The Art and Science
of Nonprofit Fundraising
Specialties:
Finding donors where none exist.
Laurence is a master of advanced fundraising strategies who has never forgotten that the fundraiser’s product is the organization’s programs and services. His passion is finding the sweet spot where strategy, outcomes, culture, and development meet to ignite a rocket under a nonprofit, which he has done for many organizations.
Heroes:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Saul Alinsky, and my teachers: Peter Drucker, Daniel Berrigan, S.J. and Dr. Gerry May.
Credits and Affiliations:
Laurence was the executive director of three nonprofit organizations. He has been a faculty member of the NYU Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, and coaches a group of nonprofit executive directors with the Rutgers Business School’s Institute for Ethical Leadership. A long-standing member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Laurence has served on the AFP Planning Committee for Fundraising Day in New York City and teaches workshops on fundraising and management topics. Laurence received his MPA from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service.
“Fundraising is not theory, magic, wishful thinking or manipulating your address book: it is building thoughtful relationships with donors. You analyze the agency’s culture to devise fundraising strategies that work with the culture and are the most lucrative. Sometimes the culture has to catch up to the strategy. You also have to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the most important donors and, of course, cultivate new ones. But if you pay attention to these things, you will wind up with a better organization. And more money!”
Specialties:
Quality Assurance, Process Improvements, Government Grants, Project Management, Customer Service, Social Media Fundraising, CRMS Systems.
Prospective clients find a friend in Michael because of his years in the sector. Michael’s capacity for deep listening and critical thinking allows him to help clients identify their needs, and connect with LAPA’s tools and resources. Michael has served as Director of Development for a Harlem nonprofit housing and hospitality organization, increasing their overall giving by 36%, and is experienced with faith-based missions.
Heroes:
Oscar Romero, Thich Nhat Hahn, Harvey Milk
Quote:
“To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The question is to see reality as it is.”
-Thich Nhat Hahn
Credits and Affiliations:
Michael holds a B.A. in Classical Rhetorical Theory from the University of South Carolina, with graduate studies in Philosophy of Language. Michael is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals, and has regularly participates in the Contemplative Leadership Training Institute at the Shalem Institute in Washington, D.C. Michael is a Certified Fundraising Executive.
Brian manages LAPA’s high level donor research, regularly identifying thousands of new value-aligned donor prospects for our clients. His goal is to deliver actionable data that generates revenue for our clients. To this end, Brian works directly with LAPA major gift officers to develop action plans that connect the insights in wealth data with our clients’ strategic and revenue goals. He has developed LAPA’s prospect research training curriculum to create clear and practical steps nonprofits can take for implementing wealth data to increase donor giving.
In 2016, Brian co-founded Mission Flint, a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to distributing clean water to residents of Flint, Michigan amidst the ongoing water crisis. He has spoken at the United Nations regarding accessibility, universal design, and the applications of big data. Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Binghamton University.
Stephanie Margolin brings an expertise in the fields of homelessness and housing instability, healthcare strategy, mental health, education, public policy, and program development. Prior to joining LAPA Fundraising, Stephanie served as Associate Manager of Government Grants and Institutional Strategy at Visiting Nurse Service of New York, where she was responsible for the prospecting and procurement of government and foundation fundraising.
Originally from Virginia, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in Spanish and Anthropology from Roanoke College, and obtained her Master of Social Work from Columbia University where she focused on Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming.
A native of Salamanca Spain, Maria played four years of college soccer at St. John’s University. Maria holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management and a Master in Business Administration with concentrations in Business Analytics and Marketing Management. With two years of experience in college fundraising, Maria helped the St. John’s Athletic Development team fundraise a two-year record of nearly $6 million in cash gift. Additionally, through her work with The Carla Capone Company, Maria has developed event planning and donor relationship skills in the fast-paced environment of events for non-profit organizations.
Jessica Williams, MSW, MA, Director of Grants, brings 13+ years of experience to LAPA Fundraising as a seasoned grants fundraising leader in the fields of healthcare strategy, long term care, behavioral health, FQHC, public health, senior services, developmental disabilities, homeless services, HIV, maternal and infant health, education, and youth and family development. Trained as a social worker in nonprofit management, Jessica applies a program planning and development framework to grants fundraising with technical expertise and experience in social determinants of health, logic models, the outcomes framework, project management, and healthcare product development and innovation.
Prior to coming to LAPA Fundraising, Jessica served as Director of Government Grants and Institutional Strategy at Visiting Nurse Service of New York as well as similar roles at LAPA Fundraising, Good Shepherd Services, GMHC, and AHRC Healthcare. In these roles, Jessica transformed how organizations evaluate potential funding opportunities and deploy new grant-funded programs in ways that advance strategic objectives and mission.
Jessica recently graduated with a second Master’s (MA) from Wesleyan University’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance where she studied alternative discourse for social work and social justice. She is also the cofounder and cohost of Pod de Deux, an independent podcast about dance. (poddedeux.com)
Recent favorite quote:
“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” – John Lewis
Tony Ross has more than forty years of professional experience in concept, branding, marketing, advertising, and digital. He has created high-impact, award-winning creative across all categories, especially life sciences, healthcare and business-to-business for clients such as AstraZeneca, DuPont, JPMorgan, B. Braun, WSFS, The State of Delaware, Gore, USciences, Abbott, American Water, Chatham, Cape May/Lewis Ferry, Patco, Mitfuso, Sandy Spring Bank, Star Roses, University of Delaware, and US World Meds.
Richard is an expert in the health and human services sector, specializing in development of programs and funding that improves lives through better healthcare, housing and supportive services. His experience includes the development of a $300M Managed Services Organization impacting 600,000 lives, the creation of a portfolio (over 1,000 units) of transitional and permanent supportive housing for the homeless and the poor, and programs that demonstrated multi-million dollar savings to Medicaid and payors of healthcare. Richard has a BA in Economics from Yale University and a MBA in Healthcare from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Management in partnership with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.
As LAPA’s Senior Major Gifts Officer, John is an expert at building the relationships that move the needle for our clients. He develops strategic and operating fund development plans for our clients which includes direct mail, major gifts, planned giving, capital campaigns, corporate and foundation giving. His fundraising compliments a sound communications strategy that focuses on the institution’s mission and strategic direction.
John is a results-driven nonprofit executive experienced in developing and implementing innovative fund development and communication programs for a variety of nonprofit organizations. With over 20 years of nonprofit and fundraising experience, John has a proven ability to provide team leadership, driving performance, program improvement, and quality initiatives to achieve revenue goals.
Dr. Chris Lockhart is a dual American/Namibian citizen who has over 30-years of experience working in some of the most challenging settings in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. He earned his Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley, where he was a research fellow with the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies specializing in HIV/AIDS research and prevention among marginalized populations in low resource settings. Most recently, he worked as a Senior Public Health Specialist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the PEPFAR program in Namibia, which is considered one of the most successful national HIV/AIDS control programs in the world today.
Prior to that, Chris worked for Internews in South Sudan, and played a key role in expanding a national network of community-based radio stations dedicated to health promotion and HIV/AIDS messaging in war-torn and remote areas of that country.
Chris has consulted on a variety of community health and poverty reduction programs for the governments of Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia. His knowledge of the region is extensive and he speaks fluent KiSwahili, Afrikaans, Bemba, and Tswana. He is also an accomplished technical and grant writer and has secured a wide variety of funding for a diverse array of projects in Africa, North America, and Australia. These activities include tapping into alternative and often unique sources of funding from individual donors and private institutions. Chris is a widely published academic author and recently wrote a popular nonfiction book that focuses on human rights and social justice issues from the experience of real individuals living out their daily lives under extremely challenging circumstances.
As Director of Campaigns & Major Gifts, Andrew implements our clients’ major gift programs usually related to a defined annual plan or special campaign, managing and cultivating relationships with the client’s existing major gift prospects, as well as identifying new prospects.
Andrew is a master of major gifts and capital campaigns. As a graduate of the Master of Science program in Fundraising and Nonprofit Management at Columbia (2016), Andrew knows the impact of strategic fundraising and is driven by the mission and vision of the nonprofits we serve.
At LAPA, Andrew excels in finding the right balance between philanthropy as an ‘art and a science’, forming deep relationships with our client’s donors while being keenly aware of the research and data behind the ask. In his spare time Andrew enjoys traveling, baking, and spending time with his family.
Perry W. Kaplan is a clinical psychologist who came to grant writing in mid-career Mr. Kaplan brings more than 35 years’ experience in policymaking roles as a senior executive at two major NYC non-profits, and as the Director of AIDS Housing in the Mayor’s Office of the City of New York. Mr. Kaplan specializes in federal grants for HIV/AIDS, primary care, behavioral health, services for individuals with multiple health/behavioral health diagnoses, and individuals with forensic histories (both with and without primary care/behavioral health diagnoses). He has written successful federal grant proposals and certification applications for FQHCs, HUD, SAMHSA, the Administration for Children & Families, Administration for Community Living, CDC, National Institutes of Health, federal Departments of Education, and Homeland Security, and the federal Bureau of Prisons.
At the State level, Mr. Kaplan has written successful applications for Article 16, 28, 31 and 32 facilities, and proposals for supervised, supportive and supported housing (for mental health, substance abuse, developmentally disabled, and HIV/AIDS populations, alone and in combination), NYS Department of Health, OMH and OPWDD, Office of Children and Family Services, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DCCS); New York City Departments of Mental Health and Hygiene (DMH), Youth & Community Development (DYCD), Department for the Aging (DFTA), Department of Corrections, Department of Homeless Services (DHS), Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator. Mr. Kaplan has also written successfully for the NJ Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Labor, and the Department of Agriculture. In addition to his association with LAPA, Mr. Kaplan has operated his own firm, Prolepsis Partners, LLC since 2009, and has authored more than $390 million in successful grant applications.
Amy Jolin has worked as a fundraiser since 2006. She has served as Development Director, Major Gifts Officer, and Grant Writer for clients in New Jersey and New York. Amy has secured millions of dollars of funding from federal, state, corporate, and family foundations. Amy holds an MA in Medieval Studies from Columbia University. Amy’s public service includes leadership roles on nonprofit boards, and as an appointee to the planning board and environmental commission for her local town.
Tom is an expert in government grants for health care. Specialty areas include FQHC’s, developmental disabilities, and ambulatory surgery centers. Tom also works with human service organizations on program development, regulatory compliance, and accreditation survey preparation. Tom has extensive experience in NYS Department of Health licensed outpatient clinical programs (Article 28 Diagnostic & Treatment Centers), New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) programs (Day Program, etc.) and federal Bureau of Primary Health Care Federally Qualified (Section 330) Health Centers.
Tony is a video blogger, speaker, and a host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio.
Tony has been a planned giving expert for over ten years. He’s also an authority on the laws and trends of charity registration, he is the author of the e-book “Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance.” As an expert in gift planning and charity registration, Martignetti has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Dow Jones Newswires, GuideStar, Nonprofit Business Advisor and other respected publications.
He is also a popular and engaging speaker whose audiences have included the Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Foundation Center, Support Center for Nonprofit Management and even the Appraisers Association of America.
Tony holds a BS from Carnegie Mellon University and a JD from Temple University School of Law.
Specialties:
Grants management, creative corporate solicitation, writing and editing.
Sheldon writes grant proposals that don’t put the reader to sleep. He strives to combine the reportorial skills of A.J. Liebling, the verve of Alexander Dumas, and the human insights of William Shakespeare to craft stellar proposals and Letters of Inquiry that tell a compelling story and make a persuasive argument.
He’s also adept at designing corporate solicitation strategies for nonprofits that might appear at first glance to be completely out of the running for major sponsorship appeals.
Heroes:
Richard E. Byrd, Roald Amundsen
Quote:
One of the most bizarre things I’ve witnessed in fundraising was a panel discussion where corporate philanthropy executives discussed deals with the likes of the U.S. Tennis Open. A long line of people from down-to-earth nonprofits then peppered them with variations on the same question, ‘How can we get in on the game?’ There was no answer. Of course, the real take-away was what the panelists were unable to offer.
Credits and Affiliations:
Sheldon is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Polar Society, chair of the Board’s Development Committee, and president and founder of Wilderness Research Foundation, a New York City-based nonprofit bringing authentic science from the ends of the earth to the classroom.
As an executive, consultant, and advocate, Jorge have been engaged in diverse leadership roles in a broad range of philanthropic and urban development initiatives, inclusive of an extensive background with youth-serving organizations and programs. His work has involved employing multi-faceted and multi-sector approaches to build human, economic and physical capital to further the meaningful progress of various services areas – ranging from target neighborhoods to broader statewide and regional approaches. In nearly 20 years, he has secured and administered over $150 million in various public and private grant dollars.
Matthew DiLauri brings more than two decades of experience building, managing and improving nonprofit recruitment operations. His demonstrated track record of success lies in the thousands of nonprofit temporary and direct-hire placements he completed or managed while serving in a heavy nonprofit hiring environment and in leading executive search processes. Matthew’s extensive experience with placements range from entry to executive level in all functions including finance, administration, marketing, fundraising, programs, PR, HR and IT.
Specialties:
Government grant writer for housing, medical, mental health, substance abuse, Health Homes, alternatives-to-incarceration, colleges, HIV services, LGBT programs, services for seniors, food and nutrition programs, quality improvement and clinical support.
Heroes:
Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez, Larry Kramer and Constance Arena, my high school art teacher.
Quote:
“There is nothing more animal-like than a clear conscience on the third planet of the Sun.” — Wislawa Szymborska of Poland who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.
Credits and Affiliations:
NYS Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), NYC Medical Reserve Corps, Mental Health Responder, Social Work and Psychology Instructor.
Marc has 15 years of experience consulting for and directing the development programs of non-profit health, criminal justice and human rights organizations, including the Guttmacher Institute, The Centre for Population and Development Activities, Global Rights and The Sentencing Project. During that time he has raised over $50 million from U.S. government agencies, (including USAID, CDC, PEPFAR and SAMHSA), European governments, the UN and World Bank, and over 25 U.S. foundations. Prior entering the development field, Marc worked for 22 years as a social worker in the mental health field as a clinician specializing in children and adolescents, as a mental health center director, and as a faculty member of several NY-area schools of social work. He also served as a consultant to hospitals, schools and social service agencies on how to promote the mental health of children and families, and co-established the first county jail mental health program in New Jersey.
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