Over the course of more than 25 years, Dave has dedicated his career to supporting the people and infrastructures that tackle thorny societal problems. He is both skilled at and passionate about creating space to engage others to strengthen and enrich the health, equity, and vitality of communities and society. With a deep background in strategic consulting, relationship building, philanthropy, and nonprofit fundamentals, Dave’s cross-sector career has allowed him many opportunities to support organizations and individuals seeking meaningful impact.

Dave spent the past eight years supporting over 400 foundations, corporations, and government grantmakers to better serve their nonprofit grantees and advance equity for under-invested communities. At Southern California Grantmakers (SCG), Dave served as the Vice President, Programs and Strategic Initiatives and then as the Vice President, Collaboration & Community Building. In these roles, Dave led a program team that identified, designed, and delivered 15+ high-quality educational, professional development, and networking programs a month, and worked with the membership to pursue collaborative funding projects and cross-sector strategic initiatives to further their philanthropic impact.

Prior to joining SCG, Dave spent 10 years in Washington, D.C. at a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank, where he served as the program officer for an innovations grant program of the Ford Foundation, and as the director of programs focused on civic engagement, government innovation, and leadership development. Soon after, Dave supported a review of grantee burden at the Corporation for National and Community Service for its Grants Management Streamlining and Burden Reduction Initiative. He then spent six years at a DC strategic consulting firm where he focused primarily on designing and facilitating strategic planning workshops and networking conferences for state-level emergency response grantees to share best practices, form meaningful partnerships, and collectively work to solve multi-jurisdictional challenges. Dave earned his Masters in Public Policy at Duke University where he focused on public and nonprofit management issues. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with his husband and adorable puppy.

877-355-8922 x102
dsheldon@unitedwaysca.org