Dani Luckett, MCM’s new director of development, comes on board as MCM gets ready to celebrate 35 years

July 2, 2015

7/2/15
For immediate release
Contact: Jonathan Zarov, 608-335-2783; jzarov@madisonchildrensmuseum.org

Dani Luckett, MCM’s new director of development, comes on board as MCM gets ready to celebrate 35 years

Madison Children’s Museum has hired Dani Luckett as director of development. Dani will be responsible for managing all fund development and membership programs for the Madison Children’s Museum, including major gifts, corporate partnerships and special events.

Dani comes to the museum after serving as Director of Workplace Campaigns & Training for United Way of Dane County. In that role, she helped lead the Resource Development Team to surpass its 2014 goal of $19.1 million. She was also responsible for training United Way’s loaned executive team, which executes corporate workplace campaigns for more than 1,000 Dane County companies in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Previously, Dani served in several roles at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where she was a director of development for the College of Letters & Science and the Great People Scholarship program, UW-Madison’s campus-wide, high-profile $20 million matching gift campaign for need-based scholarships.

“We are thrilled to have Dani on board,” says Deb Gilpin, CEO of the museum. “She’s an expert fundraiser who can handle all aspects of our development work. But what’s been most remarkable so far, is how quickly and naturally she’s embraced our vision and work. Her passion for this place is evident, and she’s already growing relationships with people who share our vision of the museum as an essential place for creative, open-ended play and learning. Having an experienced professional like Dani on board is key to making the museum accessible to all children in the community.”

Dani is a native of Louisville, KY and has a B.A. degree from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She began working at MCM in late May.

Founded in 1980, Madison Children’s Museum offers hands-on exhibits and programs that celebrate and encourage children’s imaginations and the power of play as the cornerstone of learning. MCM is a proud recipient of the 2011 National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and, in August 2015, will celebrate its 35^th anniversary of serving the Madison area community.