Jeff McLinden

Jeff McLinden is a well-known and respected nonprofit fundraising and marketing consultant, copy writer and strategist.

With a background in education, radio, and advertising, Jeff has worked in the areas of resource development and marketing for nonprofit institutions since 1979 including senior roles in development, creative marketing, and management for Campus Crusade for Christ, The Christian Broadcasting Network, and Bibles For The World. In 1988, Jeff was awarded recognition for exemplary service as a Development Professional by the Development Association for Christian Institutions (DACI).

After joining the McConkey-Johnston International consulting firm in 1992, Jeff helped a broad variety of clients in many areas of development, communications and organizational change. He specializes in marketing and development communications strategies, such as organizational branding strategies, direct mail fund-raising, development publications, and the creation and management of donor involvement programs. Jeff has been a frequent leader of seminars on these topics at professional development conferences such as those sponsored by the Christian Stewardship Association, Evangelical Development Ministry and MMDI Professional Development Institute.

As a copywriter, Jeff has written for such luminaries as Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, Pat Robertson, founder, CEO and host of the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club", Howard Dayton, founder of Crown Financial Ministries, management author and ministry leader Dr. Hans Finzel, world evangelist Luis Palau, and dozens of other ministry leaders and organizations.

With the advent of the Internet Age, Jeff branched into new and unique ways of marketing for companies and organizations using Web-based technologies and resources. That resulted in the launching of his own marketing services firm, Wordsmith Marketing, LLC. Since 2008 the firm worked with both nonprofit and for profit organizations to create unique marketing, lead-capture and customer engagement strategies. Wordsmith also specialized in branding and rebranding strategies and worked with a number of nonprofit agencies in the United States to create new, refreshed, or strengthened brands including Camino Global, WorldVenture, OMF International (USA), and Worldteam.

Jeff was educated at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Lynn.