Moving funding to the frontlines. Strengthening NGOs
LETS EXPLORE
What We Do
The Croom Institute for Fund Development & Social Change is a global institute powering social change across the U.S. and the Global South.
We channel philanthropic funding to frontline organizations on the ground, getting resources to the work faster — strengthening capacity and improving social outcomes where funding gaps are greatest.
OUR PROGRAMS
Strengthening Nonprofits Through Fundraising Capacity Building
The Fundraising Technical Assistance Project™ is the first initiative in the world dedicated to delivering pro bono, hands-on fundraising technical assistance to nonprofits.
Today, nonprofits are being asked to diversify funding, sustain programs, and make high-stakes decisions—often without the fundraising infrastructure or strategic support to do so effectively. The Fundraising Technical Assistance Project™ was created to change that.
Through practical fundraising strategy and coaching, we help nonprofits build the capacity to marshal the resources they need to power their work, stabilize operations, and advance durable, long-term social change.
To date, we’ve supported more than 110 nonprofits, delivering fundraising technical assistance valued at over $700,000.
OUR PROGRAMS
Partnering With Grantmakers for Lasting Impact
We partner with grantmakers to strengthen their grantees’ fundraising capacity by providing hands-on, high-impact fundraising technical assistance.
Together, we help organizations stabilize operations, diversify revenue, and build the systems needed to thrive beyond the grant period—extending the value of grant dollars and ensuring nonprofits are equipped to sustain, grow, and lead long after the funding cycle ends.
What this delivers
- Stabilizes nonprofit operations and cash flow
- Diversifies revenue beyond a single funding source
- Ensures organizations are positioned to sustain, grow, and lead beyond the grant period
OUR PROGRAMS
Advancing Restorative Wellness Through the Arts
We believe art heals and use it as a vehicle for narrative change and restorative wellness.
We create immersive, healing-centered experiences for nonprofit leaders, artists, and changemakers seeking rest, reflection, and renewal.
Through our Restorative Labs and public programming, we invite participants into brave, creative spaces designed to:
- Prompt self and collective discovery
- Reignite imagination and purpose
- Support emotional processing through ritual and movement
- Build community through art, story, and shared experience
- Reclaim joy and creative agency
- Move through burnout and grief
- Access new ways of leading, healing, and building community
OUR PROGRAMS
Advocating for Equitable & Transformative Giving
As a philanthropy-serving organization, the Croom Institute champions transformative giving rooted in trust, flexibility, and long-term impact, paired with meaningful capacity-building.
What this delivers
- Advance unrestricted, trust-based philanthropic investments
- Provide capacity-building that strengthens leadership and systems
- Serve as a trusted backbone for mission-driven organizations
- Accelerate impact across social, cultural, and economic equity efforts
- Support organizations advancing equity across the African Diaspora
OUR PROGRAMS
Driving Scalable Impact Through Fiscal Sponsorship
The Croom Institute partners with grassroots initiatives and emerging nonprofits whose missions align with our core imperatives through our fiscal sponsorship model, A Project.
Through fiscal sponsorship and innovative infrastructure, we help bold, community-led projects grow, stabilize, and sustain long-term impact with strong fundraising, sound systems, and well-resourced leaders.
OUR PROGRAMS
The Humanitarian Solidarity Project
We partner with NGOs across Africa and Caribbean small island developing states to move resources swiftly and strategically to the frontlines of community need.
We move funding quickly to people and communities who need it when they need it.
Our approach is grounded in trust, agility, and proximity—we work with local leaders and grassroots organizations to ensure that funding reaches people and families directly, supporting urgent needs and long-term recovery alike.
Whether responding to crises or fueling community-rooted solutions, this project exemplifies what’s possible when philanthropy is restructured around solidarity, not saviorism.
Meet the team behind the work
Our Change Agents
Our Board of Directors
Selina Beene — Board Chair
J. Marcus Howard — Board Secretary
Jeffrey Carey — Treasurer
Toya Nelson — Board Member
Advisory Board Members
Maylisa Alexander
Alexander Family Foundation
Advisor, St. Lucia Humanitarian SolidarityCurtis Brooks
My Heart Beats Africa
Advisor, Central Africa Humanitarian SolidarityJeanmarie Chris Bwemo
Executive Secretary, Tanzania Innovation Hubs Network
Advisor, Tanzania Humanitarian Solidarity
