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Coffee Talk: Driving Impact through Funder Collaboration

In this recording, you'll hear from Foundant client, Dr. Tobi Bruhn, about how he and two other funders in the Bucks County region came together to create a new grant opportunity designed to drive greater impact in their community.

Special Guests include:

  • Tobi Bruhn, Ed.D, CFRE, CEO, Foundations Community Partnership
  • Nicole Tell, Executive Director of BLBB Charitable, the giving arm of BLBB Advisors LLC, a financial advisory firm in Montgomeryville, PA
  • Mandy Mundy, Executive Director of the Bucks County Foundation

Like all of Coffee Talks, this was more of a discussion than a presentation so be ready to hear about funder collaborations and how they support greater impact in your community!

A few discussion topics for this Coffee Talk include:

  • Where do you start with building a funder collaboration?
  • How do you find the right funding partners?
  • How do you agree on the Award process?
  • What are the barriers/challenges in implementing a funder collaboration?

About the Author

Marius began his career in the software industry as part of Foundant’s internship program and quickly rose through the ranks to become a go-to team member for complex projects. Marius's client-centric personality traits made for a natural client service representative. This, reinforced by his clients’ excitement, cultivated a passion for helping others in the philanthropic sector. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Business at Montana State University, Marius worked closely with leadership to develop the Client Success Associate role, which became an integral part of Client Services at Foundant. In 2019, he leveled up in client support once again, becoming a Client Success Manager in areas of training, teaching, best practices, strategic conversations, and much more. Through serving clients with different funding objectives, he next developed expertise in small family foundations, faith-based foundations, United Way organizations, and various public agencies. Marius and his partner reside in Vancouver, Washington, with their dogs Duke and Oliver, exploring the outdoors in search of Sasquatch. Areas of expertise: data collection best practices, reporting, merge templates, and grant and scholarship best practices.

Profile Photo of Marius Dereskevicius