The Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy (CSP) at Plymouth University in the United Kingdom has received a $1million (USD) donation to expand its work from Hartsook Companies, a U.S.-based global fundraising consulting organization based in Kansas City, Mo.

The centre will be renamed the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy. The plan is to establish a School of Sustainable Philanthropy by 2020.

The philanthropy of Robert Hartsook, Hartsook’s founder and chairman, and the firm totals more than $20 million (USD) and also has created the Hartsook Chair of Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Hartsook Institutes for Fundraising at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo.

The donation will enable the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy to pursue six core themes of research: fundraising leadership, the role of boards in fundraising, transformational philanthropy, philanthropic innovation, donor relationships and innovative work in the domain of philanthropic advising, according to school officials.

President & CEO of Hartsook Matt Beem is a member of the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy Board of Advisors. Professor Adrian Sargeant, director of the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy, previously held the Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

“This donation is a major endorsement of our work, and recognition it is having a genuine global impact on both philanthropists and fundraising professionals,” said Sargeant. “It gives us the chance to explore avenues for future growth, including new research and teaching programs at both the undergraduate and Masters level. It also gives us our first physical presence in the United States, allowing us to respond to donor needs globally and to address our core mission of enhancing the quality of their philanthropic experience.” Sargeant will be based from Hartsook offices when in the U.S.

Since it was established in 2014, the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy has conducted research, developed partnerships with professional associations and generated a range of opportunities for individuals to study the science of giving and fundraising. It has also created the Plymouth Charity Lab, an experimental facility conducting high quality research into fundraising and philanthropy, and the Rogare think tank, drawing together 60 senior figures from around the world to identify areas of fundraising, which would benefit from further research.

Hartsook was founded in 1987 and is the largest employee-owned fundraising consulting organization in the world. With 100 team members worldwide, Hartsook has served charitable organisations in the United Kingdom, every U.S. state, 29 European countries, India, Australia, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Chile.