meet the Fund Up Founders
KAREN S. BLOOM • Partner
Karen has three decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. Her passion for fundraising led to the co-founding of Fund Up to advise and assist organizations on strategic resource development strategies and to ensure a more personalized approach to major donor cultivation and solicitation. Karen’s expertise with nonprofit management spans local and international organizations. She believes a strong focus on relationship building is key to fundraising success. Prior to Fund Up, Karen was Chief Advancement Officer at Project Kesher where she quadrupled the organization’s revenue during her tenure. Earlier, she was the Director of Advancement at ORT America overseeing nationwide leadership funding initiatives, designing volunteer recruitment and training programs throughout the U.S., facilitating conferences, conventions and overseas missions, as well as marketing, communications and event planning. Karen was the Founder and Co-President of Tour Events, an international wholesale travel company for groups visiting the United States and was an adventure travel director for American Youth Hostels planning domestic and international bicycling and backpacking trips for teens and adults. Karen served on the Board of Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New York, and is very active in her community. She earned a BA in Creative Writing from Queens College. Karen lives in Westchester with her husband and has two grown sons.
RACHEL LOBOVSKY • Partner
Rachel brings more than two decades of fundraising experience to her role as founding partner of Fund Up. As Director of Development and Programming at Project Kesher, she was responsible for the organization’s Spring Gala, which raised nearly half of the organization’s annual budget. She served as Director of Development at the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) located at the Center for Jewish History in New York City where she was responsible for developing strategies for major donor retention and outreach, designing programs and events for donors and the general public, board development and ongoing fundraising campaigns. During her 13 years at ORT America, Rachel served in various roles including Chief Development Officer, Director of Leadership Development and Outreach, and Director of Marketing and Programming. As CDO, she designed a nationwide multi-year pledge campaign which greatly increased the number of major donors and expanded planned giving, leading to significant and ongoing upgraded gifts, a campaign which continues today. Rachel holds a Master of Public Administration from NYU and a BA in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She lives in Westchester with her husband and two children.