Mary Moss co-founded moss+ross in 2009 after a career in which she was known as one of North Carolina’s leading independent school fundraisers. She and partner Susan Ross were named the Outstanding Fundraising Professionals in the Triangle in 2022 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. They guided the firm’s growth to a $3M+ firm with 12 partners and 30 Directors, Senior Counsel, Counsel, Special Counsel, and Of Counsel members. Mary specializes in campaign management, feasibility studies, strategic planning, executive search, and board and volunteer training.  

Mary’s fundraising career began at Duke, where she worked in annual and planned giving at the University and in major gifts at the Duke Cancer Center. Her career spanned more than two decades at three prominent Research Triangle schools. She stepped down in 2008 as associate head for institutional advancement at Saint Mary’s School, her high school alma mater, having guided efforts that raised more than $21.5 million, including back-to-back $1 million Annual Fund totals. Prior to that, she was director of development at Ravenscroft for 11 years and at Durham Academy for nearly five years. Her departments earned national and regional CASE awards for fundraising and communications.  

Mary is an active community volunteer. She served a six-year tenure on the Board of Trustees of Ravenscroft School, where she co-chaired the Advancement Committee. She currently serves on the board of the A.E. Finley Foundation. She is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Raleigh, and she serves on the Rotary Fundraising and Speaker Committees. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the New Voices Foundation and currently serves on the Carolina Country Club Foundation Board that supports staff and employee needs. Mary has been a volunteer consultant with numerous schools and nonprofits including the Junior League of Raleigh, Hayes Barton UMC, and other organizations.  

A native of the Triangle area, Mary is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, the Institute of Paralegal Training (PA), and Leadership Raleigh. She is married to Bill Moss, and they have three grown sons and four grandchildren. She and Bill enjoy spending time with family and traveling, especially to Atlantic Beach.  

Fun fact:  A devout Tar Heel now, she was born a die-hard Blue Devil!