Hi friends! My name is Candace Lopez and I am a career nonprofit professional. I started out as an intern for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in 2004, and since then I have had the privilege of working for several nonprofit organizations primarily in fundraising and development. I am a Development Generalist with a specialization in individual giving, program development, strategic planning, hiring and developing high-performing teams, and operational efficiency. I’m humbled to have raised money for organizations in Austin, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.  My fundraising portfolio is diverse and spans various causes including civil liberties, the arts, higher education, domestic violence, gender equity, and queer philanthropy.

I decided to become a consultant for a few reasons. First, I had already been casually and formally consulting colleagues in the industry for many years. Second, I have seen what success looks like and what can be detrimental to the morale of a team or organization. Too many leaders are led by their egos, or they stay in positions of power for way too long, making it impossible for a mission to evolve. Development teams are saddled with unrealistic goals and are held responsible for economic circumstances that are out of their control. I think about these unhealthy, and often abusive, dynamics and it motivates me to work with organizations to begin to change the trajectory of this industry. My goal in this practice is to set your organization up for success by implementing research-based tools that will set a strong foundation for a sustainable development program while leaving behind the toxic patterns that often plague nonprofits. 

Nonprofit and community-based work should be the moral compass of the workforce. I look forward to working with you to establish a healthy program and set a new standard for mission-based work.

LINKEDIN. RESUME.