Built on relationships.
Grounded in results.
For more than two decades, Kat has helped mission-driven organizations secure resources, strengthen leadership, and grow their impact — one donor relationship at a time.
Her career in nonprofit philanthropy spans fundraising agencies, technology firms, and national consulting practices, giving her an unusually complete view of the sector. She has worked alongside development officers, board members, executive directors, and major donors across faith-based ministries, healthcare, education, human services, and cultural institutions — and she understands what it takes to build a culture of philanthropy from the inside out.
After a successful start in commercial advertising, Kat began an even more fulfilling career in integrated fundraising, overseeing $35 million in annual campaign investment and raising more than $60 million annually in charitable gifts for hundreds of organizations during her tenure at Russ Reid, an Omnicom Group company. That experience gave her a deep command of every channel and every stage of the donor lifecycle, from acquisition through planned giving.
She went on to lead growth strategy at a nonprofit communications fintech startup, growing the user base by 600%, before moving into executive search, where she directed nearly 100 executive searches and placed chief development officers, vice presidents of philanthropy, and major gift officers at organizations across the country. Most recently, she served as Chief Growth Officer at DickersonBakker, a national nonprofit consulting firm, helping nonprofit organizations grow through fundraising strategy, capital campaigns, major gifts, grants, and executive talent placement.
She holds a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential — the sector's standard of excellence in professional fundraising — and she's a graduate and instructor at Asset Giving University through National Christian Foundation of California. She speaks regularly at AFP chapters, the Bridge Conference, and sector convenings on topics including talent, leadership, and the intersection of mission and marketing.
She co-founded Landa & Associates alongside her husband David to offer ministries and nonprofits affordable and adjustable senior leadership to advance their causes.
For more than two decades, David has helped organizations build the financial and operational infrastructure that allows leadership to focus on what matters most: mission.
His career spans nonprofit and private sector finance, operations, and human resources — giving him a practical understanding of what sound financial management looks like across organizations of every size and structure. He is a CPA by training, and has served as CFO, Controller, COO, and Comptroller for organizations ranging from a 3,500-member parish to a private company with $120 million in gross revenue.
His nonprofit experience includes serving as CFO and Controller for the United Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County, where he oversees financial reporting across 12 cost centers, leads monthly reporting to the Finance Committee and Board of Directors, and has identified cost savings exceeding $75,000 annually. Earlier in his career he served as Chief Operating Officer of The Gooden Center, an abuse recovery center, where he managed finance, facilities, human resources, and transportation across seven sites.
He brings particular depth in financial reporting and analysis, audit coordination, budget development, accounts payable and receivable, payroll administration, and the operational systems that keep a nonprofit running efficiently. He understands the unique financial environment of mission-driven organizations: fund accounting, grant compliance, cost center management, and the relationship between financial health and programmatic capacity.
Every engagement is staffed with the right expertise for your specific moment.
Our associate network is not a roster of generalists. It is a carefully curated group of experienced nonprofit professionals, each with deep specialization in a specific area of nonprofit leadership — assembled by Kat and David Landa from careers spent working alongside the best in the sector.
When you engage Landa & Associates, we listen first. We learn about your mission, your organization's stage, your team's strengths, and the challenge or opportunity in front of you. Then we match you with the associate — or combination of associates — whose experience aligns most precisely with what you need.
That might mean a major gifts specialist who has built donor portfolios at health systems and universities. A direct response strategist who has managed eight-figure annual fund campaigns. A planned giving expert who has trained board members in legacy conversations. A nonprofit finance professional who understands fund accounting and grant compliance. Or a development communications writer who knows how to translate complex institutional priorities into donor-facing language that moves people to give.
No overhead for expertise you don't need. No learning curve at your expense. Just the right person, doing the work they do best, on behalf of your mission.
Discovery
We start with a conversation about your mission, your team, your goals, and what success looks like for this engagement.
Match
Kat and David identify the associate or team whose specialization, sector experience, and working style fit your organization's needs.
Proposal
We present a scoped engagement: clear deliverables, timeline, and investment — tailored to your situation.
Partnership
Kat or David ensure the quality of your engagement regardless of who is doing the work.