Geoff Otten promoted from Major Gifts Officer to Vice President of Philanthropy  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

20 February, 2024

HAMILTON, ON – Cardus is refreshing its approach to building and sustaining its support community through the appointment of Geoff Otten as Vice President of Philanthropy. Geoff joined Cardus in September 2022 as Major Gifts Officer. He quickly proved his mettle, undergirding Cardus’s family of supporters and thought leaders, committed to building a more civil and tolerant public square in Canada. Building on his background as a successful entrepreneur with his own construction company, Geoff is ideally suited to helping Cardus expand its impact and invite more people of passion, faith, and understanding to join its community.

“Geoff has a knack for finding and seizing opportunities to build up organisations through deep and real relationships with people while focusing on practical, on-the ground realities,” says Michael Van Pelt, Chief Executive Officer of Cardus. “I’m thankful he’s now doing that work for Cardus, showing more people that the work we do deserves support.”

For his part, Geoff is committed to helping others discover the value in the work Cardus produces.

“I’m more about things that are real, things that are tangible, which makes Cardus so compelling,” he says. “The research Cardus produces, the community it creates, the hospitality that is its hallmark—these are real things that I want to be a part of. And I want others to be a part of it, too.”

Geoff came to Cardus after four years of full-time Master’s-level study in theology. A proven, successful business leader, he built a construction company from the ground up, eventually passing daily operations to a management team. Geoff continues to own the construction company he created.

He has a Civil Engineering diploma from Conestoga College in Kitchener, ON and a Master of Divinity from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. Geoff has also served on church council and on the board of Oxford Reformed Christian School in Mount Elgin, ON.

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Daniel Proussalidis
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