Anna Taylor Email & Phone Number

Where’s the next great solution (for homelessness, poverty, or cancer) coming from? We don’t know. And unfortunately, many nonprofit startups fail to raise the funds needed to grow their good work. What transformational ways of doing things are lost in the process?As Executive Director for the Greater Sum Foundation, I support changemakers and fund innovative, scalable nonprofits. We make sure founders don’t fail because of solvable problems that face all startups by providing grant funding and professional expertise to build the foundation (HR, IT, Finance, etc.) that nonprofits need to grow. I encountered this problem first-hand, while opening a local chapter of a nonprofit supporting first generation students. We had a 95% high school graduation rate, but my fledgling chapter didn't have the communication, marketing, or fundraising infrastructure to connect with aligned donors. I knew our program worked but I couldn’t hold it together without funding. I didn’t know whether my decisions were the best thing for the organization or my own well-being.I also wondered if my board should just hire a socialite with rich contacts to do my job. After all, what we needed most was funding and connections with volunteers who could make things happen. But when I became the regional director, I could see the big picture. I studied how each chapter dealt with this challenge, compared to the strategies that got me through the leanest times. In that role, I convened all 45 local chapters and saw how opportunities to collaborate, share best practices, and learn from each other helped local and statewide outcomes. I realized that I was GOOD at pulling together people, data, and practices to remove obstacles … then getting out of the way to let nonprofit leaders lead.What I love so much about the work I do now at the Greater Sum Foundation, is getting to use those skills by providing funding, capacity building support, and programs for operating innovative nonprofits ready to increase their impact. We also bring together diverse groups of donors and people who want to fund change to create equitable pathways towards innovation. The helpers are out there. The Greater Sum Foundation connects them. I envision a world where we treat ourselves with grace, create spaces where everyone can be a teacher and a learner, and support communities that affect a greater change than any one individual can. I’m looking to connect with other grantmakers, skills-based volunteers, individuals looking to support innovative solutions, and nonprofit founders. Reach out!

Listed skills include Volunteer Management, Community Outreach, Public Speaking, Nonprofits, and 24 others.