Carol H. Pitchersky Biography

Carol H. Pitchersky was Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, responsible for development and strategic planning from 1979 to 1988. With the ACLU on the verge of bankruptcy when she arrived, she built a development program that yielded funds for growth, a cash reserve and an endowment. She helped guide major decisions during that period, serving as the principal deputy to ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser.

After leaving the ACLU Carol founded a one-person consulting firm, dedicating herself to helping nonprofit organizations reach their program goals and fulfill their missions. She worked with many of the nation's major advocacy organizations including Amnesty International, Children's Rights, Inc., National Environmental Trust, NARAL ProChoice America, Oxfam, Planned Parenthood and the Washington Office on Latin America.

Earlier in her career, Carol was the Development Director of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She helped establish the Legal Services Corporation and was a member of the team that ensured hiring of minorities and women during the Carter Presidency. She also wrote the first foundation fundraising reference book, now called The Taft Reporter.

Carol’s many successes were marked by her vision for a just society served by organizations with the foresight and business savvy to recognize and celebrate diversity. Early on, she recognized the lack of diversity in the fundraising profession and championed efforts to enhance the development sector by furthering its racial and ethnic diversity to better reflect our richly diverse society.

Carol passed away in October 2004, leaving a legacy of professional know-how for nonprofit fundraising and a passion for advancing social justice. Throughout her career, Carol led by example and touched the lives of countless development professionals in the civil and human rights community. The Fellowship is a testament to her pioneering spirit, a lasting tribute to a skilled development professional and an engine for lasting societal change.