Born in Detroit, Michigan, Robert McSweeny received his BA degree from the University of Michigan. After graduation he saw service as a naval officer on several types of ships and as Flag Lieutenant to the director of the U.S. Joint Mission to Turkey. His last posting was as Commanding Officer of USS TOMBIGBEE, (AOG-11) in the Pacific Fleet.

After leaving the Navy, Bob returned to Ann Arbor for law school, then moved to Oregon where he practiced law for many years, primarily in the area of business transactions and estate planning. In 1991, he left the practice of law to pursue a career in nonprofit organization and development and served for a time as the Director of Planned and Deferred Giving at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon and Clackamas Community College.

Bob worked for several years as a consultant in planned and deferred giving with Charitable Estate Planning Northwest in Portland and with the US Bank Foundation Team, as the co-chair of Planned Giving for the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. He also worked with nonprofit organizations to establish their corporate structure and obtain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, including Green Village Schools whose board he joined in 2003.

Bob was the author of Gathering the Harvest: A Planned Giving Manual For Churches and co-author of A Process For Prudent Institutional Investment. He was also a contributor to a number of publications in the nonprofit field.

Bob passed away on December 12, 2011 at the age of 78. We are honored to have worked with him and could not have started GVS without his invaluable legal assistance.