We are excited to announce the Jumpstart Program cohort for 2025!
Robins Foundation is supporting its fifth cohort of Richmond area nonprofits taking part in Bonterra Tech’s innovative Jumpstart program. Previously known as Network for Good, Bonterra Tech is a longtime partner of ours, and through a Robins Foundation grant, 16 additional local nonprofits will now benefit from Jumpstart’s year-long training, expertise, and guidance, free of charge.
The participating nonprofits include:
- Alma Bella Foundation
- Capaz+IT
- Children’s Assistive Technology Service
- Families Forward Virginia
- Friendship Circle of Virginia
- HopeFor Learning
- Metropolitan Business League
- Our Community Home, Inc.
- Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education
- Richmond Cycling Corps
- Robinson Theater Community Arts Center
- Studio Two Three
- The Leadership and Achievement Academy
- Urban Baby Beginnings
- Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care (VIPCare)
- Waymakers Foundation
These nonprofits will join the 64 nonprofits from the previous four cohorts that were able to take advantage of this opportunity as a result of Robins funding.
The Jumpstart Program is important because it helps smaller nonprofits address a foundational concern: how to improve their financial sustainability. The program provides these organizations with Bonterra’s fundraising software for free, as well as one-on-one coaching over the course of one year in order to help them build and develop their own fundraising capacity, diversify their revenue, and sustain and grow existing programs.
Additionally, Jumpstart coaches will provide participating nonprofits with fundraising guidance, education on how to establish and maintain technical infrastructure, and ongoing, collaborative peer-learning opportunities that help each organization assess their needs, opportunities, and readiness.
A first-time participant, Julie Massie, Director of Development and Marketing at Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care told us, “We are THRILLED to be given this opportunity and I look forward to soaking up every piece of wisdom from my fundraising coach, as well as having a donor database that actually makes life easier, rather than harder.”
Assisting local nonprofits in capacity building is one of our core focus areas. This plays a crucial role for nonprofits because it boosts their ability to fulfill their mission, develop infrastructure, ensure sustainability, and enhance governance and leadership. These improvements further magnify their impact. At Robins Foundation, we believe that capacity building is an essential part of nonprofit development, and we actively support local nonprofits in this effort by facilitating their access to programs like Jumpstart.
Former program participant, Kami Blatt (The Commonwealth Institute) shared that “the lessons learned and the progress made has positioned us for continued growth and success in our mission. Jumpstart is an easy, straightforward program that offers a lot of support. We enjoyed our coaching sessions, which provided specific feedback and ideas from a fundraising professional to improve our organization’s fundraising and encouraged us to try new things.”
To learn more about how Robins Foundation support and the Jumpstart Program have benefited local nonprofits, you can watch these video interviews with leadership from past participants ReEstablish Richmond and the Chesterfield Education Foundation.
We believe strong nonprofits make for a strong Richmond region, so we are excited to continue our partnership with Bonterra Tech and provide this unique opportunity to another cohort of organizations doing transformational work across the Richmond region.
