
Our Team

Sarah Hopper
Founding Partner & CEO
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ABOUT ME
Sarah brings over 25 years of philanthropic advisory experience, having guided the distribution of more than $250 million in giving. She specializes in deepening connections among multi-generational families, spouses, and philanthropic partners while navigating complex giving strategies. Prior to founding Sound Philanthropy, Sarah served as Vice President of Philanthropic Services at Seattle Foundation, where she led high-touch donor services and quality implementation. In 2022, she founded the Racial Equity Action Community (REAC), a learning community reimagining how cross-racial groups can uplift racial justice through philanthropy. She currently serves on the board of the Lorna Jordan Foundation. When not expanding her heart and mind as a philanthropic advisor, she’s loving on her three kids, husband, and dog, or planning her next travel adventure.

Stephen Hill
Senior Associate: Operations
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ABOUT ME
Stephen brings 25 years of nonprofit operations experience, specializing in administration, information technology, and client support systems. He joined Sound Philanthropy in June 2023, bringing operational expertise that ensures seamless client experiences and efficient organizational infrastructure. His background runs the gamut from fundraising and assembling a computer lab for an after-school program to program operations, technology implementation, and community-centered service delivery in a variety of nonprofit settings. His career path has always intersected with racial reconciliation and growth as a white man. Outside of work, he, his spouse, and their young son love finding new parks and exploring everything Washington has to offer.

Tony Rosendo
Partner & Chief Strategy Officer
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ABOUT ME
Tony specializes in strategic planning and governance for high-impact organizations, stewarding over $300 million in philanthropic investments across the Western U.S. He brings CEO-level experience from the John & Margot Lane Foundation and Bloom Foundation, where he launched strategies leveraging philanthropic capital for community change. Tony co-founded Atlas Preparatory School, now serving 1,300+ students, and founded Spur Philanthropy, a collective impact model helping foundations deploy innovative tools to maximize impact. He has served on multiple boards, including as former board chair of Pikes Peak Community Foundation and current board member of the Sachs Foundation. Outside of work, Tony is focused on raising two young sons with his wife, and continues to pursue his lifelong commitment to sports and healthy living.

Nora Kim
Consultant: Infrastructure & Project Management
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ABOUT ME
Nora supports the operational infrastructure of mission-driven philanthropies and nonprofits. Her experience spans director of business operations for a national philanthropic consulting firm, philanthropic advising with a major community foundation, and operations with a nationally-ranked wealth advisory firm. She brings expertise in project management, business operations, and systems design that enable philanthropic organizations to scale their impact effectively. In her free time, Nora has served on the board of directors for a foster youth advocacy organization and mentored foster youth as a court-appointed special advocate. She enjoys running and cooking, not always in that order.

Rosa Gimson
Senior Consultant: Grantmaking
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ABOUT ME
Rosa guides grantmaking strategies that direct resources toward community-led organizations advancing racial justice and equity. She brings over seven years of foundation experience from Inatai Foundation, where she managed community engagement and board governance while supporting community-based organizations across Washington State. Her approach centers abundant, flexible, and sustained support for organizations building transformative change. Rosa’s commitments to justice are rooted in growing up in a mixed-race, multicultural, and multilingual family. She learned early about the power of storytelling to heal, build community, and advance justice. She’s a proud resident of Skyway and enjoys going for walks, crafting, and spending time with family and friends.
Careers
Thank you for your interest in joining Sound Philanthropy! We invite you to review openings below and look forward to learning more about you.
Senior Associate: Client & Project Support Reports to: Chief Strategy Officer Status: Full-Time (40 hrs./wk.) Location: Bainbridge Island, WA/hybrid Salary: $60,000 - $70,000 Starting Date: Open About Sound Philanthropy Sound Philanthropy is a woman-owned, philanthropic advisory firm dedicated to helping clients create bigger impact through better philanthropy by centering community voices and values. Our vision is to uplift humanity through compassionate giving. We make this happen by developing tailored giving plans for our clients and curating experiences of growth and learning, joy, and connection. Collectively bringing more than 50 years of philanthropy and nonprofit experience to our client relationships, we work with foundations, individual philanthropists, couples, and multi-generational families, helping them to develop and operationalize giving plans, to grow through customized learning experiences, and to discover and cultivate meaningful partnerships with nonprofits, community leaders, other philanthropists, and professional advisors. Position Overview Sound Philanthropy seeks a full-time Senior Associate to join our growing team. Approximately 80% of the Associate’s time will be spent managing internal and client-serving projects and systems, in partnership with our leadership team. Approximately 20% of the Associate’s time will be spent on general administrative support. The duties and responsibilities of this role will be primarily internal-facing, with occasional external and client-facing opportunities. This role serves as the primary owner of project management for client workstreams, internal workflow systems, and client deliverables. This position is responsible for driving projects forward, coordinating team contributions, and ensuring the timely and high-quality execution of client strategies. This position presents an exciting opportunity for someone who is interested in the field of philanthropy, philanthropic advising and social change. They will thrive in a fast-paced, start-up environment and demonstrate this by taking initiative and ownership of their areas of work, working autonomously, and showing up with ideas and solutions to better serve our workflow, team and clients. They will appreciate our firm’s high-touch service culture, can-do approach, positivity, and open-mindedness. This role will be based in Bainbridge Island, WA, and requires 2-3 days per week in-office at our Bainbridge headquarters. Additional in-person requirements will include client meetings, primarily in the greater Seattle area. Essential Job Functions The essential functions of this position require prioritizing and completing all assigned tasks in a timely and efficient manner, adjusting for changing priorities and availability of resources, and demonstrating initiative in identifying additional job-related tasks to be completed when time permits. The amount of time performing each function may vary day-to-day. All duties shall be performed efficiently and professionally in accordance with applicable labor agreements and the Sound Philanthropy Employee Handbook and under the direct supervision of a designated supervisor. Client Experience • Support the leadership team in mapping out and managing a concrete, actionable annual calendar and specific project plan for client strategies and deliverables • Own end-to-end project management of client meetings this includes oversight of all preparation, in-meeting functions and materials, and follow-up, and appropriately tasking and managing team members to ensure the meeting experience is seamless, accurate and professional • Work closely with the leadership team to implement philanthropic strategies and projects for multiple clients • Support Senior Consultant (Grantmaking) in due diligence, landscape scans and analysis, communications and light touch relationships with grantees • Own and continuously improve the client experience in partnership with leadership, bringing forward creative ways to engage and deepen relationships with clients • Develop on-boarding process, and coordinate (project manage) on-boarding of new clients Communications • With input from leadership and consultants, as applicable, develop clear, compelling, and professional materials for clients and business development purposes, including correspondence, presentations, reports, summaries, and marketing materials • Under the direction of a communications consultant: - Draft content and oversee management of a quarterly newsletter and other communications as requested - Update and maintain website content (for firm and clients) - Track metrics related to communications efforts, including website traffic, and newsletter and LinkedIn engagement General Administration & Systems Support • Manage all aspects of workflow and task management system (Monday.com) • Responsible for optimizing system use, workflow design, and leveraging systems (including CRM and grants management platforms) to support teamwide success • Collaborate with Operations Associate to ensure alignment between project needs and administrative workflows Other Duties and Responsibilities • All Sound Philanthropy employees are expected to abide by Sound Philanthropy policies, procedures, performance expectations, and applicable state and federal guidelines. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this job. The above items are not intended to be an all-inclusive list of essential functions, responsibilities, duties, and requirements for personnel in this position. Actual duties assigned may vary and change depending on the business needs of the department and Sound Philanthropy. Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree preferred from an accredited college or university • At least three years of experience in the social sector (philanthropic, nonprofit, or impact investing fields) • Experience working with Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individuals and families (preferred) • Experience working in diverse communities and across social, racial, economic, and cultural differences Skills and Experience • Strong communication skills with the ability to convey ideas (written and verbal) in a clear, compelling, and concise manner • Experience supporting or implementing client-facing strategies or deliverables • Demonstrated project management experience, capable of managing multiple work streams toward deadlines and juggling changing priorities • Experience in formatting and designing marketing materials, and basic website maintenance • Highly proficient in using Microsoft Office (especially Excel and PowerPoint) • Proficiency with workplace technology and systems, including CRM platforms, grants management systems, and project management tools (e.g., Monday.com); ability to maintain accurate data, navigate systems efficiently, and identify opportunities to improve workflows • Strong analytical skills to develop accurate assessments of quantitative/qualitative data • Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships that elicit trust • Demonstrated ability to train and on-board others (e.g. new staff and consultants, clients) • Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to nonprofits and foundations Attributes Sound Philanthropy is a small, intimate environment in the start-up phase. Our team is successful and high-functioning because we’re all willing to do whatever task is needed to get it done. Shared values are also very important to the culture and success of our team. The following personal attributes are crucial to being successful at our firm: • Believes in a client-centric approach, seeking to understand each client’s values, objectives, and expectations • Is an empathetic communicator, able to align their style to the sensibilities and language of the target audience • Commits to accuracy and a keen eye for details • Is a natural self-starter with the ability to work autonomously and with teams in person and virtual settings • Is generally positive, optimistic and can adapt to an ever-changing environment • Values learning and has a strong sense of curiosity about people and the world • Has a high degree of integrity: it is crucially important that team members build and maintain trust—internally with colleagues and externally with partners and clients • Is collaborative yet independent: someone who is collaborative and has experience flexibly supporting and leading teams, while also being able to work independently and be resourceful and accountable Working Conditions and Site • Work is generally sedentary and performed in an office environment. • Ability to sit, stand, bend, kneel, reach, push, pull, or walk for various lengths of time throughout the day. • Frequent near vision use for reading and computer tasks. • Some travel may be required to attend meetings and seminars; occasional (rare) evening and weekend work. • Ability to transport self/others/supplies comfortably and efficiently as needed. Compensation and Benefits This is a full-time, 40 hours per week, position with a base salary of $60,000-$70,000 per year. Sound Philanthropy provides employees with four weeks (20 days) of paid time off (PTO) to use for vacation, illness or injury, and personal business, combining traditional vacation and sick leave plans into one flexible, paid-time-off policy. In addition, Sound Philanthropy offers 10 paid days off for Company Holidays: an employee’s choice floating holiday/birthday, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. We also offer an employee healthcare and dental plan covering 100% of employee premiums and an employer-match contribution to a 401k retirement plan. Other benefits include employer-paid professional development opportunities and a monthly transportation stipend. Application Instructions To apply, please submit a resume and a one-page cover letter to info@soundphilanthropy.com with “Senior Associate” in the subject line. The cover letter should address why you believe you’d excel at this work and why you’re interested in working for Sound Philanthropy. While Sound Philanthropy is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we are unable to pay for relocation expenses, and all applicants must already be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of application to be considered for this position. We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you. Sound Philanthropy is a woman-owned Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse workforce. LGBTQ+ and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
