Caroline de Filippis
Strategy & Organizational Leadership | Funding & Community Impact
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AREAS OF FOCUS
I help mission-driven organizations make sense of complex challenges, set priorities, mobilize resources to move forward, and turn plans into action.
My work spans nonprofits, public agencies, cultural institutions, community organizations, and the private sector.
Strategy
Strategy
Strategic planning · Organizational development · Research & analysis
Clarifying priorities, assessing needs and opportunities, and turning complex challenges into practical plans.
Funding
Funding
Funding strategy · Grant development · Resource mobilization
Identifying opportunities, developing strong proposals and cases for support, and building sustainable funding pipelines.
Community Impact
Community Impact
Community development · Stakeholder engagement · Systems change
Building partnerships, facilitating collaboration, and developing approaches that strengthen communities.
Nonprofits · Public agencies · Cultural institutions · Community organizations · Private sector
SELECTED WORK
Community Development Director → Grants Manager → Consultant
2022–Present
Funding strategy · Strategic planning · Organizational development
Led the museum's first strategic planning process and built a fundraising strategy that secured $500K+ in competitive funding within 10 months, while contributing to 150% membership growth.
FUSE Executive Fellow / Resiliency Coordinator
2023–2024
Public-sector strategy · Community resilience · Stakeholder engagement
Led the development of Wyandotte County's first Resiliency Assessment, bringing together government departments, technical experts, and community stakeholders to assess local strengths, vulnerabilities, and opportunities.
Strategy & Research Consultant — Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition
2021–2023
Systems change · Research · Policy · Coalition strategy
Supported a $1.83M statewide initiative addressing the conditions affecting families from pregnancy through a child's second birthday, contributing to research, policy, strategy, partnerships, funding, and communications.
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Challenge
The museum needed clearer priorities and a stronger financial and organizational foundation for its next stage of development. Preservation, programming, membership, community engagement, and investment in the site all competed for limited capacity and resources.
Approach
I led the museum's first strategic planning process and built a fundraising strategy around its priorities. I translated broader goals into fundable projects with clear scopes, budgets, outcomes, and support cases, while connecting preservation, education, community engagement, membership, and long-term financial sustainability.
Results
$500K+ secured in competitive funding within 10 months, including a $250K Kansas Department of Commerce SPRINT Grant.
150% membership growth through stronger outreach, engagement, and organizational development.
First strategic plan providing a framework for future development.
Ongoing consulting relationship supporting funding and organizational growth after my relocation to Kansas City.
Capabilities Demonstrated
Strategic planning · Funding strategy · Resource mobilization · Organizational development · Grant development · Project development · Cultural preservation
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Challenge
Wyandotte County needed a clearer picture of its ability to prepare for and respond to social, economic, environmental, and other disruptions. The assessment needed to bring together information and perspectives that normally sit across different departments and organizations.
Approach
I developed the assessment framework and coordinated government departments, technical experts, community leaders, and other stakeholders. I combined research, data, and community knowledge to identify strengths, vulnerabilities, and opportunities across interconnected systems.
Results
First countywide Resiliency Assessment for Wyandotte County.
Cross-sector process bringing government, technical, and community perspectives together.
Priorities for future work to inform planning, coordination, and investment.
Assessment framework and relationships that the Unified Government could build on.
Capabilities Demonstrated
Public-sector strategy · Systems thinking · Research & analysis · Stakeholder engagement · Facilitation · Strategic planning
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Challenge
The initiative addressed the many systems and conditions shaping family wellbeing during pregnancy through a child's second birthday. Doing so required organizations working across different areas to connect research, policy, partnerships, and public-facing action.
Approach
I contributed across research, policy analysis, campaign strategy, partnerships, funding development, project management, and communications. I helped translate evidence and policy issues into strategic considerations while connecting organizations around shared goals.
Results
Supported a major statewide initiative addressing systemic factors affecting families.
Research informing action through campaign strategy, policy work, partnerships, and funding development.
Cross-sector collaboration among organizations working across maternal and child health.
Connected strategy, research, funding, and communications around shared objectives.
Capabilities Demonstrated
Systems thinking · Research & strategic analysis · Policy analysis · Coalition building · Strategic communications · Funding development
ADDITIONAL WORK
Investigation & Advocacy Services
Grant management · Fundraising · Strategic planning · Communications
→ Visit organization
Port of Karlskrona
Sustainability strategy · Systems thinking · Stakeholder engagement
→ Visit organization
ABOUT
ABOUT
I'm a strategy and organizational leader with 10+ years of international, cross-sector experience. I've worked with nonprofits, public agencies, cultural institutions, and private companies on strategy, funding, research, and community development.
Originally from France, I've lived and worked in Australia, Sweden, Scotland, and the United States. Moving between countries and sectors has shaped how I work: I'm comfortable entering unfamiliar environments, learning quickly, and bringing different perspectives together to find a practical way forward.
Education
MSc Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability
MA Communication & Marketing
Languages
French · English
Tools & Platforms
Microsoft 365 · Google Workspace · Canva · Candid · SAM.gov · Grants.gov · Constant Contact · Wild Apricot · Zoom · Slack · AI-assisted workflows
WORK WITH ME
Project-based consulting
Strategy · Funding · Community Impact
I work with organizations that need help thinking through a challenge, developing a plan, finding resources, or moving an important project forward.
Engagements can be focused and short-term or involve ongoing support, with scope shaped around the organization's needs, capacity, timeline, and budget.
Let's talk
Let's talk
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