Meet the Grantmakers: Keeping your Mission Relevant + Funded
This session is essential for nonprofit leaders and development professionals looking to strengthen their funding strategies. It will focus on best strategies to build relevance and impact narratives, ensure your organization is both fundable and findable, and adjust to shifting priorities. Join us to hear insights from grantmakers on what they look for in funding applications, how to build long-term partnerships, and ways to navigate the evolving philanthropic landscape.
Event Time + Agenda:
9:00 AM – Registration, Coffee + Continental Breakfast, Networking
9:30 AM – Panel Discussion
10:15 AM – Interactive Q&A
10:45 AM – Networking & Closing Remarks
Location:
Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Pricing:
AFP-NYC Member: $50
Guest of AFP-NYC Member: $40
AFP-NYC Young Professional Member: $25
Non-Member: $75
PANELISTS:
Stephanie Drivas
Program Officer
Robin Hood
Stephanie Drivas is a Program Officer on Robin Hood’s Adult and Household Supports team. In this role, she manages grants in the areas of workforce development, legal services, food insecurity, and access to public benefits. Through her work, she seeks to invest in programs that reduce barriers to economic opportunity and mobility for all New Yorkers. Prior to joining Robin Hood, Stephanie worked for the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, where she helped shape the operations and strategy of the firm’s philanthropic initiatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a Master's in Public Policy degree from Harvard University.
Sonni Holland
President & CEO
The Charles Hayden Foundation
Sonni Holland is Senior Vice President at the Charles Hayden Foundation in New York. In his role, Mr. Holland establishes grant strategies and oversees the grantee process, progress, and reporting for an annual portfolio of $17 million. During his twenty-three years at the Foundation, he has recommended nearly $300 million in grant approvals that further the Foundation’s mission to support young people to live healthy, meaningful, productive lives and – in turn – work to support and advance their communities. Sonni also organizes, facilitates, and participates in various collaborative efforts between the Foundations' grantees and non-grantees (that include foundations, government agencies, community-based organizations, and schools). In addition, Sonni works closely with the Foundations support service providers, such as finance consultants, accountants, benefits, IT firms, etc.
Born and raised in Asbury Park, NJ, and a product of multiple youth development programs, Sonni sees himself in the young people the Foundation serves. Growing up against a backdrop of poverty and family struggles, he was fortunate to have a superhero single mother, and timely opportunities to access various after-school programs and key mentors/coaches that enabled him to realize his academic, athletic, and leadership potential. What feeds the fuel and passion Sonni pours into his work at the Foundation daily is his understanding of the collective influence and importance these inflection points have had on his life.
Alton Murray
Deputy Commissioner
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Alton Murray is the Deputy Commissioner for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, where his portfolio includes a broad range of agency initiatives, policies, and programs aimed at supporting New York City’s vast, vibrant cultural sector. Previously, he served as Strategic Partnership Manager in the Corporate Affairs Department of Con Edison where he managed relationships with arts and culture and environmental non-profit organizations. His work helped to implement and measure new and existing programs that support the company’s philanthropic efforts and core business initiatives. Alton is also an ardent patron of the arts. He mentors emerging arts leaders and supports emerging artists from underrepresented communities, particularly those whose primary creative medium is paper. Alton holds a B.S in Liberal Studies from St John’s University and a Corporate Community Involvement Certification from Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the advisory Committee of Company Stefanie Batten Bland, a dance company.
MODERATOR:
Aleda Gagarin
VP of Influence
Candid
As VP of Influence, Aleda leads Candid’s thought leadership, strategic coalitions, and campaigns to increase Candid's collective impact and support a stronger social sector. She directs the Influence teams, including Communications and Brand Awareness, Development, Partnerships, and Partnership Operations. In close collaboration with the CEO and executive team, Aleda is responsible for creating and executing Candid's influence strategy, defining how Candid shows up in the world – what we say, how we say it, and who we partner with.
Aleda is passionate about making connections, solving problems, advocating for resources, and shifting power structures. She began her career in advocacy as a program assistant at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 2004, later served as sales and membership coordinator for Institutional Investor, and worked with North Star Planning and Evaluation Consultants as a researcher. Aleda joined Candid via the Foundation Center in 2013 as a development associate, and with the evolvement of her strong leadership skills, advanced to development manager, director, senior director of development, and associate vice president of development.
Aleda holds a B.A. in international studies from American University and a master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College with a focus on community advocacy. In her spare time, Aleda is active in community and electoral organizing, and spending quality time with family.