute of Educational Management and is listed in Who's Who in Finance and Industry. He started his consulting firm, Robert F. Semple Associates in 1976 and later formed a partnership with David Bixel (1996). The firm is now called Semple Bixel Associates, Inc.

Bob serves on boards of numerous professional and volunteer organizations. He is the former President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), New Jersey Chapter. He serves as a member of the Atlantic Health Care Marketing Committee and the Mountainside Hospital Board of Trustees and Co-Chairman of the New Jersey based Partnership in Philanthropy.

In addition to his many professional activities, Bob has published numerous articles and is a frequent lecturer. He is an avid sailor, navigator and Past Commander of the Northern New Jersey Sail and Power Squadron and is a member of The Princeton Club of New York City.

Accomplishments:

Fundraising consultant to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Founded the first major fundraising education program at the college level: Adelphi University, 1976.
Principle architect and a founder of the Partnership in Philanthropy, a non-profit organization designed to enhance the fundraising capacity of small and medium sized non-profit organizations.
Founded Semple Bixel Associates in 1976 (formerly Robert F. Semple Associates).

David R. Bixel was the President of Semple Bixel Associates, Inc., the Nutley, New Jersey fundraising counseling firm beginning its 29 th year of service to the non-profit community.
Dave, a graduate of the University of Scranton, taught high school history before entering the fundraising world. Retained by Geraldo Rivera’s One to One Foundation in 1976, Dave was chosen to lead a national community acceptance project funded by the McConnell Clark Foundation. The project, designed to reduce resistance to community homes for the disabled, urged 150 non-profits nationwide to use public relations and community fundraising to build community support.
Later, Dave built a career in health care philanthropy and joined the firm of Robert Semple Associates in 1992.
Accomplishments:
   • Supervised all fundraising activities for a national health system with 22 facilities in six states.
   • Became partner of Semple Bixel Associates, Inc. in 1995 and President in 2000.
   • Planned and directed many multi million dollar campaigns.
   • Chairman of the Board of the Association for the Multiple-Impaired Blind Endowment Fund.
An aggressive fundraiser, Dave was schooled in all techniques of fundraising, taught at local colleges, and presented dozens of seminars each year.
Dave was a Director of The American Association of Fundraising Counsel, and its affiliate the AAFRC Trust, a former board member of The Association of Fundraising Professionals formerly the N.S.F.R.E. New Jersey Chapter.