Joe Kolar

Assistant Vice President of Business Development

Joe Kolar is driven by the chance to create positive change in the world by connecting people with possibilities. With over 15 years of experience serving in a variety of roles in the nonprofit sector, including time spent in direct fundraising, he finds his inspiration in the people who dedicate their lives to fundraising and those who are served by the organizations they support. At its root, Joe believes philanthropy is driven by individuals working not for their own good but for the benefit of others. The opportunity to work in a sector where people and the organizations they serve are constantly striving to improve the world is incredibly rewarding.

At BWF, Joe partners with and connects nonprofits to BWF’s wide range of experts, solutions, and services that will empower their fundraising and advance their missions to best position them for success.

Currently, Joe serves on the board of Lasallian Educational and Research Initiatives, Inc. He previously served as a board member of Highland District Council, Ramsey County Capital Improvement Program Citizens Advisory Committee, and Lasallian Volunteers.

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Jacob A. Riis

Joe’s favorite pastimes include coaching his three kids’ sports, especially t-ball, and serving as a play-by-play announcer for Town Ball and Minnesota high school sports. He also enjoys golfing and cycling.

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