Dan Giroux / DJG Marketing Insights

Helping Higher Education and Philanthropic Leaders Build Stronger Teams, Brands, Campaigns—and Results

With 20 years of experience blending high-impact agency work with in-house strategic leadership, I specialize in Advancement Marketing, Communications, and Stewardship. As an independent consultant, I partner with mission-driven organizations to elevate their reputation, foster deeper alumni and donor engagement, and achieve transformative fundraising results. Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter for insights and resources designed to inform—not overwhelm.

Hi—I'm Dan.

I'm deeply passionate about advancing the mission of higher education and nonprofits through enhancing the way they communicate and engage with their constituents.

For 20 years, I’ve refocused brands and marketing programs for clients across a variety of industries. From Fortune 100 companies to elite universities, mission-driven nonprofits, small businesses, and everything in-between, my breadth and depth of experience solving complex business challenges and leading high-performing teams have enabled me to efficiently identify and drive opportunities that unlock accelerated results.

I specialize in higher education and nonprofit organizations, having partnered with regional, national, and global institutions to deliver highly effective, award-winning strategies. Collectively, this work has supported fundraising campaigns and activity with over $6 billion in cumulative philanthropic impact.

Areas of Expertise

Brand development and positioning
Reputation enhancement
Enrollment marketing
Fundraising campaigns and transformational gifts
Development communications
Alumni and donor engagement
Websites audits and overhauls
Team building and cross-disciplinary leadership
Strategic plans and planning
Institutional mergers
Milestone celebrations
Crisis communications and issues management
Client-agency relationships
(And more)

Career Highlights

In 2017, I left agency life to pursue my passion for higher education at Drexel University—a global, R1 research institution with over 180,000 living alumni. For nearly eight years, I led an integrated, multifunctional marketing, communications, and stewardship team within its Office of Institutional Advancement. On an expedited timeline, I architected, launched, and successfully steered an award-winning comprehensive campaign to accomplish its fundraising and alumni engagement goals six months early, ultimately concluding in June 2022 with $806 million raised.

In November 2024, I transitioned to full-time independent consulting, returning to my roots as a trusted partner to higher education and nonprofit leaders.

Recognition

I've had the privilege of speaking at leading conferences for:

The Council for Advancement Support and Education (CASE)
The AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education (AMA)
The University & College Designers Association (UCDA)

My work has earned recognized in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and other prestigious media outlets.

Additionally, I've been a guest on podcasts such as Education Marketing Leader, and will be hosting a five-episode Pulse Check series in partnership with Enrollify that will drop February and March 2025.