Over the past 26 years, Fairmount Ventures has assisted over 400 nonprofits and raised more than $800,000,000. In so doing, we’ve generated extensive knowledge about what highly successful fundraising efforts have in common. Here’s what we’ve learned, and what we advise clients’ volunteer leadership to consider as you help staff generate more dollars to do more good.
No summer lull for Fairmount this year – our office is buzzing with new projects and new team members to help advance our work for the nonprofit sector. We’ve been fortunate to spend these months with three hugely talented students assisting with our client services, and our own capacity-building efforts.
Intern Cristina Bermudez (Yale University, BA, Psychology and Economics, Class of 2021) has spent her summer working hand-in-hand with our admin team on operational data analysis, systems-building, and enhancement. Graduate-level Research Assistants Ibrahim Choudhry (University of Pennsylvania, MPA, Fels Institute of Government/MSW, School of Social Policy and Practice, Class of 2018) and Mollie Williamson (University of Pennsylvania, MPA, Fels Institute of Government Class of 2019) deploy their keen research and analytical skills to benefit a range of planning and fundraising project teams. We asked them to share more about their expertise and their experiences working at Fairmount Ventures. MORE
Aria Auerbach, Project Manager, brings a strong focus on planning, organization, and systems-building to her resource development and strategy work at Fairmount. Her client projects benefit from her range of past experience in development, volunteer engagement, and events strategy, including expertise in prospect identification and management. Aria earned her B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College and her M.B.A. from Drexel University. MORE
We’re back with another in our series of Q+A’s with our team members, showcasing the many passions and personalities behind Fairmount Ventures’ growing team. Margaret Walker, Project Manager, focuses her work at Fairmount on developing personalized fundraising and capital campaign strategies and providing clients with the tools, structure, and support they need to succeed. Her projects build on her extensive past experience managing campaigns and activating volunteer solicitors. Margaret earned her B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
You can go to school and earn an advanced degree in executive leadership, but no one is formally trained to be a board chair. Nonprofit board chairs are often successful professionals accustomed to playing an active role in driving change, making bold moves, and giving orders in their own organizations – in short, traits that can make for a disastrous board chair.
What, then, are the traits of a great board chair? Here’s what we’ve learned from a review of recent research, as well Fairmount Ventures’ experience over many years of working with hundreds of boards. MORE
We’re fortunate at Fairmount to have such a wide-skilled range of team members contributing to our work. Among them, our graduate-level Research Assistants provide essential research support that informs the recommendations our project consulting teams develop for clients. At the office on any given day around their studies, you’ll find Abigail Dym (University of Pennsylvania, MPA, Fels Institute of Government/MSEd, Graduate School of Education, Class of 2018); Peter Kramer (University of Pennslyvania, MPA, Fels Institute of Government, Class of 2019) and Angie Wang (University of Pennsylvania, Masters of Behavioral and Decision Sciences, May 2018) drawing on their data and analytical skills to benefit a host of planning and fundraising projects.
2018 is shaping up to be an exciting year at Fairmount Ventures. We’re fueled by the City’s new champion spirit, watching the triumphant return of the LOVE Park statue from our office windows, and kicking off our second quarter-century of service to the Philadelphia region. We’re also busy building our bench strength to drive even more impact for our nonprofit clients.
Fairmount is especially delighted to announce the following staff promotions as we expand our capacity and our expertise to help nonprofits advance their missions and thrive. MORE
Anneliese Van Arsdale, Project Manager, assists clients in all facets of resource development, from grant writing to capital campaign management. She leans on her frontlines experience to inform her understanding of the challenges clients face as she helps them pursue strategic goals, embark on big projects and seek financial sustainability. Anneliese earned a B.A. from Kenyon College, where she studied dance and drama.
Among the most important decisions an organization will make is selecting its leader. Yet, a recent study estimated that while 66% of nonprofit executives expect to leave their jobs within five years, only 13% of nonprofit organizations have succession plans. If selecting its top executive is so critical, and one of the few variables over which a nonprofit has total control, how do we get it right?
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Aimée Miller, Senior Vice President & Partner, focuses her client work at Fairmount Ventures on resource development strategy, program design, and annual and campaign fundraising to benefit a diverse mix of arts, civic, environmental, education, health, and human service organizations. Much of Aimée’s work leverages her expertise as a writer and editor by crafting compelling messaging to help nonprofits increase revenues from public and private sources. Aimée earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied at the Annenberg School for Communication. MORE