The Challenge

As NMSI advanced its 2027 Strategic Plan, the organization faced a critical inflection point: while its programs, leadership, and impact were strong, its philanthropy function had not evolved to support long-term growth. The Business Development team was operating at maximum capacity and lacked a senior leader solely dedicated to generating philanthropic revenue. Fundraising efforts were largely reactive and heavily reliant on a small group of major corporate and institutional donors, creating revenue concentration risk and limiting predictability.

Donor retention and pipeline development lagged sector benchmarks, and internal roles and processes lackedconsistency. At the same time, NMSI operated in an increasingly competitive STEM funding landscape, where clear impact articulation and diversified revenue streams are essential. To achieve its ambitious goals, the organization needed a more disciplined, proactive, and strategy-driven approach to fundraising aligned with its long-term vision, as well as an experienced development professional to lead these efforts.