At Carlin Major Gift Solutions, founder Ryan Carlin brings nearly two decades of executive leadership experience helping mission-driven organizations build sustainable philanthropic growth strategies rooted in long-term relationships, operational discipline, and institutional alignment.

Over the course of his career, Ryan has generated more than $45 million in philanthropic revenue across major gifts, planned giving, foundation partnerships, annual campaigns, and corporate engagement initiatives. His work has spanned nonprofit organizations, startup ventures, consulting engagements, and international initiatives throughout the United States, Mexico, and Italy.

Ryan’s approach to fundraising is grounded in a core belief: transformational philanthropy is not built through transactional tactics, but through trust, strategic alignment, and relationship-centered systems that endure beyond any single campaign or leader. This philosophy became the foundation for Carlin Major Gift Solutions.

Throughout his career, Ryan has successfully designed and scaled advancement systems capable of supporting long-term organizational growth. He has independently launched multiple major gift and planned giving programs from the ground up, built donor portfolios ranging from 75–150 high-net-worth households, cultivated and stewarded numerous six- and seven-figure gifts, and advised nonprofit leaders on revenue forecasting, donor strategy, institutional readiness, and executive-level development infrastructure.

His experience extends beyond fundraising execution alone. Ryan regularly partners with CEOs, boards, and senior leadership teams to align philanthropy with broader organizational strategy, operational planning, and mission expansion. This enterprise-level perspective allows CMGS to help organizations not only raise more revenue, but build the internal systems, leadership alignment, and donor ecosystems necessary to sustain growth for decades.

Prior to founding CMGS, Ryan also led the startup and operational scaling of a nonprofit organization, overseeing areas including fundraising, financial operations, marketing, communications, human resources, and strategic partnerships. That experience continues to inform his pragmatic, cross-functional approach to organizational growth and leadership advising.

Known for combining executive-level strategic thinking with deeply relational donor engagement, Ryan is particularly passionate about helping organizations move from reactive fundraising models toward mature philanthropic enterprises capable of weathering uncertainty, scaling impact, and building lasting donor trust.

Ryan is multilingual in English, Spanish, and Italian and brings an internationally informed perspective to leadership, philanthropy, and organizational development. Outside of his consulting work, he is also deeply committed to mentorship, leadership development, martial arts instruction, and service-centered community engagement.