Nell Edgington has 25 years of experience innovating in the social change sector. At Social Velocity she inspires nonprofit and philanthropic leaders to imagine the social change they want to create and then empowers them to attract the abundance necessary to achieve it.
In her work at Social Velocity she has helped nonprofits across the country, with budgets of $200,000 to $60 million, create a bold strategic direction; grow their programs, their audience, and their impact; activate their boards; and dramatically increase their revenue.
She is author of the 2021 book, Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World and co-author of The Strategic Management of Charter Schools: Frameworks and Tools for Educational Entrepreneurs published by Harvard Education Press in 2011.
Beyond writing the popular Social Velocity blog, she has keynoted countless nonprofit board, staff, donor, and association events across the country. She has contributed to many leading nonprofit and philanthropy blogs, such as The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Center for Effective Philanthropy, Grantmakers for Effective Philanthropy, BoardSource, and National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. And she’s been a guest on over a dozen social change sector podcasts.
Prior to Social Velocity, Nell transformed the fundraising and marketing functions at KLRU, Austin’s PBS (public broadcasting) station. She raised $5 million annually, led a team of 15 marketing and fundraising professionals, and helped lead the station’s strategic planning process. She conceived, secured funding for and implemented a new development plan which increased annual revenue by $1.6 million, with double or triple-digit percentage growth in major gifts, membership, corporate support and online giving. These accomplishments led KLRU to 5 national PBS Awards for fundraising excellence.
Previously, as Director of Development at the Capital Area Food Bank, she increased annual revenue by 40% to $2.5 million. Prior to that, Nell was a management consultant helping nonprofits create strategic, marketing, business and fundraising plans, launch earned revenue businesses, and develop their boards.
Before earning her MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, Nell worked at PBS (public broadcasting) headquarters in Washington, D.C. managing $1 million+ corporate sponsorship accounts and strengthening PBS’s marketing strategies. Prior to that, she led fundraising, marketing and board development efforts at the Oregon Children’s Foundation.