History
The Start of a Movement
In April 2015, Vu Le of NonprofitAF.com published the blog post Winter is coming and the donor-centric fundraising model must evolve.
Two years later, he wrote How donor-centrism perpetuates inequity, and why we must move toward community-centric fundraising as well as 9 Principles of Community-Centric Fundraising.
These posts were aggregated from conversations Vu had with leaders of color —especially women of color — and white allies in the sector over the years, who felt a dissonance with the way our sector has been doing fundraising. Sparked by the conversations and reactions the posts generated, Seattle-area executive directors and fundraisers of color from several organizations convened to discuss how to change and evolve fundraising to align with equity and social justice.
Realizing the magnitude of the work to advance this new philosophy, organizers started meeting monthly. In August 2018, the group held its first larger, local convening, bringing 90 fundraisers of color together to explore and reflect on the lived experiences of fundraisers of color in Seattle.
Affirmed by the conversations at this gathering, the Seattle chapter of Community-Centric Fundraising was formally formed as a fiscally-sponsored entity — as a group of leaders of color intent on sharing and amplifying a new way of practicing fundraising. In May of 2019, the Seattle chapter of CCF decided it was time to expand the Community-Centric Fundraising movement across the sector.
Movements are built on years of work by people and organizations that are often unacknowledged. CCF walks the path paved by the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training, The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Non-Profit Anti-Racism Coalition, Social Justice Fund Northwest, Western States Center, INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence’s seminal work The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex, as well as the work of Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Grace Lee Boggs, James Baldwin, and many, many other leaders and organizations.
The Councils’ Building of the Movement
The CCF Founding Council
The Community-Centric Fundraising Founding Council began as a group of individual fundraisers in Seattle who met in 2018 to discuss the frustrations they were having in the way we fundraise. In the summer of 2020, the movement officially launched with the 10 Principles during a virtual launch event that was so well-attended by people who also saw the limitations and harm caused by traditional fundraising practices, it crashed the website!
The members of the Founding Council were Andrea Arenas, Erika Chen, James Hong, Rehana Lanewala, Vu Le, Anna Rebecca Lopez, Michelle Shireen Muri, Christina Shimizu, and Dr. Sean M. Watts. Check out their bios here!
The CCF Transition Council
In 2021, the group decided it was time to transition leadership to a Global Council that could bring their unique perspectives and contexts to the work. They enlisted the help of the Transition Council, made up of Rakhi Agrawal, Marcus Cunningham, Marisa DeSalles, Rachel D’Souza, and Rehana Lanewala.
The CCF Global Council
By August 2022, the Founding Council and Transition Council turned over the reigns to the Global Council. This group of individuals steered the CCF ship from August 2022 to August 2025. At the time of the Council’s conclusion, it included Abigail Oduol (USA), Carol Ng’ang’a (Kenya), Dāna James (USA), Esther Saehyun Lee (Canada), Jenny Brandt (Mexico), Kelly Phipps (USA), Ken Jones (USA), Martha Lidia Oxi Chuy (Guatemala), Rachel D’Souza (USA), Rickesh Lakhani (Canada), and Sommer Dawson (USA). Check out their bios here!
Once upon a whisper in the wind: A CCF origin story
Check out “Once upon a whisper in the wind: A CCF origin story” by Dāna James and Naseem Kapdi for an artistic story about the movement’s origins!
The movement adopts staff and contractors, an Emeritus Council, and Regional Councils
In 2025, it became clear that while the original vision was to have a Global Council from people all over the world, it would take some time and intentionality to build it. While our Global Council was, in effect, a working board, there also needed to be more dedicated staff and contractors who could ensure that the day-to-day operations and cohesiveness of CCF operations continued.
The Global Council worked to develop four staff and contractor roles, including the Operations Lead (Jenny Brandt), Communications Lead (Chris Talbot), Fundraising Lead (Rachel D’Souza), and Movement Coordinator (Abigail Oduol).
They also developed an Emeritus Council comprised of former CCF Leaders who connect leadership across the movement to retain ideas, talents, and perspectives of the many people who are passionate about the work. They provide mentorship, grow the movement, and bridge the past, present, and future of CCF. Bios coming soon!
The Global Council proposed and is in the process of creating Regional Councils. This group of interconnected regional entities will be designed to foster inclusive participation and greater responsive to local realities in their regions. All councils will build the movement locally and across their regions, contextualizing the movement and informing each other of the truly global nature of nonprofit and fundraising. They will create strategies based on the needs that arise in these spaces, maintaining conversation with the wider movement. Each Council will have different responsibilities to the wider movement. The proposed schedule for development of these Regional Councils are North American Council (FY ’26), Africa and Europe Council (FY ’27), Central and South American Council (FY ’27), Central and South Asia Council (FY ’28), and East Asia and Pacific Council (FY ’28). Check out the North American Council’s bios here!