The League One Volleyball Foundation is the charitable arm of League One Volleyball (LOVB), the largest community of youth volleyball clubs in the country. LOVB is preparing to launch a professional league, LOVB Pro, with a scheduled debut in January 2025.

In 2024, LOVB engaged Benefactor Group to accelerate fundraising efforts through The LOVB Foundation. While a dynamic board was in place, the new philanthropic organization required assistance to jumpstart its fundraising initiatives. Benefactor Group provided targeted services to optimize cost-effectiveness and focus on the foundation’s most promising prospects, including foundation funders and individual donors at the club level.

Benefactor Group’s strategic and organized approach was appreciated by The LOVB Foundation. “Benefactor Group was strategic and organized in shaping the approach to analysis and planning for our foundation,” stated Lindsay Rosenthal, Director of The LOVB Foundation.

Key deliverables included:

• Development of a case for support for grant applications and appeal letters.
• Identification of potential foundation funders.
• Conducting a donor screening and capacity assessment.
• Training sessions for staff and board members.
• Ongoing coaching and support as needed.

At the conclusion of the project, board chair Kathy DeBoer remarked,

“Benefactor Group brought good spirits and knowledgeable help to this big project within an even bigger project with a goal of building a professional women’s volleyball league starting with grassroots participation. Their statistics-driven approach to fundraising kept us out of several rabbit holes. We still have a lot to learn and will be referring to their documents frequently.”