Born in Nigeria, Victoria M. Philips went to college in the north central part of the country and then got a master’s degree in South Africa at the University of Johannesburg. Living in South Africa planted the early seeds of her passion for philanthropy as she worked with African and European NGOs and as she stood up her own nonprofit. Now stateside in San Diego, California, she is the founder and president of Philips Nonprofit Consulting, which focuses on nonprofit strategy and executive coaching, prospect research and fundraising education, among other services.
Given Philips’ perspective working in the nonprofit world and raising funds both in Africa and the states, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with her. In our conversation, I asked her about the skills she took from working with NGOs abroad, why she arrived in the United States to get a degree in nonprofit management, and her hopes for her consultancy going forward.
Below are some excerpts from that conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Could you start by telling me a little bit about how you found your way to the nonprofit space?
OK. I’ve been working in the nonprofit sector for the past 15 years — I started in Nigeria. I’m intrigued by the church and the philanthropy they do. The church I attended, they have some programs for an orphanage. And that really got me interested in nonprofits and how much joy [they] bring to society, and how much nonprofits help with programs governments cannot reach. So that got me interested many years ago. And when I got to South Africa, where my husband played soccer, I saw firsthand the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa.
[Back in 2011] I started a nonprofit called International Association of Asylum Seekers and Refugees, with the little knowledge I had at the time. And that really helped me gain traction with the government and also with the European Union. But I lacked one skill: fundraising. A lot of people wanted to join me, but I didn’t know how to translate that into raising funds. So that journey brought me to the United States, where I focused on nonprofit leadership studies at the University of San Diego. I learned more about what it means to lead a nonprofit, manage a nonprofit, put programs together and most importantly, fundraise.
What was your experience at University of San Diego? How did that kickstart your work in philanthropy in the states?
I went back to school to learn fundraising. Before then, I attended seminars and conferences all over the world, including at Harvard Extension. But I needed more. So when I was a student, I was managing the portfolios of local nonprofits here in San Diego, and really wanted to take on fundraising—especially with Giving Tuesday, which I learned about. My experience is that the end of the year is the most giving part of the year. But many of these nonprofits didn’t know how to leverage that time and that day to get the most out of fundraising. As I was learning in the classroom, I was also practicing out in the world by working with organizations including Nile Sisters Development Initiative, Sister Cities International and My Chosen Vessels (which aims to empower the Maasai people through water, education and culture conservation initiatives). Some of these organizations later became actual clients.
When did you formally start your consultancy? And why?
That was during COVID. I had the opportunity to take on some contracts, which informed me that it’s good to help nonprofits systemize their fundraising and have a fundraising plan going on. I see that it’s common for nonprofits to concentrate on programs. As lofty and awesome as it is, when it comes to fundraising, too many don’t really like to ask for money. So I saw that as a general problem. Me, I love to ask for money because I know without money there’s no way the mission can move forward.
As for what holds some nonprofits back from the ask, I think the fact that [once] a donor gives, there’s fear of going back again. It’s something nonprofits find difficult to do. But continued cultivation and stewarding donors is key. The first dollars might be easy. But asking again, going back, they are afraid they are going to lose the number of donors they have and what is going to come out of that difficult conversation.
So what about your services? You talk about some problems. But how has Philips Nonprofit Consulting gone about tackling them over the last few years?
Something that has been working with my clients is helping them systemize their fundraising. There are so many fundraising activities. There are so many things to do to raise funds. But how do you systematize that so things run on autopilot? Knowing that year in and year out, this is what we need to do for the first quarter to raise money, this is what we need to do for the second quarter, and so on. You need to know the time to steward, the time to ask, the time to send an impact report. So it’s very important to know that there’s a system in place. From what I’ve seen, that ties everything together so things aren’t based on luck. We only work with [nonprofit organizations]. With foundations, we help them prospect for more donors. We also do training. I believe nonprofit work needs to be taught in every college and every institution.
Since your arrival in the United States, how have you gone about cultivating your own philanthropic network? Was it through school? How have you built these relationships in the community?
Well, it’s not really easy. Especially when you’re a migrant. Honestly, there is no seat at the table for you as a migrant. You have to find your own seat and bring your own chair. You have to believe in yourself, know who you are, and find your voice. What has helped is just finding like-minded people. So the group of nonprofits I worked with during school were very helpful in helping me find community and build my network. I was also appointed by the mayor of San Diego to sit on the board of international affairs. I’m very particular about the way my city addresses the international community and want to help them develop programs for that.
So speaking of that international experience, can you talk a little bit about your time in South Africa and establishing International Association of Asylum Seekers and Refugees? What can you tell me about philanthropy in Africa?
Absolutely. I wanted to be an advocate for asylum seekers in South Africa. Yes, it’s Africa. But people coming from different parts within the continent face different challenges. And the history of South Africa is very complex. People get lost. So that was what my nonprofit then was all about — advocating and empowering asylum seekers. I worked with various government officials and embassies and gave them a list of people in their countries seeking asylum. They partnered with me to provide basic needs for people coming into South Africa and help them navigate the new country. That generated some controversy. But I was able to partner with some European humanitarian organizations.
South Africa is kind of a hub where people go in Africa before they, for instance, continue on to Europe. The first respondents in Africa are small CBOs (community-based organizations). Most NGOs based in Africa do not last long because of lack of funding. So I think the best way going forward in Africa is for these larger international NGOs to partner with smaller CBOs on the ground in Africa. They [the CBOs] have the information. They see firsthand what’s going on in the community.
I have a network on Facebook that comprises over 500 CBOs and small nonprofits in Africa. I come on once a week to teach and learn from them. I work with this small organization in Kenya that teaches women in prison how to make shoes. And another Kenyan organization that works with an Indian organization to teach people how to make sanitary pads, which are extremely expensive in Kenya. So instead of the government building an expensive factory, this nonprofit partnership provided a solution. Let’s leave the government alone and instead look at how we can solve this problem ourselves. So if the international community can empower these organizations, it would really go a long way to strengthen the economy in Africa.
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