As founder of the Build Up Companies (BUC), A. Nicole Campbell is an integral and key component of the BUC’s work and operations, and our culturally competent approach.
Nic specializes in creating peace of mind. She has provided strategic legal, governance, and operational guidance as a senior advisor for two of the world’s most prominent philanthropists, and has spoken on and trained leadership teams and board members in nearly every region of the world in grant making, governance, and organizational design.
With more than twenty years of experience in the public and private sectors, Nic has deep expertise in designing and building nonprofit organizations from concept phase to full independence and designing innovative organizational, grant-making, and governance structures. For her entire career, she has been a sought-after strategist and thought partner to philanthropists, philanthropies, collaboratives, movements, and nonprofit organizations in the United States, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and around the world.
Private Philanthropy
Most recently, Nic has been appointed as Interim Co-CEO and Co-President of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). Her leadership at RPA reflects a continued commitment to transformational change and strengthening the infrastructure that supports social-impact organizations and grant makers worldwide. At RPA, Nic will focus on supporting and empowering RPA staff, enhancing systems, strengthening partnerships with clients and funders, and delivering high-quality services. Nic previously served as RPA’s General Counsel as part of the BUC’s TCLF General Counsel retainer.
Prior to founding the BUC, Nic was the Senior Director of Operations and Foundation Counsel for Dalio Philanthropies, the philanthropy of Ray Dalio, where she was responsible for the Philanthropies’ infrastructure build-out, management of the Philanthropies’ legal affairs, and programmatic leadership of the Philanthropies’ China portfolio of grants. In her inaugural roles, Nic designed creative protocols and processes to increase the efficiency and impact of the Philanthropies’ grant making and streamlined operations in order to help the Dalio family create a multi-generational, sustainable family philanthropy, which facilitates over $120 million in grants annually. She also created special diligence processes and legal frameworks for staff to effectively use different philanthropic vehicles both here in the United States and internationally, including fiscal intermediaries, and safely navigate complex regulatory requirements.
Immediately prior to joining Dalio Philanthropies, Nic was the Deputy General Counsel of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where she was responsible for providing strategic legal, governance, and operational advice to the global network of over 35 charitable organizations and foundations created by George Soros.
Nic served as the Primary Legal Advisor for OSF’s grants management team, which facilitated over $700 million in grants annually. Nic advised on matters concerning grants processes, international grant making, third-party and government funding, scholarships/fellowships, fiscal intermediary relationships, and complex grant structuring.
Nic also served as the Lead Legal Counsel for OSF’s Africa regional foundations, helping with governance, contractual, grant management, operational, systems, and funding matters. She was also Secretary and Lead Legal Counsel for the network’s public charity and social welfare organization, responsible for all legal and operational matters, and building the capacity of those institutions, which resulted in more robust governance and stronger internal controls for both organizations, and an increase in net assets from $400,000 to over $20 million for the public charity.
Thought Leadership
Nic is frequently asked to lecture and speak at professional meetings and conferences in various regions around the world, including the Caribbean, West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, Eurasia, and throughout the United States, on a variety of topics impacting the social sector, including philanthropy trends, governance, and grant making.
Nic regularly speaks at the annual Georgetown Law Exempt Organization Conference, the leading exempt organization conference in the United States, and was appointed to the U.S. Secretary of State’s Global Philanthropy Working Group, comprised of select U.S. foundation leaders and senior government officials.
Because of her deep grant-making and infrastructure design expertise, Nic was asked by OSF’s President to join a select group of OSF leaders and grantees to analyze, evaluate, and re-design OSF’s grant-making policies and practices, which led to the revamping of the network’s approach to grantee assessments, delegation of grant-making authority, monitoring and evaluation, and flexible funding awards.
Nic was also an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law where she taught the law school’s inaugural course on the operational, governance, and tax aspects of charitable nonprofit organizations.
Private Practice
Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, Nic was in private practice as an associate tax attorney, helping both for-profit and nonprofit clients with organizational and tax structuring.
Her nonprofit clients consisted of foundations, museums, public charities, social welfare organizations, universities, hospitals, and trade associations. Nic advised her clients on formation, governance, employment law, grant making, intellectual property, charitable giving, investment management, unrelated business income tax, and excise taxes. She was also instrumental in building the capacity of the firm’s nonprofit practice group.
Public Sector
Nic has also worked as Associate General Counsel at the New York Community Trust where she advised donors on donor-advised funds and charitable giving.
Education
Nic received her B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her JD from Northeastern University School of Law, and her LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. She earned her Certification in Executive Leadership from INSEAD.
Outside of Work
Nic resides in Connecticut with her husband, Kevin, and their daughters, Kayden and Nova. She was born in Barbados and grew up in Barbados, Grand Cayman, and New York (the South Bronx), all of which shaped her into who she is today. She is a certified plant-based chef and loves listening, writing, good music, spinning, running, kickboxing and snowboarding.