Fundraising Reimagined

This case study was originally published on the GrantCraft website here.

Lori Bartczak
Senior Director of Knowledge and Content
Community Wealth Partners

Editor’s Note: This case study is one of five in a suite of case studies focused on building grantee capacity using the support of consultants. Each case study has been developed in partnership Community Wealth Partners, drawing on their capacity-building work with various funders and grantees. The case studies showcase varied approaches taken to address the long-term capacity needs of grantees, giving insight to the philanthropy landscape and strategies for foundations, consultants, and practitioners.

Strengthening Fundraising Capacity:
How the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is Supporting Innovation in Fundraising

Ask a nonprofit executive director what keeps her up at night, and chances are, “fundraising for the organization,” will be near the top of the list.

“Fundraising wasn’t empowering work,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights-Los Angeles and a grantee of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. “It felt like something you had to do, you didn’t really want to do, and yet your job and the organization’s health depended on it.”

Daring to Lead, a 2011 survey from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, found fundraising to be the number one contributor to burnout among nonprofit executive directors and a reason many were considering leaving the sector altogether.

These findings are not new. Financial Sustainability has long been a challenge for many nonprofit leaders. For the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, supporting their grantees’ fundraising capacity and trying to help improve the support available to them has become a core feature of their investments in strengthening nonprofit leadership.

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