Susan Stendahl has more than 20 years of experience as a fundraising professional focusing on the implementation and management of philanthropy programs for Boston-area nonprofit organizations. Her expertise includes assessments of fundraising capabilities, strategic planning, and the creation of resource development plans for small to mid-size organizations. Susan also has extensive experience in nonprofit board recruitment and development, as well as major gifts planning and strategies.
Between December 2018 and June 2019, Susan was an ESC Fellow at Julie’s Family Learning Program in South Boston. In this role, Susan’s helped the organization develop a short-term development plan, worked with their board to successfully execute an annual signature event, and helped the Executive Director craft an executable major gifts campaign. Recently, Susan began work at The Lenny Zakim Fund in Boston as a communication and fundraising Fellow for ESC, to provide short-term support and oversight through the end of 2019.
Says Susan of her fellowship goals, “I enjoy project work as a way to continue to share my experience in an area where a majority of nonprofits need support. As a development generalist for the past 20 years, my career has focused on all areas of fundraising and board development. This has prepared me to become an effective Fellow for nonprofits who need expertise but don’t have the budget to hire a seasoned professional.”
One of Susan’s greatest accomplishments was creating a series of three large-scale, year-long events to raise the profile of a Gloucester based human services organization and provide support for a $6M capital campaign that had stalled the year before she joined the organization. Not only was the event successful, with the organization’s new name becoming a “household name,” but a concurrent public relations campaign led to the the first event being picked up by major Boston media, and the campaign was completed, over goal, two years later.
