With more than 20 years experience leading churches and non-profit organizations, Louis Fawcett offers a unique set of faith based, domestic and international leadership and fundraising skills.
Louis was raised in Farmville, Virginia and matriculated at Randolph-Macon College where he received a BA and finished as valedictorian of his graduating class. He then earned a MA at Wake Forest University where he wrote his theses on the theology of predestination and free will during the Lutheran Reformation. Following his studies at Wake Forest, Louis was called to enter the ministry and completed his Master of Divinity at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. Louis served at St. Matthew’s Lutheran in Charleston, SC where he participated in capital campaign leadership.
After being ordained as a Lutheran Pastor, Louis served three churches in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. During his ministry, he fostered mission growth and encouraged congregations to embrace a biblical framework for changing and saving lives.
Rev. Fawcett began non-profit service through his work at Christian World Foundation where he raised support for orphans and school children in China, Russia and Ethiopia for six years, raising more than $10 million. During the Great Recession, Louis led a successful capital campaign to build a children’s home in Ethiopia. This is where he learned that the river of philanthropy is deep and wide and he often says, “there are no excuses when it comes to raising money.”
Following the 2010 earthquake, Louis transitioned to Haiti Children, a non-profit serving special needs orphans and school children in Haiti. He developed capacity for five feeding programs, three schools, a technical college and a special needs orphanage outside of Port au Prince. He created Promise 126, an initiative to sponsor 126 special needs orphans under the care of Haiti Children and raised more than $7 million in three years.
In 2013, Louis accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Principal Gifts at EdVenture. In addition to securing funds for EdVenture’s work in Columbia, Louis blazed the trail for EdVenture to expand locations in Hartsville and Myrtle Beach. Louis also forged collaborations to expand EdVenture’s work in under resourced communities throughout South Carolina. This work included capacity building for the EdVenture Health RV, after school programs, professional development for teachers and the Future Leaders Youth Development Program in rural counties of South Carolina. Louis oversaw more than $10 million in philanthropy over four years.
Through developing long-term, effective relationships with a variety of donors across the United States, Louis has raised more than $100 million in cash for charitable causes through major gift cultivation and events. He increased cash giving 31% in just two years for Haiti Children. At EdVenture, he closed more than 150 major gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals. While serving Habitat for Humanity, Louis was instrumental in raising $640,000 in one evening at a gala with Joe Theismann as the featured speaker.
In addition to fundraising skills, he effectively manages staff, contractors, and consultants to achieve heroic missions of scale. Louis’ leadership skills foster a culture of collaboration focused on results. Through being a champion of the work of colleagues and providing experienced leadership, Louis secures funding so that more lives are changed.
Louis served on the Board of the Central South Carolina Association of Fundraising Professionals for eight years and was appointed President. He won the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award in 2016. He also served six years as the President of the Board of Lighthouse for Life, an anti-human trafficking organization.
Because he enjoys people, Louis approaches relationships with a balance of strategic thought and a sense of humor. With a professional, positive attitude to every conversation, he cultivates new collaborations and leverages existing partnerships for greater impact. Using a creative approach, Louis suggests themes, methods and ways of thinking not previously considered by nonprofit leaders.
Through his work with NANOE, DSI and PAX Global, Louis has served nonprofits all over the United States including California, New York, Florida, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Maryland, Louisiana, New Jersey, Texas, Tennessee and Washington. While his primary focus has been international aid and faith-based organizations, Louis is also passionate about raising money for education and the arts.
When asked what motivates him, Louis replied, “I wake up every day trying to figure out how to change and save more lives. That is my agenda. In this world, the only way to maximize impact to change and save lives for generations is with money. The more money we raise, the more children and families we can help. Email and social media don’t count; the way to raise millions of dollars is to pick up the phone, meaningfully engage a donor and meet them where they are – spiritually, mentally and geographically.”
Louis Fawcett
President, NANOE
President, PAX Global
Senior Counselor, DSI
https://nanoe.org/
803-808-5084