Ericka Harney, CFRE, GPC, CVA

Ericka Harney, MA, CFRE, GPC, CVA has over 15 years of experience fundraising, grant development and management, board training/development, strategic planning, social entrepreneurship and program effectiveness. Ericka is the Owner of Cause Head Consulting, providing a variety of services to nonprofits and small businesses. She is also serving as the Director of Certification and Education Programs for the Americans for Community Development, an organization that promotes the Low-profit Limited Liability Company (L3C) model for social enterprise and its legislation. Ericka is also Graduate Adjunct Faculty for North Park University in Chicago, Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ and a Teaching Assistant in Fundraising for the Ph.D. program at Eastern University in St. David's, PA..

Ericka has been responsible for $20 million in grant requests with successful grant awards of over $8 million. During her experience in annual fund, major gift fundraising, and events, she was responsible for raising over $1.2 million. She has served as a federal grant peer reviewer for the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Ericka serves on the Governing Board for the Grant Professionals Certification Institute, the peer review committee of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and is a peer reviewer for The Foundation Review Journal. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a Grant Professional Certified (GPC), and a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA).

Over the past 3 years, Ericka has worked as the President of the Board for God's Closet, Inc., alongside the Executive Director, to create The Purple Lunchbox, a social enterprise. The Purple Lunchbox provides skills training and employment in catering for women with criminal histories that keep them from gainful employment.

Ericka received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Bachelor of Science in Communication, as well as a Master of Arts in Communication, from the University of Kentucky. Currently, she is working on her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership concentrating on Nonprofit Leadership from Eastern University in St. David's, PA.