Chelsea Brown

Chelsea Brown advises nonprofit executives, boards, and development teams on fundraising strategy, philanthropic partnerships, and long-term organizational sustainability. Her experience spans nonprofit fundraising, corporate philanthropy, and grantmaking, giving her firsthand knowledge of how funders evaluate opportunities and how organizations position their work for investment. She helps clients strengthen fundraising capacity, diversify revenue, and build lasting relationships with philanthropic partners.

Prior to joining The Compass Group, Chelsea founded and led The Black Mill, a national philanthropic consulting firm specializing in fundraising strategy, board governance, and capacity building. Through her consulting practice, she guided leaders in assessing funding opportunities, aligning programs with funder priorities, and developing systems for sustained philanthropic support.

Her professional background includes corporate philanthropy and social impact roles at The Upwork Foundation, Nasdaq, and Exelon, as well as fundraising and partnership roles at CLLCTIVLY, the Maryland Food Bank, and The SEED School of Maryland. At The Upwork Foundation, she managed a $2 million grantmaking portfolio focused on equity and economic empowerment. At CLLCTIVLY, she developed partnerships supporting more than 200 Black-led organizations and helped lead a campaign that raised $1.2 million in 24 hours.

Chelsea is a Standards for Excellence licensed nonprofit consultant and a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses fellow. She mentors nonprofit leaders and speaks on board engagement in fundraising and philanthropic strategy.

She earned a Master of Public Policy in nonprofit management and leadership from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from Winthrop University. She also holds certificates in social impact strategy from the University of Pennsylvania and sports and entertainment impact from the Edward Charles Foundation.