Stephanie L. Small
A professional nonprofit executive and respected community leader, Stephanie L. Small comes to Young & Company with over 20 years of successful management, strategic planning, budgeting, marketing and fundraising experience.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Arts Administration from Shenandoah College & Conservatory of Music, Stephanie began her career in the nonprofit sector in 1988 as the Director of Operations & Education at the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra in Alexandria, Virginia. She moved to the Valley in 1991, where she became a Campaign Associate at Valley of the Sun United Way in Phoenix, responsible for raising $1.6 million.
Stephanie made her mark in Arizona as the Executive Director of Free Arts of Arizona, a nonprofit organization that provides the healing effects of the creative arts to abused, homeless and at-risk children in Maricopa County. As a founding Director of Free Arts of Arizona, Stephanie’s entrepreneurial spirit and skills in strategic planning and fundraising took Free Arts from a small, grass roots start-up organization to a well-respected, award-winning agency. Over fourteen years, she increased the organization’s start-up budget from $30,000 to over $1.2 million and increased the number of children served from 50 per year to over 6,000 per year.
Stephanie earned her MBA from the Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona in November 2007. She is a 2003 graduate of Valley Leadership Class XXIV and was one of three Arizonans selected in 2005 to attend the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in the Arts, at Stanford University through National Arts Strategies. As the 2005 winner of the Organization of Nonprofit Executive’s Executive Director of the Year award, Stephanie is currently serving as a mentor for ONE’s Leadership and Mentoring program.
In her spare time, Stephanie is a volunteer puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence, where she also serves on the board of directors as the Communications Co-Chair.
Areas of Expertise:
- Interim Management
- Executive Succession and Transition Planning
- Start-Up Development
- Strategic & Business Planning
- Cause-Related Marketing Partnerships
- Annual and Major Giving
- Board Development
- Corporate Social Responsibility
Notable Projects:
- Developed comprehensive business plan for the structure and operations of Friends of O’Connor House, resulting in the formation of the first operating organization charged with managing the programs at the Sandra Day O’Connor House at Papago Park.
- Completed first strategic planning process for Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse, resulting in an overarching framework to prepare the organization for a capital campaign. Plan included conducting key stakeholder surveys, facilitating board and staff retreats and writing the final strategic plan.
- Increased Free Arts of Arizona’s budget from $30,000 to over $1.2 million.
- Implemented individual giving campaign resulting in an 800 percent increase in funds in one year for Free Arts of Arizona.
