Michael Trench 
Vice President for Advancement
Phone: 630.665.5570
Email: michael@dupagefoundation.org
LinkedIn

As vice president for advancement, Michael serves as a vital part of the Foundation’s leadership team. In addition to leading the Advancement Department and overseeing a comprehensive charitable services program focused on building the Foundation’s capacity for community impact, he works closely with individuals, families, businesses, and their advisors to help them plan and accomplish their unique charitable goals.

Michael's areas of focus include community and not-for-profit endowments, donor-advised funds, charitable gift annuities, and outright and planned gifts of cash and appreciated assets such as stock, mutual funds, retirement assets (including IRA QCDs), insurance, real estate, and closely-held business interests.

Michael brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his position, having previously served as the chief development officer and foundation executive director for College of DuPage, executive director for the Community Foundation of Will County, and the director of development for King-Bruwaert House in Burr Ridge.

Michael has presented widely at local, regional, state, and national conferences on a variety of topics. He holds an undergraduate degree from Concordia University-St. Paul in history and languages, and a graduate degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in theology, along with post-graduate work in history.

Michael served numerous years on the board of West Suburban Philanthropic Network (WSPN) and was the head of its program committee and the master of ceremonies for its awards luncheon. He was a longtime member of the Suburban Chicago Planned Giving Council and served on its Board of Directors. Trench volunteered for two decades as a firefighter and department chaplain with the Winfield Fire Department.

In 2022, Michael received the Honoring Excellence Award from Leading Age Illinois for Strive and Thrive-Management. He finds that inspiration is what motivates people to invest in the causes and organizations they value and cherish, and that the not-for-profit sector is the perfect place for donors to create a legacy that lasts for generations.

Michael resides in Willowbrook and has three grown children who live in the surrounding Midwest with their families. He was born and raised in Minnesota, where his parents still reside, and has an avid interest in reading, travel, and antiques.