Caleb Rick - Managing Director

Caleb Rick's expertise in planned and major gift fundraising; capital and endowment campaign planning and board development and training comes from over twenty years of service to the non-profit sector. As someone with great passion for his work, Caleb enjoys counseling nonprofit organizations working to secure their future resource needs. He believes in helping nonprofits create a "culture of philanthropy," where every member of an organization contributes to the resource development of the group's mission.

While serving as the national Director of Planned Giving and Charitable Gift Counsel for the 750,000 member Sierra Club, Caleb directed a multi-million dollar planned giving program and provided counsel and training to staff, board members, and leadership volunteers. His stewardship work included launching the Rachel Carson Society, a donor appreciation program for legacy donors named in honor of the 20th Century author, scientist and conservationist. Besides negotiating campaign, planned gift and bequest policies for both the national Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation, he developed an innovative revenue sharing and marketing program for over 50 chapters across the country.

Caleb has also directed planned and annual giving programs for the University of California - San Francisco; the UC Medical Center; Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, he served on the staff of the New York State Lieutenant Governor.

An adjunct faculty member at Vermont Law School, Caleb is a frequent speaker on legacy giving, endowments, resource development and non-profit management.   A former board member of the Northern California Planned Giving Council and the Upper Valley Planned Giving Council, Caleb also served on the Conference Committee for the National Committee on Planned Giving. He is a member of the New England Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Northern California Planned Giving Council, the Upper Valley Planned Giving Council, the Association of Development Officers and the New England Museum Association.  

Caleb is a graduate of Middlebury College; holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Vermont Law School; a Certificate from the Coro Foundation's City Focus Program and is a member of the California Bar Association.

When not spending time with his family, Caleb likes to renovate old houses, collect railroad and local history artifacts, is a hobbyist beekeeper, and serves as his college class secretary. He is a fundholder and corporator for the Vermont Community Foundation and a former member of the development committee for the Upper Valley Community Foundation. 

Caleb has been active in a wide variety of community activities, including long-term service on the Chelsea Parks Commission, as a volunteer for the Chelsea Flea Market, and as a corporator for Gifford Medical Center. He is a former elected member of the Chelsea School Board, served as Vice President of the Chelsea Historical Society, and for several years, was the Superintendent of Admissions and Parking for the Tunbridge World's Fair.

A co-founder of North Common Associates, Caleb and his wife, Trish, have two sons and live in Chelsea, Vermont, the shire town of Orange County.

"Working with people as a mentor, coach and advocate, and helping to demystify philanthropy, is one of the things I most enjoy about my work. I love the challenge of helping an organization achieve its mission by thinking through, wrestling with and strategizing for the future."