Creating strategies and programming that promote systemic change.
Philanthropist, fundraiser, leader, and mentor. Meet George Corton.
A fundraising professional with over 17 years of experience, George Corton has progressed rapidly through the ranks of the profession. As the Chief Development Officer at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida, he oversees 36 development professionals with another six indirect reports. He has led his team to record-breaking annual fundraising totals, just recently breaking a record of $112 million raised in fiscal year ‘21 as part of an ambitious $750 million campaign for FIU. Leading the way, Corton secured the largest alumni gift in FIU history—a gift exceeding $10 million from alumnus Chad Moss ’94, executive vice president of Moss & Associates, through Moss Foundation, Inc., to name the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Corton also helped found the historic CasaCuba initiative, a Cuban cultural heritage center at FIU.
Corton is at home at FIU, a majority-minority public research university with 58,000 students— among the top universities in granting degrees to Hispanic students. The son of Cuban immigrants, Corton was born in New Jersey and raised in Central Florida before coming to Miami in 1998. He graduated from FIU in 2003 and returned to complete an MBA in 2014. He is the first in his family to attend college, a designation shared by approximately 25% of FIU students.
Building on this diverse background, Corton co-founded the FIU Foundation Office of Inclusive Philanthropy, which brings together development professionals and community and industry partners to inform, implement, and evaluate philanthropic strategy and programming that promotes systemic change. This includes scholarships and wrap-around support services for students, increased faculty diversity, strong and inclusive advisory boards, social equity research, cultural competence trainings, and improved health and education outcomes.
Prior to coming to FIU, Corton served as the Senior Director of Development at the University of Miami (UM) School of Business Administration. During his tenure at UM, Corton worked to establish the School’s Board of Overseers as well as four other program boards. He strengthened the Business School’s international reputation and visibility by hosting events and engaging alumni and parents across Europe and Latin America. Corton was also a key member of the core team that brought a full onsite MBA program to the island of Puerto Rico.
Before the University of Miami, Corton commenced his fundraising career at his alma mater, FIU, where he served as the Council of 100 Liaison, Director of Corporate Relations, and Director of Development for the College of Law.
In addition to his commitment to higher education, he serves as the secretary of the oldest Latino nonprofit in New York, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education. Corton has been honored by the American Cancer Society for his commitment to the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. He is a proud member of the Council for Latino Workplace Equity and was chosen as a “Top Latino Leader” at their Second-Annual National Latino Leadership Conference in 2016. Corton is a member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Advisory Council in Miami and serves on the Pamela Silva Conde Scholarship Board, a scholarship he helped establish with Conde, a six- time Emmy-award-winning journalist and Univision co-anchor.