Partners and Peers,

It is my honor to serve as the Chair of Proteus Fund’s Board of Directors, and to have worked alongside President and CEO Paul Di Donato for over five years. It is my privilege to announce with deepest gratitude that, after a more than four-decade career as a social justice advocate and philanthropic leader and 18 years at Proteus Fund, Paul will officially retire in April 2026.

The impact of Paul’s tenure at Proteus Fund cannot be overstated:

• Since becoming President and CEO of Proteus Fund and Proteus Action League in 2016, he has guided it to grow to a $60 million progressive philanthropic organization supporting 23 funds and initiatives.
• He has shepherded the transformation of Proteus Fund’s donor collaborative model to one that goes far beyond transactional grantmaking – providing critical programmatic support and capacity for grantee partners on the frontlines of the fight for social justice.
• Paul has also overseen the evolution of Proteus Fund’s approach to fiscal sponsorship under a coherent theory of change, and the doubling of its portfolio of projects.
• He strengthened organizational leadership by developing senior team members and investing in diverse talent across the organization.

To support these significant efforts, Proteus Fund has dramatically increased its annual grantmaking, budget, and staff size – all under Paul’s direction. At the same time, Paul has worked to raise Proteus Fund’s profile in the philanthropic ecosystem, participating in national grantmaking tables and helping to shape perceptions of the vital role that intermediaries play in the social justice movement and the funding sector behind this work. Paul has also led the efforts to achieve deep diversification, equity, and inclusion at both the staff and Board level.

Paul’s decade of service as Proteus Fund’s leader is the cap on an already impressive career advancing social justice. Previously, Paul served as the Director of Proteus Fund’s Civil Marriage Collaborative, a groundbreaking donor collaborative that played a critical role in helping to win the freedom to marry in the United States. Before that, he worked for eight years leading Funders Concerned About AIDS, the philanthropic affinity group on HIV/AIDS issues, to mobilize U.S. grantmakers to address in more significant and radical ways the domestic and global HIV/AIDS crisis. Before that, he was a leading national public policy advocate and lobbyist on HIV/AIDS and public health at the San Francisco AIDS foundation and led one of the first national LGBTQ legal rights organizations.

For Paul, the mission and the people are what matter most. When Paul shared with me his decision to retire, he explained, “It has been an amazing experience to work at Proteus Fund and Proteus Action League for 18 years – first as Director of the Civil Marriage Collaborative, then leading the organizations as President. I am incredibly proud of how Proteus has evolved its vision, mission, and values while expanding the nature and impact of its work during my ten years as President and CEO, and I’m grateful to have played a part in that. The team we have now is well-positioned for my transition,” adding, “I am not only ready but excited to step back from my role as President and CEO, and I am looking forward to the organization having a new leader who will bring their skills, networks, and passions to our work.”

I too am confident that Proteus Fund’s future is bright, even as dark forces continue to come for our communities and all movements for justice. As Paul said, Proteus is ready to not only continue, but expand its work to advance racial, gender, queer, and disability justice and an inclusive, fully representative democracy. In the face of unprecedented threats to philanthropy and, more broadly, a functioning democratic society, Proteus stands very firm and completely committed.

That confidence and dedication is a testament to Paul’s leadership, the foundation he has laid, and the trust he has for all the organizations, projects, and initiatives that Proteus supports and whose lead we continue to follow.

My thanks to Paul for his years of service. I know he will continue to be a vocal champion for Proteus Fund through its next exciting chapter. As we embark on a formal process to select Proteus Fund’s next President and CEO – stay tuned for more on that process in the near future – I extend my deepest appreciation, on behalf of the Proteus Fund and Proteus Action League Boards of Directors, for his fearless leadership, his thoughtful approach, his unapologetic candor, and his boundless capacity to meet every moment with both determination and humor. We congratulate Paul on an extraordinary career and his spectacular stewardship of Proteus Fund.

Thank you, Paul, for your vision, integrity, and extraordinary leadership.

In Solidarity,

Nic Campbell
Proteus Fund Board Chair