InSights

Deepening Fairmount’s Expertise to Expand Nonprofit Impact

By Aimée Miller |

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.  Continue reading →

Get to Know Fairmount Ventures: Anneliese Van Arsdale, Project Manager

By Nicole Meyenberg |

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.

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The Succession Set-up

By Don Kligerman |

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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Get to Know Fairmount Ventures: Aimée Miller, Senior Vice President & Partner

By Adela Smith |

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. Continue reading →

Get to Know Fairmount Ventures: Molly Botnick, Associate

By Aimée Miller |

Molly Botnick, Associate, is dedicated to helping nonprofits pursue social justice and to assist them in serving their communities more effectively. With a background in social work and direct service, she brings a ground-level perspective of the issues facing underserved Philadelphians to Fairmount Ventures. Molly earned her B.A. in International Studies at Kenyon College. Continue reading →

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast. What’s Your Appetite for Change?

By Don Kligerman |

The aphorism “culture eats strategy for breakfast”, while apocryphally attributed to Peter Drucker, is a powerful insight irrespective of who said it first. How many of us have developed great plans only to have our ideas not reach full potential, despite best efforts? We spend considerable time focused on the stuff we can see and think we can control – procedures, technology, staffing – at the peril of giving insufficient attention to the stuff we cannot, or choose not, to see: organizational culture. Continue reading →

From Conversation to Action: Updates Inspired by On The Table

By Lauren Zimmerman |

In May the Philadelphia Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation joined forces to launch On the Table Philly. On the Table was an initiative to engage area residents in open dialogue and to inspire solutions around the topics of participants’ choosing that can strengthen Philadelphia communities. A team of Fairmount Ventures staff decided to jump in to this inaugural round of On the Table conversations by convening members of the region’s nonprofit organizations around this question: “How do we support the nonprofit sector’s passionate workforce and retain the talent critical to ensuring the effectiveness of your work and the vibrancy of the sector?” Continue reading →

Get to Know Fairmount Ventures: Adela Smith, Vice President & Partner

By Nicole Meyenberg |

Adela Smith, Vice President & Partner,relies on social work values and a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities nonprofit leaders face when planning for their future. She develops business, fundraising, and board development strategies for Fairmount’s clients that are at once ambitious and achievable. Adela earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice. Continue reading →

Demand and Supply: Can We Transform Motivation Into a Movement? 

By Don Kligerman |

Despite the daily barrage of head-spinning news coming out of Washington, let’s not lose sight of a few facts back here in Philadelphia:

  1. Many Philadelphians are angry about federal policies that hurt us, and are motivated to respond.
  2. We live in a wealthy region with a long history of people coming together to solve problems.
  3. We have effective nonprofits with intellectual and human capital in need of financial capital.

How do we move from problem to motivation to action? It may be a long distance run, but there is a path. Forget for a moment supply and demand; let’s demand a supply. For starters, recent research has established that people are ready to donate more money to causes they care about. Continue reading →