287: Leading with Impact: Strategies for Effective Fundraising that Scales (Ruthe Farmer)

SUMMARY

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How can nonprofit leaders better scale social change and build lasting funder relationships? In episode 287 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, we explore how Ruthe Farmer and the Last Mile Education Fund have revolutionized support for underrepresented students pursuing degrees in STEM. Launched in 2020, the fund has raised over $30 million and granted over 8,000 micro-grants to students in need, helping close the gap in degree completion for low-income students. Ruthe shares key insights from her 30-year career, emphasizing the power of building meaningful, long-term relationships with funders and leveraging data-driven strategies to scale social impact. 

ABOUT RUTHE

Ruthe Farmer is the founder and CEO of the Last Mile Education Fund. She previously served as chief evangelist at CSforAll, was senior policy advisor for tech inclusion in the Obama White House, and chief strategy & growth officer at the National Center for Women & IT. Her work has been integral to the design, launch and scaling of multiple national initiatives, including the NCWIT K-12 Alliance, Aspirations in Computing, TECHNOLOchicas, AspireIT, CSEdWeek, CS and Cyber for Girl Scouts, the CSforALL Summit, and JROTC-CS. She served as 2012 Chair of CSEDWeek, was named a 2013 White House Champion of Change for Technology Inclusion, received the 2014 Anita Borg Institute Award for Social Impact, and the inaugural UK Alumni Award for Social Impact in 2015. She holds a BA from Lewis & Clark College and an MBA from Oxford.

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES

• Ready for your next leadership opportunity? Visit our partners at Armstrong McGuire
• Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas
• Have you gotten Patton’s book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership?