ABOUT US
Who We Are
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
~ Charles Dickens
The Change Up Group is a solutions-based small business and nonprofit consulting firm that provides strategic counsel, accessible solutions and strategies in order to build sustainable and high-performing organizations working to drive social change.
We partner with nonprofits, foundations and select small businesses, using a holistic approach to understand and address the challenges you face. We set ambitious goals, then execute customized strategies to develop integrated systems across your operation to yield efficiency, effectiveness, and success.
Through the power of assessment, data, analysis, strategy and collaboration, we help organizations operate effectively and thrive in a mileau of complexity and change. By bringing to the table passion, experience and expertise, we deliver measurable and meaningful impact.
We understand that the best outcomes result from three things:
- A thorough understanding of your mission and organization goals;
- A relationship with organization principals that yields authentic dialog about the operational barriers to achieving that mission and goals;
- An ongoing implementation and analysis to ensure a continued, successful cadence of problem solving
Kara Steffen is the founder and principal consultant of The Change Up Group. She posesses more than 12 years of leadership and consulting experience in the nonfproit sector.
ABOUT US
Who We Serve
“To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.”
~ Abraham Lincoln
Nonprofit organizations – the very entities tasked with fostering positive social change – are under interminable pressure to build revenue and improve their strategic outcomes. They do so in an increasingly regulated, competitive, as well as an ever- and quickly-changing climate.
Achieving goals and maintaining organizational vitality means managing constant change. Nonprofits may find it necessary – and challenging – to restructure, reposition, and reinvent their organization. When they do, we draw on our strategic planning, fundraising, marketing and program development-evaluation expertise to reach goals and exceed expectations.
Whether an organization is struggling, thriving or any condition in between, we work with our client to identify, develop, articulate and implement strategies that meaningfully and measurably transform ideas into action. Action brings results.
The Change Up Group will partner with progressive organizations affecting change in their communities including educational, religious and social welfare organizations. Since no two nonprofits are alike, we provide bespoke and proven solutions for every client we work with.
We are skilled and we care.
ABOUT US
What We Do
“That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Through our values of Quality, Community, Possibility and Integrity, our expertise assists us in exploiting your organization’s strengths, vision and growth opportunities to guide you toward your desired goals.
We develop fundraising strategies, increase organizational capacity and build effective leadership in the nonprofit organization sector. We do this focused on our vision of nonprofits that do good in the world thriving, operating at full potential and fully equipped to affect positive change in the world.
Our mission and vision is inextricably tied to your own. As a vital, mission-driven nonprofit organization, your team works to create vibrant, empowered communities, to protect the environment, and to provide safety, comfort and resources to protect and serve society’s most vulnerable populations.
We assist you in your vital endeavor by collaborating with your staff to craft innovative strategies, paired with sound implementation processes that will increase your organization’s impact and empower your team.
FOUNDER & CEO
Kara Steffen
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
~ Maya Angelou
The Change Up Group is founded by Kara M. Steffen. Kara entered the nonprofit sector nearly a decade ago, ultimately serving as the Director of Development Operations for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, a national organization with a $100M+ annual operating budget. In this role she managed a plurality of fundraising operations, and a 23-person development team, emphasizing revenue generation, team development, data management and department-wide budgeting. Kara’s direct reports raised roughly $10 million in revenue each year, earned through annual giving, corporate philanthropy, and special events. She also managed the operations for the Center’s $50M Capital Campaign.
Kara served on a multitude of interdepartmental committees tasked with defining strategic priorities for the Center at large, honing her ability for big thinking, consensus building, and strategic implementation.
These committees have included the Center Management Group, a large upper-management body; the Sustainability Committee, tasked with ensuring operational longevity and competitiveness of the Center; the Human Resources Committee, focusing on recruitment, hiring, on-boarding and retention; and an Internal Technology Committee, pursuing efficiency, knowledge sharing and culture at the Center.
With The Change Up Group, Kara is applying her talents for strategic planning to support and guide non-profit teams to focus on the delicate balance of mission centric messaging, fundraising objectives, and the operational efficiency that belies success.
Kara completed a Master’s degree in History at San Francisco State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from California State University, Northridge. When she is not guiding her clients toward greater success, she can usually be found fishing or watching the Chicago Cubs with her partner and two sons.
Kara served on a multitude of interdepartmental committees tasked with defining strategic priorities for the Center at large, honing her ability for big thinking, consensus building, and strategic implementation. These committees have included the Center Management Group, a large upper-management body; the Sustainability Committee, tasked with ensuring operational longevity and competitiveness of the Center; the Human Resources Committee, focusing on recruitment, hiring, on-boarding and retention; and an Internal Technology Committee, pursuing efficiency, knowledge sharing and culture at the Center.
With The Change Up Group, Kara is applying her talents for strategic planning to support and guide non-profit teams to focus on the delicate balance of mission centric messaging, fundraising objectives, and the operational efficiency that belies success.
Kara completed a Master’s degree in History at San Francisco State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from California State University, Northridge. When she is not guiding her clients toward greater success, she can usually be found fishing or watching the Chicago Cubs with her partner and two sons.
Director, Client Relations
Jennifer Dawson
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Jennifer began her fundraising career in 2007, and has worked for causes including higher education, animal welfare, and LGBTQ organizations. She is well-versed in all areas of development, with an expertise in individual and major giving. Jennifer has extensive experience in developing program infrastructure, streamlining moves management processes, using data analysis to guide decision-making, and developing metrics to drive success.
Jennifer sees philanthropy as activism, and her life’s work is to help bring resources to causes and communities that she cares about. An East Coast native, she now lives with her partner and rescue pup in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles
Director, Client Relations
Jennifer Dawson
r
Jennifer began her fundraising career in 2007, and has worked for causes including higher education, animal welfare, and LGBTQ organizations. She is well-versed in all areas of development, with an expertise in individual and major giving. Jennifer has extensive experience in developing program infrastructure, streamlining moves management processes, using data analysis to guide decision-making, and developing metrics to drive success.
Jennifer sees philanthropy as activism, and her life’s work is to help bring resources to causes and communities that she cares about. An East Coast native, she now lives with her partner and rescue pup in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles
AT A CRITICAL CHANGE POINT?
Services We Provide
AT A CRITICAL CHANGE POINT?
Services We Provide
Organizational
Business Process
Financial
Fundraising