Our network of skilled colleagues provides expertise in fundraising messaging and case development, prospect research, board development, and event management. Together, we are all focused on helping you and your development team meet — and exceed — your goal
Click the photographs below to learn more about our team members.
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We subscribe to the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and support the Donor Bill of Rights.
© Focus Fundraising, LLC
Nadine Gabai-Botero, CFRE
President
Nadine specializes in annual and campaign fundraising, board development, and major gift solicitations, and excels at guiding nonprofits seeking to expand their revenue and donor base. She has a proven record in securing individual major gifts, national and regional support, and at developing innovative ways to improve donor engagement to achieve results. Nadine has 25 years of experience in fundraising, and has been working as a consultant to nonprofits since 2009.
Before establishing Focus Fundraising, Nadine served for eight years on the senior management team of CulturalDC, an organization that partners with real estate developers and arts organizations to drive community development. There, she directed annual fundraising and led two capital campaigns. Prior to that role, Nadine managed marketing and branding projects at Iconixx, a web development firm, and was a program director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Nadine is a Certified Fundraising Executive and is a past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, DC Chapter. She is currently the Secretary of the Board and Development Committee chair of the Catalogue for Philanthropy in DC and is also a member of Somos el Poder, a national Latinx fundraising institute. Originally from Lima, Peru, she brings her diverse background and perspective to all client engagements. Nadine has an M.A. from The George Washington University and a B.A. from the University of Florida and is fluent in Spanish. She lives in Bethesda, MD and she and her husband have two sons.
JoAnne Scribner
Focus Consultant
JoAnne has been a development professional and an executive nonprofit leader for over 16 years. She has helped large and small nonprofits alike raise millions of dollars through annual fund and capital campaigns, gala and event fundraising, anniversary celebrations, strategic advising, board development, corporate donations, and planned gift solicitations. JoAnne has worked primarily in support of education and women’s non-profit organizations, most recently as Associate Head of School for Advancement and COO of The Field School in Washington D.C. where she successfully built a seven-person fundraising and communications department over nine years, and led a $10M capital campaign which exceeded goal by over $2M.
Prior to joining Field, JoAnne spent three and half years in non-profit management focusing on organizational strategy, board relations, fundraising, alumnae relations, event planning, and operations as Vice President of Springboard Enterprises and Deputy Executive Director of the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment.
As a community leader, JoAnne has served on several non-profit boards and advisory councils providing expertise on fundraising, events, and volunteer/community-building. Currently, JoAnne is a member of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Educational Foundation and serves as Fundraising Chair and a member of the Executive and Governance Committees. JoAnne and her husband live in Bethesda, MD with their three children.
Leila Fitzpatrick
Focus Consultant
& Messaging Specialist
Leila specializes in writing smart, savvy fundraising collateral. A skilled writer, ruthless editor and strategic communicator, she works with organizations to craft cases and marketing materials that will motivate existing donors and attract new ones.
In her role at Focus, Leila leads the writing process for cases for support, annual reports, and campaign messaging. She’s an accomplished writer with a proven track record creating cases and proposals that have successfully raised funds from individuals, private foundations, corporations, and local and federal government agencies.
Before becoming an independent consultant, Leila worked in nonprofit management and arts administration. She has extensive expertise in institutional advancement, from strategic program development to effective fundraising, budgeting and financial management. During 14 years at CulturalDC, Leila’s portfolio ranged from oversight of internal operations as Deputy Director to program management and directing arts-focused real estate development projects.
Leila served on the Board of Directors for Innovation Network for six years and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Atlas Performing Arts Center. She graduated from Bowdoin College and lives in Washington, DC with her husband and twin daughters.
Isabelle Blanco
Sr. Prospect Researcher
Isabelle provides research services to Focus clients seeking new sources of support and details on their current donors’ giving interests and goals. Isabelle has extensive experience in the research field, and is adept with numerous databases including Donor Search, Relationship Science, Foundation Directory Online, and Guidestar, among others.
Prior to her work as a research consultant, Isabelle served as The Foundation Center’s Assistant Librarian for nearly six years, where she provided services and trained clients on research tools and techniques. Before that, Isabelle worked with the Philanthropic Initiative for Social Justice as an editor of their yearly report on the state of Racial Equity Issues in grantmaking organizations; and for the Paul G. Allen Foundation investigating program opportunities in Solar micro-grids in East Africa. Isabelle also worked for USAID, the United Nations, Catholic Relief Services and Care International working in refugee camps and famine assistance programs in Africa and Asia. Born in Havana, Cuba, she is a graduate of the University of Geneva and Kalamazoo College and is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and French.
Jennifer Letowt
Prospect Researcher
Jennifer Letowt has spent over 25 years as a professional in the development research field. These roles have provided her in-depth knowledge of the individual, corporate, and foundation landscape and an understanding of how to align prospect research with fundraising efforts to achieve success. She is familiar with several databases including WealthEngine, iWave, DonorSearch, Foundation Directory Online, GrantStation and RelSci among others.
For the past 10 years, Jennifer has worked with non-profits and other fundraising consultants who seek her expertise on specific research challenges. Previously, she worked as head of development research at The Johns Hopkins University, The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and Capital Caring.
A graduate of Goucher College and the Johns Hopkins University, she is a past board member and Chair of the Green Hedges School, an independent Pre K-8 school located in Vienna, VA. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and APRA, the international prospect research organization.
Rachel Lesher
Prospect Researcher
Amber Haywood
Grant Writer & Development Specialist
Amber is an experienced fundraiser and storyteller passionate about building a global beloved community. Prior to her career as a development professional, Amber served as a community organizer working to establish permanently affordable housing in Birmingham, Alabama. After realizing that even the most equitable, data-driven solutions required funding, she decided that connecting donor passion with nonprofit missions would be her contribution to her community.
Utilizing her expertise in corporate/foundation partnerships, individual giving, and federal funding, Amber has helped a host of equity-focused organizations build the capacity they need to do transformative work. Amber is CEO at Fundraise Inc., a consulting firm that empowers nonprofits to achieve extraordinary fundraising results. Before that, she served as Head of Development for Alabama Arise, a statewide, member-led organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty.
Amber holds a bachelor’s in Communication Studies and African American Studies from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Jackie Indek Beres
Grant Writer & Development Specialist
Jackie is an accomplished non-profit professional with over 15 years of success in relationship-based fundraising for nationally recognized foreign policy, public affairs and health and human service organizations. She is a skilled professional with extensive experience in bringing in revenue streams of $1M+ to nonprofits through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of high-net-worth individuals, corporate sponsorships, grants and special events, and has a talent for providing excellent customer service to a wide range of key stakeholders and executive leadership.
Jackie began her development career in Atlanta as the Southeast Regional Coordinator for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. To pursue her passion for policy and advocacy, she moved to Washington, DC and became a development officer for the Brookings Institution, helping to manage a $21M annual revenue goal in the Foreign Policy Program.
As the Development Director for organizations such as the American Society of International Law and the Southeast Regional office of the Anti-Defamation League, Jackie succeeded in creating a culture of philanthropy by advising staff and senior leadership on how best to identify and move major donors through the giving cycle, leveraging data to encourage philanthropic investment, and researching potential donors’ ability and willingness to donate.
Most recently, she was the Senior Director of Major Gifts and Individual Giving for Make-A-Wish Georgia, spearheading strategies for year-end and mid-year giving campaign development.
Jackie graduated with a B.A. from the University of Georgia and resides in Atlanta with her husband and their elementary aged son.