Partnering with organizations to elevate and deepen impact

About Upshor

Organizations need bold, human-led solutions built through connection and collaboration, especially during times of external uncertainty and organizational transition. 

For over twenty-five years, I have worked for, innovated and led, and partnered with complex and diverse organizations as a strategist, program designer, and relationship builder. I’ve built teams of different backgrounds and experiences, designed coalitions and rapid response interventions, and scaled and restructured international and national programming through innovative models of change.

I have engaged nonprofit and philanthropic clients in diverse sectors including women’s empowerment and violence prevention, refugee protection, immigration and legal rights, grantmaking strategy and next-generation philanthropy, maternal health, food security, economic mobility, and school-based civic engagement.  

Areas of Practice

The sector is complex, and dollars are competitive.

Revenue Generation

  • Fundraising strategy and revenue modeling

  • Private + public proposal strategy and grantwriting

  • Donor investment briefs and reports

Strategic clarity and goals are required for success.

Strategy

  • Strategic planning and organizational restructuring

  • Ecosystem mapping and needs assessments

  • Program and organizational structure audits

Understanding impact catalyzes interest.

Impact Storytelling

  • Impact storytelling and reflective reports

  • Data analysis and insight reports

  • Key performance indicators and dashboards

Leveraging external capacity during times of change.

Interim Leadership

  • Fractional and internal executive leadership - executive director, operations, advancement, program

  • Program management for short-term initiatives

Select Clients

Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation

Heartland Human Care Services

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago

Illinois Hunger Coalition

One Earth Film Festival

Ivory Coast Mothers and Children

The Orland Fund

Beyond Legal Aid

Apna Ghar

The Bishop Family Foundation

Collective Learning Lab

Momenta Dance Company

Mayan Health Initiative

About Anne Sweeney, Principal

My belief in the potential of organization was driven by my years building and leading organizations and programs in every stage of development. As National Program Director for Welcome Corps, a new innovative refugee sponsorship pathway launched by President Biden under the US Department of State where I oversaw a $15 million budget and 40+ team, operationalized policies, and scaled the program to reach more than 150,000 sponsors.  Prior I served as Senior Advisor for Community Impact at Catholic Charities of Chicago where I established a renewed rigor for impact measurement, analysis,and storytelling and led the strategic restructuring of more than $200 million in direct service programming. I also led the design and launch of New Coast Foundation, a venture philanthropy fund that invested in Chicago-based emerging, high-impact nonprofits based, where I oversaw the grantmaking and donor strategy with high network individuals and foundations. I built the foundation of my career - and my understanding of what’s required to create and build a strong organization - in international migration and refugee protection with the United Nations Refugee Agency, the US Department of State’s Refugee Resettlement Program in Kenya, and as co-founder of RefuSHE, a pioneering and internationally lauded nonprofit protects and empowers refugee girls and young women displaced in Nairobi, Kenya.

I hold an MA in Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University, a BS from University of Minnesota, and Certificate in Forced Migration from Oxford University. I am also a 2019 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, previously served as board chair of Illinois Birth Justice and on the boards of Apna Ghar, Girl Forward, and the Mayan Health Initiative, and frequently speak on issues of forced migration and organizational development. I live in the Northside of Chicago with my husband Peter, an architect and carpenter, and my 10-year old son, Joe.

Contact

asweeney@upshor.com | (773) 574 5548