Tanisha Smith

Vice President, Corporate Partnerships @Volunteers Of America

Nurtured high-touch, value-rich relationships with 9 corporate foundations, collaborating with key internal and external stakeholders to identify and deliver programs to achieve grant deliverables. Managed RFP processes, planned and executed projects, and led in-house team in ensuring outcomes generated desired levels of social ROI for each partner. »» Developed fundraising campaign to underwrite $1.3M title sponsorship for LPGA tournament by securing $300K in vendor sponsors; resulted in increasing target to $600K over 2 years and raising sponsorship to $1.5M. Recognized for “doing an outstanding job managing and securing support from corporate partners, particularly during a pandemic.” »» Amplified brand awareness through national earned media, planning and overseeing a star-studded awards dinner in conjunction with LPGA tournament ‘pairing party’ at AT & T Stadium in Dallas; liaised with luminaries and dignitaries—including VIPs such as First Lady Laura Bush—to build a memorable and inspirational experience for attendees. »» Generated and strengthened a constant stream of funding and in-kind commitments, nurturing sustainable relationships with national corporate donors, raising tournament sponsorship, leveraging existing relationships to cultivate new donors, and monitoring the progress and lifecycle of all national office conference sponsorship opportunities. »» Selected to participate in the Executive Development Program, deepening skills and strengths in achieving heightened levels of engagement from corporate partners, overseeing national volunteer experience opportunities, and catalyzing technical capacity-building to ensure organization-wide volunteer systems are positioned to bolster strategic alliances.