We are privileged to have three leaders from the Latinx, African American, and Native American communities discuss fundraising in a new way. Not only as a tool to grow movements and organizations focused on people of color, but also as a mechanism of empowerment in itself.

​For too long, organizations and movements focused on people of color have relied heavily on grant funding or government support. This has greatly inhibited their ability to meet the growing needs of the communities. Meet three leaders who have realized that fundraising is the key, the essential tool to power these movements and empower both those conducting the fundraising and donors of color. It's a game-changing concept, and we hope you will attend for a lively conversation and be part of this discussion.

MODERATOR: Tony Bowen, Executive Director, Fidelity Charitable Catalyst Fund.
PANELISTS:
  • Birgit Smith Burton, Chief Executive Officer, African American Development Officers Network, which she founded in 1999. Global Board, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
  • Michael Roberts, President & CEO, First Nations Development Institute, an American Indian economic development & economic justice organization founded in 1980.
  • Armando Zumaya, Founder and Executive Director, Somos El Poder. A veteran fundraiser with 38 years of experience.

Hosted by:
​Somos El Poder, the First Nations Development Institute, and the African American Development Officers Network.
OUR MODERATOR
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Tony Bowen
Tony Bowen
Executive Director, Fidelity Charitable Catalyst Fund
Tony Bowen partners with the Fidelity Charitable Board of Trustees to manage a grantmaking program dedicated to building bridges between donors and promising nonprofits. Fidelity Charitable is the country’s largest grantmaker, awarding $11.8B in funding to nearly 200,000 nonprofits in 2023. The Catalyst Fund makes grants to intermediaries, such as Somos El Poder, that engage donors and elevate nonprofits. The Catalyst Fund is particularly focused on ensuring nonprofits in the South and Mountain West and those led by and serving people of color get access to the funding they need to flourish. Tony has spent his entire career in the nonprofit sector dedicated to challenging the status quo of what’s possible in philanthropy. He has worked at community and family foundations, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Democracy Fund, and sector infrastructure organizations such as Candid, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and FMA.
OUR PANELISTS
Birgit Smith Burton
Global Board Chair, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)

Birgit Smith Burton is the Chief Executive Officer of AADO, the African American Development Officers Network, which she founded at Georgia Tech in 1999 to provide professional development, education, employment support, mentorship, and networking opportunities for fundraisers of color. She is a well-regarded speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity and has authored articles on diversity in the fundraising profession. Birgit co- authored the book, The Philanthropic Covenant with Black America, contributed to the book Five Minutes for Fundraising, A Collection of Expert Advice, and tells her personal story in the book Collecting Courage, which shares the lived experiences of Black women and men working in the nonprofit and charitable space (published fall 2020).

During her 26-year career at Georgia Tech she led her team in raising over $700M from private philanthropic foundations to support programs, scholarships, and capital projects. Birgit was selected to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women @ Tech and was a recipient of the team award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development for the Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing.

​For nearly a decade, she has served on the global board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and has the distinction of being the first African American woman in AFP’s 62- year history to be voted chair of the AFP Global Board. Birgit received the Opportunity and Inclusion Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education which recognized her leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the fundraising profession. In 2020 the R.I.S.E. Fund was established in Birgit’s honor with a mission to advance women of color in fundraising by providing Resources, Inspiration, Support, and Education.
Michael E. Roberts
President and CEO, First Nations Development Institute

Michael Roberts (an enrolled member of the Tlingit Tribe) is the President and CEO of First Nations Development Institute, an American Indian economic development and economic justice organization founded in 1980. He was appointed to this position in 2005 after having served as a Research Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the organization from 1992 to 1997 and returning to First Nations in 2002. During his tenure, the organization has raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars, increased assets 25-fold, and deployed 100% of its assets aligned with its mission of strengthening Native communities throughout the United States.

Prior to returning to First Nations, Mike spent several years in private equity, during which he advised angel investors and worked for a telecommunications fund and an early-stage Midwest venture capital firm. He taught a graduate business course on venture capital for the MBA program of the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri Kansas City, and an undergraduate business course on entrepreneurship at Haskell Indian Nations University. Mike also worked at Alaska Native corporations and for local IRA councils in accounting and finance. Mike serves on the board of First Nations Development Institute and is the immediate past chairman of the board of Oweesta Corporation. Mike also serves on the board of directors for Native Ways Federation and the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy.

​He served for nine years as board member and treasurer of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Network and the Investment Committee for the Three Affiliated Tribes. Mike has held board positions for Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). He has been an Advisory Council member for the Center for Native American Public Radio, and a National Advisory Committee member for the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Armando Enrique Zumaya 
Founder and Executive Director, Somos El Poder

Armando is a veteran fundraiser with 38 years of experience. He lectures internationally on fundraising in the US, Mexico and the UK. He lectures and writes about the Latinx experience in the nonprofit world. His work includes direct experience raising five, six and seven figure gifts from Latinx in the US. He is an active development officer. He has spent the bulk of his fundraising career as a Major Gift, Leadership Gifts and Annual Fund Officer on two $1+ billion dollar campaigns at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. He has served in the Vice President of Development, Director of Major Gifts and Chief Development Officer, Annual Fund and Leadership Gift roles. He is well known for his work in teaching prospecting, solicitation, cold calling, Latino Major Giving techniques and remote constituency fundraising. He is a well reviewed speaker.

Armando has also lectured at APRA, AFP Chapters, AFP Hemispheric, APRA Chapters, BBCON, GIFT, AFP, The Foundation Center, Development Executives Roundtable, CARA, SAWA, MARC, Compass Point, Blackbaud, Forum on Fundraising and Academic Impressions. He has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, APRA Connections, the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, and other publications. He has been widely published including the nationally acclaimed OpEd in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on March 24, 2014 entitled “Give Fundraising Researchers More Influence and More Credit”. He has also been published in the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, Currents (The Magazine of CASE) The Major Gifts Report Fundraising Compass, Bloomerang, Frost on Fundraising and others. He lives in Northern California and is a proud alumnus of the University of California, Riverside and Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles.​

EMPOWERING PEOPLE OF COLOR THROUGH FUNDRAISING