L.E.A.D.

L.E.A.D. co-founder CJ Stewart has helped produce some of Major League Baseball’s greatest hitters by designing a process that helps them perfect their swing.  With his wife, Kelli, he has helped develop Atlanta’s next generation of leaders by designing a program that helps them recognize their potential and puts them on a pathway to leadership in business, education, and government.  When L.E.A.D. reached out to Capstone Advancement Partners, they needed someone to help them design a plan to create a sustainable, and growing, funding base for themselves.

Sometimes plans are worth no more than the paper they’re printed on.  Capstone knew that the plan for L.E.A.D. had to be an extension of the work they were doing already or they would not have the capacity to implement it.  To assure that the recommendations became more than just words on a page, Senior Partner Brigitte spent a day shadowing CJ.

From the barber shop to a baseball lesson to a ride through Atlanta’s most impoverished neighborhood, Brigitte watched as CJ preached L.E.A.D.’s mission to everyone he encountered – young and old; rich and poor.  Building relationships was not going to be a problem.

That day, a process for L.E.A.D. was designed.  What they needed was not a primer on relationship-driven fundraising, but a clear strategy on how to turn the many encounters CJ and Kelli have every day into funding for the organization.

Today, L.E.A.D. is implementing a stewardship-focused, comprehensive development plan that not only makes allies out of everyone who asks, “What can I do to help?” but also is aligned with the program’s core belief that the pathway to leadership and success is learning how to leverage your relationships with the people who can help you.