The Outsized Impact Award celebrates an individual from an Exponent Philanthropy member organization whose giving has achieved results that are greater than expected. Get to know the 2025 finalists below.

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Jessica Olson
Grants Director, John T. Vucurevich Foundation

As Grants Director of the John T. Vucurevich Foundation (JTVF) in Rapid City, South Dakota, Jessica Olson has redefined effective, equitable philanthropy in a region with few institutional funders. Since joining JTVF in 2018, she has stewarded more than $57 million in grants, but her true impact is measured in the trust, collaboration, and systemic change she has fostered. Jessica embodies lean philanthropy that is rigorous, collaborative, and deeply relational—proof that one person can spark transformation far beyond their organization’s walls.

Centering Relationships and Equity

Jessica manages every step of JTVF’s grantmaking, stewarding 60+ active grants with a commitment to equity. She ensures small nonprofits receive the same consideration as large ones and continually asks: Who is most affected? Whose voice is missing? With a background in social work, she approaches applicants as partners, surfacing difficult but necessary questions in ways that build trust rather than defensiveness.

Her leadership is anchored in listening. She engages staff and grantees in honest dialogue about financial realities, leadership transitions, and community needs, ensuring funding decisions are both rigorous and responsive.

Advancing Learning and Awareness

Jessica believes philanthropy is strongest when it brings people together. She expanded JTVF’s Coaches Network into a community of 40+ nonprofit leaders who share learning and problem-solving. During COVID-19, she convened the Western South Dakota Funders Group, enabling coordination in a state with few foundations. She also contributes to collaboratives such as the Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition and Workforce Connections Collaborative, advancing systemic change.

Jessica spearheaded JTVF’s Community Learning Series on Poverty, using interactive workshops to shift public understanding and inspire institutional change. A regional hospital system now requires all medical residents to attend.

Building Collaboration and Community

Colleagues describe Jessica as a leader of quiet strength who creates space for others. Her openness during a year-long journey with breast cancer deepened her mentorship, offering hope and solidarity to peers.

Jessica has positioned JTVF as one of South Dakota’s most trusted and innovative funders. By expanding networks, advancing poverty education, and reducing burdens on nonprofits, she has transformed how resources flow and how communities work together. As one colleague reflected, “Jessica doesn’t just direct grants—she builds trust, fosters collaboration, and ensures those closest to the challenges shape the solutions.”

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Tomás Alvarez III
Trustee, Grunin Foundation

For more than 20 years, Tomás Alvarez III has advanced equity and justice through social work, nonprofit leadership, and philanthropic innovation. An award-winning social entrepreneur and philanthropy advisor, he has shown how lean, creative approaches can address overlooked needs, elevate proximate leaders, and transform systems from within.

Championing Children’s Wellbeing

Tomás began his career as founding executive director of Beats, Rhymes & Life, where he pioneered Hip Hop Therapy as a trauma-informed youth program rooted in cultural expression. What began in Oakland grew into the world’s first community-defined, evidence-based model of Hip Hop Therapy, now replicated nationally and internationally. His work earned recognition as a CNN Hero, Ashoka Fellow, and NBC Latino Top 20 Innovator. Later, as co-chair of the Children’s Wellbeing Initiative with Ashoka and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, he convened a national network to advance holistic child development grounded in belonging and racial equity.

Designing for Social Impact

In 2015, Tomás co-founded Idea2Form, a BIPOC-led design studio built to democratize access to creative services. Over eight years, it supported more than 40 BIPOC- and women-led organizations, redirected $4.3 million to BIPOC creatives, and pioneered the Design Service Organization model: expanding nonprofit capacity while keeping equity at the center. By strengthening under-resourced organizations, Tomás amplified voices and built lasting infrastructure.

Reimagining Philanthropy

As a trustee of the Grunin Foundation, Tomás guided an organizational rebrand, co-designed its first DEIB framework, and championed adding non-family trustees to broaden perspectives. Most recently, he launched the Future Funders Initiative, an ambitious effort to place 2,000 proximate CEOs and trustees in family foundations by 2035. Through this vision of Pluralistic Leadership, he is reshaping governance to reflect diverse lived experience and authentic accountability.

A gifted storyteller, Tomás has used creative mediums to change national conversations. His documentary A Lovely Day (2012) amplified youth voices and advanced mental health equity, while his writing in Stanford Social Innovation Review continues to shape philanthropic practice.

Shaping Community Change

Across his career, Tomás has redirected millions to BIPOC-led organizations, strengthened nonprofit infrastructure, and convened coalitions that redefine philanthropy’s future. Currently pursuing a Doctorate in Social Change and Innovation at USC, he is grounding his lived practice in research that dismantles barriers and points to replicable solutions.

Tomás doesn’t simply advocate for change—he builds it. His leadership embodies agility, collaboration, and catalytic vision that inspires others to act.

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Wendy Deming
CEO, Bishop Parker Foundation

In less than two years as CEO of the Bishop Parker Foundation, Wendy Deming has transformed both the Foundation and philanthropy in Manatee County, Florida. As its sole employee, she has elevated visibility, modernized systems, and positioned the Foundation as a respected convener and trusted partner. Trustees describe her as having “an amazing ability to see the big picture and act boldly” while also “managing the important details” that guide rapid growth.

Catalyzing Community Solutions

Wendy’s impact is clearest in how she responds to urgent needs. When three hurricanes struck within a month, she recognized the absence of a Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). Within days, she convened funders and nonprofits, secured emergency relief—including $100,000 from Bishop Parker—and laid the groundwork for coordinated disaster response.

She also launched the Manatee Food Security Network, uniting more than 55 groups to tackle food insecurity. What many thought impossible—a cohesive countywide system—was achieved in under two years. As Emily Grant of FoodRecovery.org noted, “Wendy’s strategic relationship-building and personal investment of time created an entirely new ecosystem of collaboration.”

Transforming Philanthropic Practice

Under Wendy’s leadership, Bishop Parker has evolved, in the words of Debra Jacobs of The Patterson Foundation, “from being an ATM-style grant maker to being a convening leader for issue impact.” She streamlined the grant process while emphasizing targeted, high-impact investments. A grant to FoodRecovery.org enabled more than 127,000 additional food items to reach families.

She also invests “beyond the check,” convening nonprofits to align efforts. As Andrew Spector observed, “She uses this power for good by building authentic relationships and inviting organizations into solutions-oriented spaces.”

Leadership that Listens and Inspires

Wendy’s leadership is marked by humility, conviction, and care. She listens deeply, challenges partners to think bigger, and models steady decision-making. She has also revived stalled initiatives like the Legacy Video Documentary, preserving Manatee County’s history while connecting the Foundation to its roots.

In a short time, Wendy has mobilized networks, elevated nonprofit capacity, and positioned Bishop Parker as a catalytic force for collaboration and change. As one trustee summarized, “Wendy inspires collaboration and positive change at a rate we haven’t seen in recent times.”

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While these incredible leaders have all driven outsized impact, we are now asking our community to select this year’s Outsized Impact Award Winner. Submit your vote below.

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