Luciana Bonifacio: The Fundraiser

uciana Bonifacio’s career at Save the Children has spanned more than 25 years, most spent helping the organization manage its corporate partnerships. For more than a century, Save the Children has been working to improve the health, safety, and education of children worldwide — especially those in conflict zones.

This year, the nonprofit lost hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, and now Bonifacio is in pivot mode — developing a fundraising model that relies more heavily on private philanthropy. Working with other humanitarian groups that have also lost government dollars is an important part of the strategy.

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When the Trump administration eliminated more than $300 million in federal funding, or 30 percent of Save the Children’s global funding for this year, the group had to start making cuts. Save the Children has eliminated 300 of 1,000 U.S. positions since January and closed offices in some countries. The goal is to sustain core programs such as reducing hunger, preventing child marriages, and keeping midwives in conflict zones, Bonifacio says. Save the Children’s mantra during this period is “respond, rebound, and reform.”

Large, flexible grants that allow Save the Children to be innovative and adapt to a world with diminished international aid funding are limited, according to Bonifacio. Collaboration with other nonprofits with similar missions and challenges is essential, she says. Bonifacio is part of a group of chief development officers at organizations that share many of the same major donors and are now making joint funding requests. Among the ideas the group is considering as it works to reduce redundancies and conserve resources is whether to use a single supply chain to get products in and out of countries, she says.

“What I said to my team from the very beginning was, ‘Let’s stay focused on what we can control, who we are, and why we are here,’” she says. “It’s about focusing on the needs of children and making that our paramount direction, no matter what.”