Every nonprofit, whether small or large, once began as the work of volunteers and donors working together—without staff-- to help solve a problem that was not being addressed by the community. Nonprofits are fueled by the passion of volunteers, working hand in hand with staff and funders. We believe that true community engagement by staff and volunteers must come before any successful fundraising. This course will be presented as an informal panel discussion where we talk about best practices in identifying, recruiting, and supporting volunteers on boards and committees that are aligned to fundraising and community engagement. We will examine the experience of fundraising from the particular perspective of volunteers who are asked to help each other and staff in this work.

Some questions we will address will include:

• What is my currency as a volunteer, why am I here, what is my purpose?
• What are we doing to tether our community and potential donors to our organization?
• How can our board and staff make intentional efforts to expand equity and diversity in our organization and in our work with donors?
• How does my own story, my personal experiences, and my giving philosophy impact and align to my work as a volunteer in fundraising?
• What are personal positive experiences in fundraising and stewardship?

This course is a great opportunity for staff and volunteers who are new to the challenges of Development, fundraising, board-building, and community engagement.

Instructor: 

David Lopez recently became Global Knowledge Lead for Fundraising and Development at Teach of All. Prior to this, he served as Chief Development Officer at Metro United Way, the role that brought him to Louisville from California in 2018. He hails from the richly diverse, cross-border region of San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico – a setting that instilled in him an unwavering belief in the potential and beauty of all peoples.

With a background in science and engineering, David first established a successful career in technical sales and product management. In 2008, he felt called to pivot into the non-profit sector where he could contribute directly to expanding opportunities in our most vulnerable communities. He started as a regional coordinator with the National Farm Workers Service

Panelists:

Henry V. Heuser, Jr is passionate about many important causes in our Greater Louisville Region, and is particularly focused on public education, public parks, publiclibraries, Metro United Way, environmental causes, and the arts.  Besides his active civic engagement, he has a long business background beginning in 1970. He is the former CEO of Henry Vogt Machine Co. and today is founder and chairman of Unistar Purchasing Solutions, an internet-based group purchasing company.

Margarita McAtee received her Bachelor of Science, Health Care Administration from Southern Illinois University while on active duty.  She held various positions with Girls Scouts as a troop leader, trainer, treasurer, fundraising, and Troop Chair at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, and Cherry Point, NC.  In 2017, Margarita joined the board of directors at Adelante Hispanic Achievers, held several positions from Fundraising Chair, Secretary, Vice President, and currently serves as Board President.

Every nonprofit, whether small or large, once began as the work of volunteers and donors working together—without staff-- to help solve a problem that was not being addressed by the community. Nonprofits are fueled by the passion of volunteers, working hand in hand with staff and funders. We believe that true community engagement by staff and volunteers must come before any successful fundraising. This course will be presented as an informal panel discussion where we talk about best practices in identifying, recruiting and supporting volunteers on boards and committees that are aligned to fundraising and community engagement. We will examine the experience of fundraising from the particular perspective of volunteers who are asked to help each other and staff in this work. Some questions we will address will include:

• What is my currency as a volunteer, why am I here, what is my purpose?
• What are we doing to tether our community and potential donors to our organization?
• How can our board and staff make intentional efforts to expand equity and diversity in our organization and in our work with donors?
• How does my own story, my personal experiences, and my giving philosophy impact and align to my work as a volunteer in fundraising?
• What are personal positive experiences in fundraising and stewardship?

This course is a great opportunity for staff and volunteers who are new to the challenges of Development, fundraising, board-building and community engagement.

Panelists:

Madeline Abramson is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. Over the years, she has served as a leading community volunteer in organizations dedicated to the arts, social services, health care, young people, and education.

Madeline currently serves as chair of the American Red Cross Kentucky Region Volunteer Services Advisory Committee. She is a former Board Chair of the Kentucky Region of the Red Cross and continues to serve on its Board as a Life Member, as well as serving on its Executive Committee. She is co-chairing the historic campaign for Jewish Community of Louisville, which recently went over goal with $42.5 million for new buildings and renovations. Over the past three decades, she has proudly served on the boards of Maryhurst, Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, American Red Cross.
She has twice served as the Chair of the Board of Maryhurst, a Louisville based organization that offers residential and treatment programs for young women who have experienced abuse and neglect and continues to serve on its Board as a Life Member, as well as a member of the Executive Committee. Her efforts also include serving on the boards of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, the Jewish Hospital/St. Mary's Foundation, and the Governor's School for the Arts Advisory Council. She is a former Board Chair, and now Director Emeritus, of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts and is a Past Chair of the Kentucky Commission on Women.

Nikki Lanier is senior vice president and regional executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Louisville Branch is focused on community development and education, as well as regional economic research and policy input. The branch covers western Kentucky, metro Louisville and southern Indiana.
A native of Hampton, VA, Nikki’s experience includes serving as personnel cabinet secretary for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, chief human resources officer for Charter Schools USA in South Florida, vice chancellor of human resources for Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, and other positions in both the health care and legal fields. In her positions, her roles focused on strategic planning, community partnerships, advancing equitable workplaces, mediations and labor negotiations. Nikki earned a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Hampton University in Virginia.

Nikki is unrelenting in her commitment to dismantling racism and frequently gives talks on the link between race and economics, community development specifically in black and brown neighborhoods and is sought after for her views on community bridge building. She serves on the boards of Greater Louisville Inc., the Board of Advisors of University of Louisville’s College of Business, the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, the Robert S. Miller Family Foundation for Equity and Justice Inc., the Underestimated People of Purpose, the Global Economic Diversity Development Initiative, WWAR, the Park Community Federal Credit Union Community Advisory Board, and is a trustee for the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is the Chair of the Board of OneWest as well as the Chair of the Kentucky Kerner Commission 2.0. Ms. Lanier also serves on the LEAD360 Business Development Team and the UNCF Louisville Leadership Council. She is a member of the Kentucky International Women’s Forum and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
In 2021 she was named by Louisville Business First as one of the region’s “Power 50.” She has been honored with several awards including Louisville Business First’s “Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame,” Presentation Academy’s Tower Award, the Robert C. Burks Distinguished Business and Leadership Award, The Business Journals’ “Notable Financial Executives,” The Business Journals’ Influencers, Louisville Business First’s “Woman of Influence,” one of “20 People to Know in Banking and Finance,” “Forty Under 40” and one of the “10 Most Influential Women of Louisville.” She has also authored a chapter in the book Rethinking Human Resources.

David Lopez (Moderator). David hails from the richly diverse, cross-border region of San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico – a setting that instilled in him an unwavering belief in the potential and beauty of all peoples.With a background in science and engineering, David first established a successful career in technical sales and product management. In 2008, he felt called to pivot into the non-profit sector where he could contribute directly to expanding opportunities in our most vulnerable communities. He started as a regional coordinator with the National Farm Workers Service Center and later joined Teach For America as an elementary bilingual educator in Houston, Texas. While there, he also co-founded USAdelante, an organization that connects Latino college students to a network of mentors.

In 2012, David spent eight months rallying civic and philanthropic leaders to raise $2.5M in seed funding to launch Teach For America – San Diego. As the founding executive director, David partnered with his team and board to grow the TFA program from 19 teachers serving 1,100 students to more than 40 teachers serving nearly 3,000 students. Additionally, David also served as a board member at Barrio Logan College Institute and advisory council member for RISE Urban Principal Preparation. In August of 2018, David was named Chief Development Officer at Metro United Way. He has called Louisville home since then. He and his wife, Sarah, an alumna of Centre College and a team member at UofL, live with their two-year-old son, Isaiah in North Audubon Park.