Champions of Philanthropy: 5 Nonprofit Influencers to Watch Transforming Workplaces and Communities

• The writer's desk
• July 18, 2024
• 0 Comments

Working towards and supporting a good cause can build a better world. These top five influencers are dedicated to philanthropy in their diverse and specific fields. Ranging from sustainability to social justice, these leaders in nonprofits, fundraising, and altruism are responsible for changing their communities and creating a much broader impact globally by addressing injustices and other critical issues head-on.

1. Afua Bruce

Afua Bruce is a former U.S. government official who has held appointments at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and on President Joe Biden’s transition agency review team at the Department of Justice. She is also an engineer, data executive, and professor. Bruce began her career as a software engineer at IBM. She then joined the FBI where she served in various strategy and program management roles. In 2015, she was appointed to the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House as the Executive Director of the National Science and Technology Council where she led over 100 different Federal inter-agency working groups across topics that included: environment, and sustainability, homeland and national security, science, technology, and STEM education. Her work focuses on promoting equity and public interest through new combinations of technology and policy. She is currently the Principal of the ANB Advisory Group, a consulting firm that supports organizations developing, implementing, or funding responsible data and technology. She is also the author of “The Tech That Comes Next: How Changemakers, Philanthropists, and Technologists can build an Equitable World.”

2. Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter has more than three decades of experience in nonprofit sector emerging technology, training, and capacity building. She is a keynote speaker and workshop leader. She is an expert in participatory facilitation techniques such as design thinking, open space, peer learning, and others, both online and offline, and has delivered training for nonprofits. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Nonprofit Technology from NTEN. She is the author of The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout and The Networked Nonprofit. Additionally, she serves on the boards of NTEN and Leadership Learning Community.

3. Amy Neumann

Amy Neumann is the CEO and principal of the social enterprise consultancy, Good Plus Tech, with a focus on leveraging emerging technologies and smart communication strategies to solve global social impact challenges. She is also a social good and technology fanatic who has been creating positive change for over two decades. With a focus on blockchain and AI, she is a social impact entrepreneur who founded a startup nonprofit called Free Tech for Nonprofits (and its subsidiary, Technology Inclusion) to help nonprofits do more of their important work faster while being inclusive as well as proactive about diversity and equity. She is also the author of “Empower Your Nonprofit”.

4. Edgar Villanueva 

Edgar Villanueva is an award-winning author, activist, and expert on issues of race, wealth, and philanthropy, and the Founder and CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project and its fund, Liberated Capital. His bestselling book, “Decolonizing Wealth”, has been called a ‘wake-up call’ to philanthropy. Edgar advises a range of organizations, including national and global philanthropies, Fortune 500 companies, and entertainment on social impact strategies to advance racial equity from within and through their investment strategies. In 2019, he founded Liberated Capital, a participatory grantmaking fund directed by DWP that invites individuals and organizations to give through a reparations model that trusts and supports the leadership of those most impacted by historical and systemic racism. The fund welcomes support from all who are committed to collectively healing the wounds of colonialism and white supremacy by using money as medicine to shape an equitable future. 

5. Cindy Wagman

Cindy Wagman is the President and Founder of The Good Partnership, a values-driven, social-justice-informed consultancy that is working to unlock the potential of small nonprofits through fundraising. Wagman became a Certified Fundraising Executive in 2009 and received her MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto in 2013. Cindy has presented for AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals), CanadaHelps, CharityVillage, Bloomerang, Keela, and Fundraising Everywhere. She is the host of The Small Nonprofit podcast, Canada’s #1 podcast for charities and author of Raise It! The Reluctant Fundraiser’s Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul. 

These five nonprofit influencers are examples of how career success and charitable work can go hand in hand. They care deeply about their perspective fields and are dedicated to creating positive change. By recognizing these leaders, their hard work is promoted and uplifted.