Rebecca Thomas is Principal of Rebecca Thomas & Associates (RTA), a consulting firm that partners with nonprofit and philanthropic leaders to align societal aspirations with business realities. Rebecca assists nonprofit leaders in planning for sustainability while navigating change. She helps grantmakers strengthen their impact by connecting resources to comprehensive financial needs. RTA offers services in grant program design and implementation; financial planning, management, and governance; and strategic financial communications.

Rebecca speaks and writes about the relationship between nonprofit finances and mission success, and she advocates for improvements in the way money flows to the sector. Her essays have been published by SMU DataArts, Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), Philanthropy News Digest, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Nationally, Rebecca leads Grantmakers in the Arts’s national capitalization effort to educate foundations and cultural institutions on the importance of investing and managing for sustainability, while addressing racial inequities and the distinct needs of organizations of color. In Pittsburgh, she directs a four-year initiative to strengthen the financial health of regional nonprofits by building local consulting capacity and providing strategic advice.

Previously, Ms. Thomas was Vice President at Nonprofit Finance Fund, where she led NFF’s arts strategy, national consulting services, and product development efforts. At NFF, she directed a $15 million program, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, to invest in the business model transformation of leading performing arts organizations. Before joining NFF, Ms. Thomas was Senior Economics Correspondent for Smartmoney.com, where she appeared as a commentator on CNNfn, MSNBC, and Fox.

She received her MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and graduated with
honors from Yale University.