Our Approach
S+R Consulting is a full-service + hands-on development consulting firm. We share with all our clients a passion for making our world a better place.
This passion inspires us every day and is at the heart of effective fundraising.
We know the challenges you face: competing for limited funding, juggling too many priorities, filling a pipeline of solid prospects, strengthening your skills, recruiting top-quality staff, engaging board and staff members in fundraising, and more.
S+R works side-by-side with you to overcome fundraising challenges and move upward.
There is true joy in seeing development done well. Together, let’s produce solutions and uncover new opportunities for success.
Services
Our comprehensive services include:
Fundraising Assessments
Results-Oriented Development Plans
Fundraising Messages + Materials
Donor Identification
Expert Counsel
Recruitment, Training + Coaching
Special Event Planning + Management
Design of Development Systems + Infrastructure
STRATEGY + RESULTS
We tackle all aspects of fundraising and development, from the “big picture” to daily operations.
A hallmark of our work is our ability to develop strong fundraising plans and provide counsel for efficient and successful implementation.
We have helped nonprofit organizations raise tens of millions of dollars from major donors, foundations, and corporations locally, nationally, and internationally.
Our Team
EDIT
REIZES
Principal
Co-Founder
Edit Reizes, a development professional with 25 years of marked accomplishments, provides highly personalized fundraising counsel to nonprofits seeking to improve, diversify, and expand development operations.
Before becoming a consultant, Edit served in executive and senior-level fundraising roles at a wide range of organizations, including the Economic Policy Institute, Weitzman Institute of Science, and Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. Edit has built a strong development skill set that enables her to quickly assess an organization’s opportunities and challenges and help guide that organization to fundraising success. Coupled with strategic “know how,” Edit has been actively involved in – and successful at – securing institutional grants and major donor gifts in the five and six figure range, including endowed and planned gifts. One of her strengths is creating and implementing outreach programs to attract new supporters to organizations. As one example, she launched a program to involve the growing high-tech and bio-tech communities in the Washington, DC, region and revitalized a “Next Generation” outreach and fundraising effort that engaged younger supporters.
After many years “in house,” Edit began consulting in 2007. She has worked for and consulted to organizations with budgets that range from $500,000 to more than $100 million.
Edit graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a B.S. in Management and Consumer Studies and supportive core work in Public Policy and Administration. She was a founding board member of 4 Montgomery’s Kids. Some of her community service and volunteering activities include K-9 Lifesavers, Live Healthy Appalachia, and Manna Food Center. She also served as a mentor for the Mentor program of the DC Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals.
DIANE SCHWARTZ
Principal
Co-Founder
Diane Schwartz has spent more than 25 years in the nonprofit sector and is skilled in fundraising, management, and governance, as well as project development and management. She draws on her extensive background to work effectively on a wide range of issues and assignments, from the local to the international level. Since becoming an independent consultant in 2006, Diane has drawn on her expertise to advise, support, and coach nonprofit organizations.
Previously, Diane had responsibility for organizational planning and management, project development and management, and/or fundraising at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Center for Community Change, Family Care International, and the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Revenues increased at each organization during her tenure. Diane also has served on the boards of directors for national and international organizations, including Earth Share, Partners for Development, and GRACE Cares. Prior to entering the nonprofit field, Diane was a project consultant to United Nations agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development, World Wide Fund for Nature, and other nonprofit organizations, focusing on environmental issues, Latin America, and Africa. She also served as a media and communications specialist with local and regional agencies in New England addressing environmental and economic development issues.
Diane holds a B.A. in English from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University (New York, NY). She lives in Arlington, VA. Diane is active on education and political issues and volunteers with community organizations, including Northern Virginia Family Services.
SCARLETT
JIMENEZ
Associate
Scarlett Jimenez is a seasoned and passionate fundraising professional with a proven history of cultivating and securing major philanthropic gifts; managing high-performing teams; and developing and implementing fundraising systems and processes for quality fiscal management and compliance. In her consulting practice, Scarlett provides tailored support to organizations and leaders to establish and strengthen fundraising programs for success. She has advised national clients such as Take Back the Court and the Pro-Democracy Campaign.
Most recently, Scarlett led the national fundraising efforts for the Alliance for Youth Action as the Senior Development Director, helping to grow the organization from a $4 million budget in 2017 to over $17 million in 2020. In this role, she also coached and consulted with the executive directors of over a dozen local affiliated organizations to assess their own fundraising strategies, prospect new supporters, develop strong systems for compliance, and hire development teams. Scarlett has worked in community organizing, political campaigns, and fundraising and philanthropy for over 10 years. Her volunteer work has included supporting the Littleton Immigrant Resources Center and local animal rescue organizations.
A proud Coloradan, Scarlett received her B.A. from the University of Denver summa cum laude with majors in Political Science, Public Policy, and French. She currently resides in Aurora, Colorado.
MARIELLA
VILLACORTA
Associate
Mariella is a versatile fundraising professional who comes from the civic engagement and youth organizing space. With more than seven years of experience at the local and national levels, she has a track record of leveraging resources to help movement organizations and leaders create meaningful change.
Mariella is the former Individual Giving Manager at Alliance for Youth Action, where she diversified fundraising streams by building a monthly donor program, crafting persuasive proposals, improving internal systems, and amplifying digital fundraising campaigns. Previously, she worked in an electoral digital and fundraising firm in Maryland, helping to execute successful political campaigns through fundraising, field, digital, and direct mail strategy. Mariella finds joy in telling powerful stories and engaging donors at all giving levels.
A proud immigrant from El Salvador, Mariella graduated from Goucher College and is currently based in New York City.
KARLA
VAZQUEZ
Associate
Karla Vazquez has spent 15 years as an effective resource mobilizer, fundraising and building infrastructure systems for social justice groups engaged at the local, national, and international levels. Her areas of expertise include grant writing, management, prospect research, recruitment, and implementing and maintaining systems and processes to track individual and institutional stewardship and cultivation.
Karla has consulted with such organizations as The Hawai’i Workers Center, Oil Change International, Restaurant Opportunities Center United, and the Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development.
Karla also has designed and implemented engagement strategies and infrastructure for resource building and organizational sustainability at the Youth Engagement Fund. At United We Dream Network, the nation’s first and largest immigrant youth-led organization, she managed the grants portfolio of 60+ funder relationships, confirming over $30 million for the immigrant rights movement. Previously, she led individual giving campaigns at the Tennessee Immigrant Rights Coalition and was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Resource Leaders Fellowship at the Rockwood Leadership Institute. Karla serves on the boards of community and educational programs in Nashville, TN, and as the President of the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce, where she has grown sponsorship investment from Fortune 500 companies. A first-generation college student, she founded and has served on the boards of organizations that help first-generation college students achieve their higher education goals.
Karla graduated with a B.S. in accounting and management with an international business concentration from Lipscomb University. Originally from Mexico City, she has lived in Nashville for 20 years with her family.
OSMAR
TYRELL
Web Manager
Clients
S+R is honored to have partnered with 90+ international, national, and local organizations. Below are a few of the great nonprofits we have supported over the years.
Client Testimonials
News
August 2024 - The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation does incredible work honoring firefighters who have died in the line of duty, supporting their families, and educating the fire sector about ways to prevent deaths. We are honored to work with them to strengthen their fundraising operations and help build a larger, more sustainable base of support.
July 2024 - Verité provides the knowledge and tools to eliminate child labor, forced labor, human trafficking and gender discrimination from supply chains around the world. We feel privileged to help advance their critical work by providing coaching and counseling to diversify and grow their philanthropic base of support.
May 2024 - S+R has been brought on to help advance fundraising for the first phase of the National Food Museum. This first-of-its-kind museum will look at food in all its dimensions, with a focus on the important connections between food, human health, and the health of our planet.
January 2024 - In a critical election year, we are working with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to advance their work to protect our democracy through legal, research, and communications strategies. Our wide-ranging services to CREW include conducting prospect research, strengthening their development systems, enhancing fundraising messaging, and counseling their team in cultivating and stewarding donors — all with an eye toward growing their base of support.
December 2023 - We were delighted to return to the National Homelessness Law Center, this time to provide interim counsel while their development leadership was on family leave. NHLC fearlessly advances federal, state, and local policies to prevent and end homelessness while fiercely defending the rights of all unhoused persons and the basic human right to affordable, quality, and safe housing.
October 2023 - Since its founding during the AIDS epidemic in 1989, Moveable Feast has been bringing healthy food and compassion to those struggling with chronic illness. We’re proud to help them strengthen their fundraising operations and strategies so they can improve the health of Marylanders experiencing food insecurity and chronic illness, thereby achieving racial, social, and health equity.
October 2023 - The advocacy, legal, and education work of our newest client, the Student Press Law Center, is so critical. For nearly 50 years, they’ve promoted, supported, and defended the First Amendment and press freedom rights of high school and college journalists and their advisers. We are looking forward to partnering with them to advance their short-term fundraising and longer-term fundraising sustainability.
October 2023 - EcoAction Arlington is the only environmental group solely focused on the county. They educate, advocate, and act to create a sustainable community by improving the natural environment, encouraging environmentally-friendly behaviors, ensuring environmental justice, and addressing the climate crisis. We are providing support for their year-end fundraising initiative, including coaching their board of directors.
September 2023 - Like our other clients, the Human Trafficking Legal Center addresses a crucial societal issue. They are a bridge to justice for trafficking survivors, connecting them with pro bono representation so they can seek justice and thrive. We are honored to support the Center with fundraising counsel and coaching through its critical year-end fundraising season.
September 2023 - SOMOS Mayfair, based in San Jose, CA, is a community power-building nonprofit — and S+R’s newest client! We are excited to guide their fundraising efforts as they begin implementing their new strategic plan, which uplifts the dreams, power, and leadership of their community to address systemic inequities.
August 2023 - S+R continues to work hand-in-hand with the Alliance for Youth Organizing. With our latest contract extension, we will deliver a two-part training session this fall to Alliance affiliates on two key components of sustainable fundraising: building a pipeline of aligned prospects and retaining current donors through effective stewardship.
May 2023 - We’re very inspired by the work of Chicago Votes, a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by putting power in the hands of young Chicagoans. Together, we’ll be strengthening their development systems as well as their messaging.
February 2023 - It’s always a pleasure to work again with a former client, especially one as impactful as the Alliance for Youth Organizing, a nationwide network of youth-led advocacy and organizing organizations. This time we’re providing the Alliance with counsel regarding their messaging and “pitch” around their strategic plan and a new leadership development initiative.