During his three decades as owner and president of The Sheridan Group, culminating in 2013, Nelson Cover provided superior, comprehensive capital campaign and top prospect expertise to a broad range of nonprofit organizations.
He founded the firm in 1983 after thirteen years of progressive, successful experience as director of annual giving at The Johns Hopkins Institutions, and as director of development at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, the Washington National Cathedral, and the American Enterprise Institute.
Nelson conducted work with an impressive cadre of clients, including Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary, The Ocean Conservancy, the Valentine Richmond History Center, the Wild Dolphin Project, Jupiter Florida, the Massey Cancer Center of Virginia Commonwealth University, Georgetown Preparatory School, St. Christopher’s School, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, and Hibiscus Children’s Center.
He was a frequent speaker on the subjects of nonprofit management, finance, and fundraising at nonprofit and professional conferences and published many related articles. In 1990, Nelson began The Sheridan Group’s Education Series, which has been cited in numerous publications such as Contributions magazine, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s Currents magazine, and the Fund Raising Institute’s newsletter.
He has a bachelor’s degree in English from the Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degrees in creative writing from San Francisco State College and liberal arts from Johns Hopkins. He has been a member of the board of the Washington Cathedral Choral Society, the Living Classrooms Foundation, and the Interfaith Conference of Washington, D.C. and is listed in Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.
Nelson Cover
Founder and President Emeritus
(240) 463-1708