John Welton
Director of Development
The Salvation Army
John Welton helps organizations grow.  Mr. Welton is a creative and strategic thinker.  Based on his 30 years of experience in marketing, sales and fundraising, Mr. Welton is an enthusiastic developer of effective marketing and fundraising strategies for any organization.

Currently Mr. Welton is Area Financial Development Director for the Austin Salvation Army.  In this position, he guides a $3.2 million fundraising effort with a staff of three full-time professionals.

Mr. Welton has extensive fundraising experience in the area of major gifts.  He has helped non-profit organizations secure over $60 million during his fundraising career.  Part of his fundraising experience has been working with two Texas universities as a major gifts officer.  In 1989, Mr. Welton became Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) in San Antonio to help the university broaden its corporate funding base.  While there, he guided the university to a 47% increase in annual support and a significant expansion of corporate support.  He did this while managing a staff of 18 professionals.

After leaving OLLU, Mr. Welton attended Southwestern Theological University in Ft. Worth working towards a master’s degree in theology.  In 1993, he was recruited by The Salvation Army of Austin to launch an expanded development program.  During his four and a half years as Area Financial Development Director, Mr. Welton led the Army in a successful fund development program, bringing in over $7 million in new private donations. 

In early 1997, Mr. Welton left the Salvation Army to become Texas Tech University’s Assistant Vice Chancellor.  In that capacity he assisted the University with its highly successful $550 million “Horizon Capital Campaign.”   Mr. Welton was responsible for coordinating the University’s Campaign in south central Texas through its Austin office.   

Mr. Welton left the University in late 1998 to reactivate Welton & Associates, a fundraising and marketing consultant entity.  In that capacity, he assisted a number of organizations in their fundraising and marketing activities, including Concordia University of Austin in the organization its $12 million building campaign.  Mr. Welton oversaw the university’s “quite phase” and assisted in the implementation of their capital campaign.

In the spring of 2004, Mr. Welton returned to The Salvation Army of Austin to again become its Director of Director. He was recruited to revitalize the Command’s stagnate fundraising activities.  Since his return, private donations have increase 35%, a successful media promotion campaign is in place, the “Children’s Golf Classic” just completed its 12th year netting the Command $112,500 and over $1 million since its inception and secured assistance from the University of Texas Graduate School of Advertising in developing a long-term media plan for the Command. 

In addition to his direct fundraising efforts, Mr. Welton has also served as course coordinator, and primary instructor, at the University of Texas at Austin Professional Development Center’s “Fundraising Management Certificate Course.”  He developed that course in 1995 in association with the Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.   That association the AFP and UT Austin ended in 2004 when he returned to The Salvation Army.  During those years, 300 area fundraisers participated in his fund development course.

Mr. Welton became involved in fundraising after a successful career in sales.   He began that career as an advertising sales specialist with WOAI-AM Radio in San Antonio in 1978.  WOAI-AM is Clear Channel Communications’ flagship radio station.  Within six months employment, Mr. Welton was promoted to General Manager of Clear Channel’s KPAC-AM station in Port Arthur, Texas.  Over a two-year period, he turned the station from a net monthly lost to a net monthly gain.

Later Mr. Welton returned to San Antonio to be New Accounts Director for Atkins Advertising Company.  At that time Atkins was the sixth largest advertising agency in San Antonio.  Within two years, under his direction as a new accounts specialist, Atkins became the city’s second largest advertising agency.  From there Mr. Welton set up Welton & Associates, a marketing firm which specialized in new account development.  In 1989, Our Lady of the Lady recruited him to be its Vice-President of Institutional Relations.

Barbara Ann Roy
Principal
Barbara Ann Roy Associates