Rachel Hamalainen

Rachel is passionate about mobilizing philanthropic resources in pursuit of equity and social justice. Rachel has partnered with institutions in the advocacy, social services, and education sectors to plan and implement transformational fundraising campaigns with revenue goals ranging from $10 million to $1 billion. She has also directed principal and major gifts fundraising, led strategic planning efforts, and improved fundraising systems and procedures for numerous clients. During her time at CCS, Rachel advised the NAACP on its historic $600 million comprehensive campaign and on major gifts strategy for its civic engagement program. She also counseled two of the nation’s largest foundations on a special campaign to advance philanthropy for democracy. She completed a three-year fundraising growth plan for the Campaign Legal Center and subsequently provided major gifts strategy and infrastructure support that resulted in the largest donation in the organization’s history. Rachel is a skilled nonprofit management strategist with diverse experience across the philanthropic sector. Prior to joining CCS, Rachel worked at the Open Society Foundations where she managed US-based grant making in the areas of government accountability, money in politics, judicial nominations, and civic engagement. Rachel holds an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a BA in Black Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies from Amherst College. She has served as a Fellow at the New Leaders Council, NYU Wagner, and I.G. Advisors and in volunteer leadership roles at the Finlandia Foundation, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, among others. Personal: Born and raised in Detroit, Rachel currently resides in Queens, NY with her cats, Fred and Ruby. Outside of work, she is an avid reader, gamer, and K-pop enthusiast. In addition to English, Rachel speaks conversational Spanish and Finnish and elementary Japanese.