Our Leadership
LITA REYES
Lita Reyes advises individuals and families on comprehensive philanthropic planning with a special emphasis on millennial engagement. She has extensive experience working in charitable organizations, including private foundations and public charities. Her firm has worked to deliver $78 million in charitable assets to nonprofits.
Lita collaborates with donors across the financial spectrum, from ultra-high net worth individuals with assets ranging from many millions to over a billion dollars to those with a more modest investment profile. Whatever their financial picture, Lita is committed to donors who are passionate and clear about their values.
In her consulting practice, Lita counsels clients on philanthropic identity, charitable giving plans, grants evaluation and disbursements, nonprofit program analysis, strategic thinking, and mission-driven partner engagement. A certified philanthropic advisor, Lita draws on a broad academic and professional record that includes work on education, health care, and the arts.
She holds an MBA and brings both a business perspective and cultural background to her clients, having served as a judge with the National Endowment for the Arts. Through her work with the NEA, Lita has influenced funding decisions that effectively serve youth and uphold the quality of American art.
A strong believer in partnerships, Lita seeks out networks committed to making a difference through positive social change.
In keeping with her love of the arts, Lita has been writing poems for over 18 years. She takes inspiration from relationships and from her past travels to such otherworldly places as Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Aside from being a poet, Lita is a wife, tita, kitty mama, and, recently, one of the role models featured in Andrea R. Huff’s must-read book on retirement and lifelong learning, Every Night’s Friday Night.
She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two rescue cats.
Work Highlights
Charles Schwab
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
TomKat Foundation
Education/Training
Stanford University, Social Innovation Review Nonprofit Management Institute
21/64, nonprofit practice focused on engaging the next generation in philanthropy
Certified Coach, Lee Hecht Harrison, leader in executive coaching
MBA, Florida Atlantic University
BS, Business Administration with minor in Asian Studies, University of Florida
Boards/Volunteer
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Vice President
City of Brisbane, California, Public Art Selection Committee, Member
San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art, Foto Forum, Vice Chair
Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia, Africa, Development Consultant and Cheetah Keeper
Girlsource (now Girls Inc.), San Francisco, Co-Chair
TESTIMONIALs
“Lita is one of those rare consultants who can cut through the noise, get to the problem, and develop a solution efficiently and effectively. And, as a bonus, she does it with enormous joy. She and her team are fabulous listeners. They’re visionary but not out of touch with tactical needs. Lita has been a mentor, a leader, and a partner in bringing expertise to our nonprofit in terms of philanthropic best practice and infrastructure, strategic partnership development, and board leadership. Everybody needs a Lita on their team.
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“My conversations with Lita helped me consider my philanthropy in a deep and insightful way. I better understand my motivations and have greater clarity about what means the most to me.”
“Before I worked with Reyes Philanthropic Solutions, I found it to be very time consuming to determine how to allocate my philanthropy dollars and time. I also was not aware of many of the nonprofits who could fit with my goals. The RPS team quickly helped me connect my values to relevant social change projects. As a result of their consulting, I’m now the chair of a cohort of women donors supporting nonprofits in Sonoma County. ”
“Lita has a zest for life and is a joy to work with because of it. Reyes Philanthropic Solutions researches well and offers great regard to those with whom they work.”