Stephanie Schwartz's Little Bean Group sprouts big funds for nonprofits

Stephanie Schwartz spent nearly two decades honing fundraising expertise in the nonprofit arena, first with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and later with George Washington University before venturing out on her own.

Schwartz, a board member for the Greater D.C. Diaper Bank and member of the Greater Washington Advisory Council for the Jewish Fertility Foundation, launched her boutique fundraising firm Little Bean Group in 2019. Since then, she’s grown the D.C. company to seven employees and helped 14 organizations raise more than $40 million in 2022.

Why did you decide to open your own shop? I was looking for my next opportunity. I had a lot of interviews across Washington, and I just wasn’t finding anything that was speaking to me. And one day when I was going pretty low, I thought to myself, “What is it that I actually want to do? What will feel fulfilling five years from now?” And I thought, “I just want to work on my own.”

How did you come up with the name? I thought of the word “bean” the first time I saw my son when I was pregnant on an ultrasound after a very long, multiyear struggle with infertility. I thought, “Oh! Little Bean!” So, it’s sort of a play on a metaphor for fundraising, but also the personal experience that I had.

Your son is 5 now. What does he think of your work? Unlike his dad — whom [he says] has lots of clients and the clients are the boss of him — he says mommy is the boss and mommy tells the clients what to do.

With that in mind, what makes you good at your job? It’s not always a natural thing to talk about money, and giving money is not something that everybody does. I’m really good at creating an environment in which everyone feels comfortable understanding how engagement, volunteering, donating helps further their own interests and values on issues that they care about.

You have a unique view into the world of nonprofits. What’s the landscape like right now? It’s a little challenging right now. Across the board, dollars are flat and donors are down. Really, the best thing now is to spend time developing and deepening relationships with donors. I always say that market instability is really bad for fundraising. It makes people feel really insecure, particularly when you’re working with high-net-worth individuals. They often give from their wealth, not from their income. When there’s market instability and inflation, it makes people think about their wealth and the impact that the economic environment may have on it.

You also advise nonprofit boards. What are some of the common challenges you see in that work? I think many board members don’t understand what is required of them when they join a board and sometimes communications with organizations and workers isn’t always clear. I really have never, ever met a board where everyone feels comfortable with what their responsibilities are [regarding] fundraising and giving.

What do you like to do outside of work? I’m an avid antiquer. I’m an excellent home cook. And I’m a regular yoga practitioner.

Where do you like to go antiquing? Where am I not going? [laughs] I check out all the local spots in D.C., and I’m actually getting ready to travel to London later this spring, so we’ll be doing that there. And then any time I’m doing travel, I really make it a point to stop and see what the antique situation is.

Anything in particular you like to collect? I do. Wedgwood Jasperware boxes. I love crystal and glass.

How old were you when you started collecting? I’ve done it on and off since I was in college. I would say it picked up probably about five years ago. It’s just such a creative outlet for me.

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