Change, they say, is the only constant. While we’ve always known this to be true, the past five years have accelerated the pace of disruption, uncertainty, and environmental change to a new level for the nonprofit sector.

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Effective Collaborating for Impact

Clean hydrogen is coming to the Mid-Atlantic! You may have seen this monumental announcement from the Biden Administration, which will transform our region’s use of hydrogen fuel over the next decade and positively impact disadvantaged communities through new jobs and improved public health. Fairmount’s team is thrilled to have helped make this work possible. 

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Everything changed for nonprofit organizations in 2020, from the way philanthropy managed grantee selection, funding strategy, and reporting, down to trying to find a quiet enough room to host a 50-person Zoom call with your board and staff members. The challenges of this watershed year manifested differently for organizations of varying sizes and missions, but though we were all in different boats, it was certainly the same rough and unpredictable ocean.

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This fall, Fairmount’s introducing readers to the newer members of our team, who’ve arguably made the most adaptive shifts to consulting in abnormal times this year. Rae Pagliarulo, Project Manager, has quickly established herself as a “word wizard” among clients for her swift, skillful, and highly strategic messaging in all forms of grant proposals and donor communications. Rae also plays a leadership role on Fairmount’s staff-led Social Justice Committee. She earned herB.A. in Liberal Arts from West Chester University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Rosemont College. Continue reading →

Fairmount Ventures is committed to supporting our constituents and clients as the world now navigates uncharted territory. We’re keeping our human and furry loved ones close, sharing Zoom pro tips and backgrounds, and working remotely with clients to develop rapid response outreach to their supporters in this moment of urgency and need. In short, we’re digging deep within our 28 years of firm experience and collective expertise to help Philadelphia-area nonprofits navigate the short, medium, and long-term. Here’s some of what we observe, and advise, on what nonprofits need to know this week:

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The world changes; opportunities arise; internal needs shift. Effective nonprofit leaders know to redeploy their team, recruit people with specific capabilities, and sometimes – reluctantly – lay off staff whose skills no longer align with what is needed in order to make room for others whose do. Staff have job descriptions, are organized to maximize their talents, and are evaluated to assess and enhance performance. And yet – when it comes to utilizing volunteers in major fundraising efforts, how frequently are these same axiomatic management principles deployed? Continue reading →

Fairmount’s day-to-day client work is continually enriched by the skills and insights of our graduate-level Research Assistants. Working a flexible 10 hours a week around their studies, RAs help generate a wide range of data to inform our consulting team’s strategy recommendations – socio-economic and census information, background on funder grantmaking priorities and awards, competitor reviews, research-informed best practice, and donor wealth capacity and philanthropic giving history, among others. This latest spotlight on our team features RA Matthew Forrest (University of Pennsylvania, MPA, Fels Institute of Government Class of 2019), whom we asked to share more about his expertise and experience working at Fairmount Ventures. Continue reading →

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.

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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.

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