OUR TEAM
Lynda Berge
Chief Prosperity Officer
Lynda Berge has been raising money successfully for non-profits for over 25 years. In that time, she has written and developed grant proposals that have brought in over $70 million from foundations, corporations and government sources. She created Paper Crane Funding Solutions to expand her work with clients through a team approach and to make fund development more fun and less … hated.
In the last six years, Lynda and her team have written successful applications for federal programs that secured $36 million for initiatives in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. These funds came from the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI), the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program (BNCP), Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2), Choice Neighborhoods and Operation AmeriCorps.
Lynda brings her sales experience to Paper Crane having worked in the private sector as a Performance Consultant for Dale Carnegie Training. There she brought in new accounts and coached businesses and their employees to greater levels of efficiency, teamwork, and productivity. Having designed and led training workshops for non-profits, Lynda is also an expert facilitator and frequently guides social impact organizations, government entities, funders and businesses to work collaboratively.
After graduating from Kalamazoo College with a double major in Political Science and Theatre (and a minor in the card game euchre), Lynda’s first internship led to an Executive Director position with an affordable housing non-profit. From there, she has worked at the national and local levels in Flint, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Richmond, Virginia.
Claire Michaels, MPP
Research, Workforce & Small Business Maven
Claire Michaels has over ten years of experience managing effective, high performing programs. At Paper Crane Funding Solutions, she specializes in research, writing, program design, and program implementation technical assistance. Claire is the Director of Workforce and Youth Programs at SFMade and Manufacture: San Jose, an economic development nonprofit in San Francisco and San Jose. She develops programs, partnerships, tools, and education for hiring, and works to connect people who have overcome barriers to employment opportunities. She’s the author of an upcoming blog series called “Hidden Talent” about social enterprise businesses’ potential to prepare employees
Prior to working at SFMade, Claire served as the Director of Workforce Services at Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) in Brooklyn, NY. She managed a team that placed about 100 local residents with local industrial and manufacturing businesses in Brooklyn each year. Previously, Claire managed a savings and workforce program for the City of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Section 8 Program.
Claire loves traveling and has worked with community organizations in Nicaragua and Peru and speaks Spanish. She holds a BA in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
Deb Loader
Project Management Maestro
As a Nonprofit Executive and Facilitator with over 25 years of experience in collaboration, leadership, finance, strategic planning, and lean enterprise principals, Deb is recognized as a results-driven and dedicated leader. Deb successfully grew a nonprofit business assisting the deaf from an annual budget of $300,000 to $50 million with global locations by creating an environment for profitable and efficient operations with strategic planning, project planning, and value stream mapping. Most recently, as a Senior Consultant for the Flint Area Reinvestment Office (FARO), Deb effectively built and motivated teams to accomplish high goals and was instrumental in projects and grant submissions resulting in over $82M in grant awards for the Flint community over the past 6 years.
JOIN US!
Do you consult, coach or deliver direct services in aspects of fund development? Talk with us about joining Paper Crane as an associate or affiliate.