Ann Lucas
I developed a deep passion for the nonprofit sector more than 25 years ago and believe it is the most important connective thread in ANY community. Whether through a church, educational institution, arts organization, club, public media, hospital/clinic, animal welfare, or local service organization, nonprofits define how citizens engage with one another and celebrate their common interests. I believe that building capacity in a nonprofit makes our entire community stronger.
I consult on major gift campaigns, facilitate strategic planning processes, review grant making strategies, develop fundraising plans, and deliver presentations on major gifts, strategic planning, board governance, strategic alliances, and building productive teams. Clients include local foundations, community colleges, state-wide associations, and community-based organizations.
Prior to the formation of Nonprofit Strategies in 2017, I was the Vice President of Lester Consulting Group, Inc. for six years. There, I served as lead consultant for capital, major gift and endowment campaigns; campaign feasibility studies; organizational restructuring/mergers; development audits; board governance engagements; and strategic planning for a wide variety of organizations throughout California.
I was the Executive Director of the Nonprofit Resource Center in Sacramento, California from 2006 to 2011, and oversaw the Center's work in strengthening the management, fundraising and board development of hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions. During my tenure at the Center, we received national recognition for a federally funded three-year capacity building project to build a collaborative partnership of 10 youth serving organizations in an underserved Sacramento neighborhood.
I also served as a director at the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. There I oversaw the Mandel Center's non-credit leadership development programs for presidents/CEOs, board leaders, and senior managers of nonprofit organizations in Ohio and nationally. While at the Mandel Center, I also worked as an organizational consultant for nonprofit organizations across Northeast Ohio in developing strategic plans and conducting nonprofit merger feasibility studies and implementation plans.
I have presented at local, regional, and national conferences and am a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, Mountain Valley Chapter. In 2016, I received the Case Western Reserve University Mandel School Centennial Alumni Awardee in Nonprofit Leadership.
I hold a Master's of Nonprofit Organizations Degree through the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University, a degree that was jointly conferred by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Weatherhead School of Business. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in journalism from The Ohio State University.