LIZ WELCH
Rapid City,SD
Summary
My goal is to shift power and resources to community-driven organizations.
Over the last decade, I have raised more than $100 million for Indigenous-led organizations across the country, advancing their work in culturally-grounded education, food sovereignty, economic development, and more. Through founding Emergence LLC, I have partnered with over 40 Indigenous led organizations to advance their missions through strategic advancement and fundraising, operations and infrastructure creation, and leadership development.
While continuing to guide Emergence’s work, I also serve as Director of Advancement at NDN Collective, the largest Indigenous-led fund in existence, creating systems, tools, and resources needed to impact communities and build Indigenous power.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Advancement
NDN Collective
12.2025 - Current
- Member of leadership team, supporting strategy development across organization
- Manages communications, evaluation, and fundraising teams
- Supports the CEO and founder in setting organizational structure and transition
- Raise $25million annually
- Built out individual donor program
- Strengthened institutional philanthropy strategy
- Built out fundraising team and systems
- Led the development of an ecosystem wide fundraising structure
- Facilitated organization transition during budget reductions to stabilize organization and right size fundraising efforts
Founder & Principal
Emergence LLC
11.2018 - Current
- Raised over $120million for Indigenous led organizations across Turtle Island
- Acted as Director of Advancement for 4 organization during organization staff transitions
- Work with organizations from start up to long standing anchor institutions to build capacity, analyze processes and systems, fundraise, or build out new programs and initiatives.
- Create fundraising strategies grounded in equity and justice that build on relationships, understand local and national trends, and add funding to support organizations work.
- Develop fundraising plans to increase funding to support organizations work in a way that supports their vision and goals.
- Support with fundraising, grant writing, philanthropic relationship building and building team capacity for in house work.
- Support and infrastructure development for community based organizations and grassroots movements.
- Support foundations to develop an equity lens and strategies to improve investment impact into organizations and community-based work to create systems change.
- Program development and evaluation
- Organizational capacity building for systems change
- Leadership coaching and development for systems change
- Worked with over 40 Indigenous led organizations to facilitate fundraising strategies or organizational development
- Emergence LLC works with leaders, organizations, and movements to implement change strategies. Using emergence as a core belief, we support the process of dynamic organizations to come into being and implement their solutions.
Managing Director
Population Change Institute
06.2019 - 12.2022
- Co-founded the PopChange Institute after supporting a learning community at the Doris Duke Foundation
- Built a network of partners across the world from Los Angeles, to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, to the Bronx, to Canada, and Australia, all working on systems change in their communities.
- The PopChange Institute helped backbone organizations in communities, access, layer, and implement multi sector place-based solutions to create and sustain improved population level outcomes for residents.
- PopChange Institute built the capacity of individuals, organizations, networks, and communities to think strategically about population level change and evaluate their impact.
- This work leveraged the impact of the many governmental and philanthropic efforts to create place-based strategies, allowing for a more community based and led approach.
Director of Advancement
Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
01.2014 - 10.2018
- Advancement of organization mission through a systemic approach to community development.
- Strategic development, planning, and implementation of organization programs/initiatives.
- Responsible for securing organization funding of $8,000,000+ for 9 TVCDC. programs/initiatives, 34 acre community development, and over 60 employees.
- Remain abreast of current philanthropic trends.
- Develop, cultivate, and strengthen individual, partner organizations, and foundation relationship both locally and nationally.
- Oversee TVCDC Communications Department, managing and developing employees and over department strategy; including marketing, social media, public relations, and local, national, and international outreach.
- Created and oversee Ecosystem of Opportunity Evaluation System in partnership with Sweetgrass Consulting LLC, providing individual, micro and macro level measurement of the organization and community development impact.
- Manage fundraising, communications, and evaluation consultants, fostering strong partnerships in order to increase consultant productivity and commitment to TVCDCs.
- Member fundraising, communications, and evaluation consultants, fostering strong partnerships in order to increase consultant productivity and commitment to TVCDC’s work and mission.
- Member of TVCDC Leadership Team working collaboratively with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, CFO, and Director of Operations, in strategic planning decision making, and in development organization culture.
- Facilitated the growth of TVCDC from an annual budget of $387,000 to over $8,000,000 in less than five years.
- Established and launched Advancement Department systems and practices to increase department efficiency and effectiveness, including communications strategy, evaluation system, donor development, and grants management utilizing Salesforce.
Education
PhD - Leadership and Change
Antioch University
Yellow Springs, OHMaster of Social Work - Community Organizing and Program Administration
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CADouble Bachelor of Arts - Sociology; Social Welfare and Justice
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WISkills
Effective fundraising initiatives
Professional writing
Relationship Development
Strategic thinking in complex systems
Websites
Timeline
Director of Advancement
NDN Collective
12.2025 - Current
Managing Director
Population Change Institute
06.2019 - 12.2022
Founder & Principal
Emergence LLC
11.2018 - Current
Director of Advancement
Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
01.2014 - 10.2018
Master of Social Work - Community Organizing and Program Administration
University of Southern California
Double Bachelor of Arts - Sociology; Social Welfare and Justice
Marquette University
PhD - Leadership and Change
Antioch University