About Us

Gulf Coast Fund Development, Inc. began as a dream of a southern lady with a big heart and a desire to truly make a difference on a daily basis.  Though she traded crawfish boils and gumbo for white sand beaches and beautiful weather when she moved to Sarasota, Florida the dream remained the same.  It took the birth of her son to make her realize that it was time to make the dream into a reality and soon after Gulf Coast Fund Development, Inc. was born.

Originally from Louisiana, Amanda Marshall began her career in fund development by chance when she was hired straight out of college to write grants for a local non-profit.  "I took the job because it split my time between public relations and fund development.  Since I graduated from college with a degree in public relations, I was excited to get a job in my field.  Little did I know just how much I would learn about fund development and how I would fall in love with the concept of truly making a difference through philanthropy."  Ms. Marshall was hooked not only on her job, but also on her husband Matthew who was offered a job in sunny Sarasota, Florida.

Once the boxes were unpacked in their new home, Ms. Marshall spent her time gaining valuable experience in marketing and fund development.  She spent over five years in Sarasota absorbing all of the information that she could about the community and philanthropy.   In addition, she fell in love with the area and enjoyed exploring new places, meeting new people and spending time outdoors in the sunny new state that was now home.  But, she still enjoyed cooking a spicy crawfish etoufee when the weather was cool and often longed for crawfish in the springtime.

Then, time stood still as her first born son, Warner Alan Marshall entered the world.  "From that moment I knew that I needed to do something new for our son, our family and for myself.  It took me a while to make my dream a reality, but I am so glad that I have found a way to put over eight years of experience to use producing positive results for area nonprofits."