Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative San Diego Launch

Through sustained collaboration with aligned nonprofits, organizations can reduce duplicative work, strengthen internal operations, and focus more of their time and energy where it matters most: serving their communities.

Catalyst is excited to bring the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative San Diego (NSI SD) to our region. This webinar will introduce funders to NSI SD and offer insights from leaders who have spent more than a decade supporting sustained collaboration. They will share how this opportunity can support nonprofits to build toward a healthier, more coordinated ecosystem.

Participants will also learn how this model brings funders together to support the important work of nonprofits, while engaging in learning that strengthens their strategy and extends the impact of their dollars. By using a pooled‑fund approach, it brings multiple funders together through a single, trusted infrastructure that surfaces opportunities, strengthens capacity, and responds to regional needs in real time.

This session is designed exclusively for funders. Nonprofits interested in learning more can sign up to join our newsletter to be notified when resources for nonprofits are available.

About NSI San Diego

Launched in 2026, the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative San Diego (NSI SD) is a pooled fund fiscally sponsored by Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties that supports nonprofit organizations to establish strategic partnerships and long-term collaborations. NSI San Diego brings philanthropy together to ensure nonprofit leaders have access to the tools, processes, and expertise they need to adapt during moments of transformative change.

This approach builds on proven models from across the country, including the Los Angeles–based Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative, which has supported nonprofit collaboration and resilience since 2012.

Speakers

Carrie Harlow | Principle Consultant | Harlow Consulting

Carrie Harlow is the principal consultant of Harlow Consulting, where she focuses on facilitating pooled funds and collaborative funding models. She currently co-directs the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative in Los Angeles, facilitates the LA Arts Recovery Fund, and consults on the expansion of national field-building efforts through the Sustained Collaboration Network. Drawing on nearly a decade of experience as a program officer at The Ahmanson Foundation, Carrie brings a funder’s perspective to her consulting practice—helping align strategy, strengthen partnerships, and move resources more effectively to communities. She is an active member of the Los Angeles nonprofit community, serving on the Advisory Board of TeenTixLA and as a partner with Social Justice Partners Los Angeles.

Chris Sichel | Vice President of Programs | Prebys Foundation

At Prebys, Chris shares the title of Vice President of Programs with his colleague Emily Young. Chris leads the foundation’s grantmaking on youth and workforce, and shares responsibility with Emily for health-related initiatives, general program management and the foundation’s leadership development and nonprofit capacity building efforts.

Chris Sichel has been a dedicated leader in San Diego for over three decades. He joined Prebys after serving as President and CEO of the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, and prior to that, Chris was President & CEO of Make-A-Wish San Diego for sixteen years and in 2018 served in a dual role as the President & CEO for the Greater Los Angeles chapter of Make-A-Wish, overseeing a financial turnaround, staff restructure and successful CEO search.

Megan Thomas | President & CEO | Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties

Megan serves as Catalyst’s president & CEO, providing strategic leadership and partnership to the entire Catalyst staff, board, members, and community partners. Megan oversees Catalyst’s facilitation of collaborative efforts among its funder members and other stakeholders; leads the production of philanthropy and impact investing skills-building and issue based learning; and spearheads Catalyst’s work related to championing equity and opportunity. She strengthens Imperial and San Diego County communities through shared learning and pooled and aligned funding strategies, and initiatives fiscally sponsored by Catalyst.

Otha Cole | Co-Director | Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative (NSI)

Otha Cole strengthens California’s social impact ecosystem through his expertise in nonprofit sustainability, intermediaries, and collaborative grantmaking. He currently co-directs the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative (NSI), a pooled fund helping organizations navigate transitions and strategic collaborations. He also works as Associate Director of Executive Partnerships at Community Initiatives, where supports social impact leaders in launching and stewarding high-impact initiatives. Drawing on deep experience in intermediary support, Otha helps partners align resources, manage risk, and achieve durable impact. His background includes leadership roles at the Play Equity Fund, where he helped launch the Alliance: Los Angeles, and at Community Partners, where he served as a technical advisor to social entrepreneurs.

Sarah Lyman | Executive Director | Alliance Healthcare Foundation

Sarah has served as Alliance Healthcare Foundation’s Executive Director since July 2019. Prior to joining Alliance, Sarah served as the Executive Vice President for Empire Health Foundation (EHF) in eastern Washington State. With over 15 years of experience catalyzing results in health philanthropy, Sarah brings unique leadership to the intersection of population health, systems change and collaboration in order to advance health equity.

While at EHF, Sarah was instrumental in designing and building the organization from its inception into a thriving agent for community change, leveraging and managing resources over 18x its annual endowed grant making. She also played a key leadership role in launching the first performance-based-contracting network administrator for Child Welfare in Washington State, as well as the state’s first Program Administrator for the $100 million Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment.