Pilar Gonzales is a philanthropic advisor, a coach, and a nonprofit consultant. She serves donors and leaders nationally and in our Bay Area.

In January 2010, her personal story ran on NPR’s Marketplace, “Giving Away a Big Chunk of It.”  In December 2007, People Magazine featured her as one of the “Heroes Among Us" for her relentless commitment to helping jobless people while surviving on a small income herself.

Before her practice, Pilar proudly served as President of Changemakers in SF.  And in 2005, she received the Flying Eagle Woman Award from Native Americans in Philanthropy.  She has taught countless workshops on fundraising, donor relations, and has spoken on the transformative power of fundraising as a social change tool. 

Currently, Pilar is part of a team at RSF Social Finance, producing another 2010 Exploratory Conversation on Money, Race, and Class.  And for the last six years, her activism has focused on helping create heat illness standards for indoor and outdoor workers in California. 

Pilar credits her rural upbringing and her heritage as the granddaughter of farmworkers for the endurance she’s given in doing this purposeful work.  
 _______________________________________

"You were the perfect coach for me. 
Your deep insights into the issues facing women of color
in leadership helped me see the social system
I am working in. That allowed us to separate the
specific skillsets I needed to improve from the environmental
factors that required social change. You were willing
to share your own successes and failures,
and that made me trust you completely."
 
Meizhu Lui, Director
Closing The Racial Wealth Gap Initiative