Biography
Armando Zumaya has been in fundraising for 38 years in a variety of roles that have given him a unique perspective on development offices, prospecting and role of prospect research/management. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Somos El Poder, the first Latinx Fundraising Institute in the US.
He has spent the bulk of his fundraising career as a Major Gift, Leadership Gifts and Annual Fund Officer on two $1+ billion dollar campaigns at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in 1985 as a canvasser for SANE/FREEZE in Los Angeles and Ithaca N.Y. where he led door to door canvassers in the field for 5 years. He has served in the Vice President of Development, Director of Major Gifts and Chief Development Officer, Annual Fund and Leadership Gift roles.
He is well known for his work in teaching prospecting, solicitation, cold calling, major gifts techniques and remote constituency fundraising. He has been a tireless advocate for improving the Prospect Researcher/Fundraiser relationship and creating a prospecting culture inside development teams.
He also speaks about the rise of Latino Major Giving in the US through his direct experience raising major gifts in the Latino community. He emphasizes the need for a new vision of Latino philanthropy throughout our nonprofit community.
Armando lectures internationally on fundraising. At the following conferences and events. AFP ICON, APRA, AFP Chapters, AFP Hemispheric (Mexico), APRA Chapters, AHP, BBCON, GIFT, CANDID (The Foundation Center), Development Executives Roundtable, CARA, SAWA, MARC, Compass Point, Blackbaud, Forum on Fundraising and Academic Impressions, The Institute of Fundraising (UK). He has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, APRA Connections, Advancement Magazine, the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, NPO Magazine (South Africa) and other publications.
He lives in Northern California and is a proud alumnus of the University of California, Riverside and Roosevelt HS in East Los Angeles.
He has spent the bulk of his fundraising career as a Major Gift, Leadership Gifts and Annual Fund Officer on two $1+ billion dollar campaigns at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in 1985 as a canvasser for SANE/FREEZE in Los Angeles and Ithaca N.Y. where he led door to door canvassers in the field for 5 years. He has served in the Vice President of Development, Director of Major Gifts and Chief Development Officer, Annual Fund and Leadership Gift roles.
He is well known for his work in teaching prospecting, solicitation, cold calling, major gifts techniques and remote constituency fundraising. He has been a tireless advocate for improving the Prospect Researcher/Fundraiser relationship and creating a prospecting culture inside development teams.
He also speaks about the rise of Latino Major Giving in the US through his direct experience raising major gifts in the Latino community. He emphasizes the need for a new vision of Latino philanthropy throughout our nonprofit community.
Armando lectures internationally on fundraising. At the following conferences and events. AFP ICON, APRA, AFP Chapters, AFP Hemispheric (Mexico), APRA Chapters, AHP, BBCON, GIFT, CANDID (The Foundation Center), Development Executives Roundtable, CARA, SAWA, MARC, Compass Point, Blackbaud, Forum on Fundraising and Academic Impressions, The Institute of Fundraising (UK). He has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, APRA Connections, Advancement Magazine, the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, NPO Magazine (South Africa) and other publications.
He lives in Northern California and is a proud alumnus of the University of California, Riverside and Roosevelt HS in East Los Angeles.
