Rusty Stahl

Rusty Stahl is Founder, President & CEO of Fund the People. He launched the organization in 2014 with the support of The Kresge Foundation. In this capacity, Rusty stewards Fund the People’s vision and mission, generates financial investments and organizational partnerships, supports the Advisory Council, manages staff and consultants, and guides the development of programs and products.

Previously, Stahl was a Visiting Fellow in Residence at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Through this NYU fellowship, and with financial support from the Tides Foundation, Rusty completed research, writing, teaching, and presentations that laid the groundwork for Fund the People.

Prior to NYU, Rusty served as Founding Executive Director of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), the professional association of young and new foundation professionals. During his 10-year tenure, Stahl helped to educate and train the next generation of philanthropic leaders, and to shape a more diverse, multi-generational foundation field. He organized a diverse membership network; helped members organize 13 chapters from Boston to Honolulu; and developed unique educational programs for the field, including EPIP’s highly-regarded conference. At EPIP he established Generating Change, a research initiative that was the predecessor to Fund the People.

Prior to EPIP, Rusty served as a Program Associate at the Ford Foundation, where he supported grantmaking to strengthen philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and social justice movements.

Stahl holds an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University, where he studied with Robert L. Payton in the prestigious Jane Addams Fellowship. He completed his undergraduate degree at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Rusty has served on several nonprofit boards, including that of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) and Idealist.org. He has also served on advisory committees for the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, Indiana University, Grand Valley State University, and the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Rusty now lives in Beacon, NY, with his wife, Sarah From, a coach and consultant to nonprofits, and their two daughters.

Click photo above to download a high-res headshot of Rusty.