Dear Members of the Search Committee,

I am writing to express my enthusiastic interest in serving as the Founding Director of Development for the newly established A-Ha Foundation. With the recent IRS recognition of your 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) status, the Foundation is at a pivotal inflection point. As a CPA, founder of a private charitable foundation, and someone who has been homebrewing since before I could legally drink in Illinois (but, of course, strictly after I could legally drink in Wisconsin), I offer a unique combination of financial architecture expertise and a deeply personal commitment to the homebrewing community. Living in Chicago, I developed a profound passion for brewing science, and frankly, I am still nursing the heartbreak of watching the legendary Siebel Institute move its historic campus out of the city.

During my four-year tenure in Washington, D.C. as Financial Reporting Manager for the National Restaurant Association, I worked hand-in-hand with their fundraising and development departments. Beyond managing large-scale donor funds, I worked passionately to advocate for an increase in beer-focused educational scholarships to match the heavy funding that is so prevalent in the wine industry. While our vibrant homebrewing community fills much of this educational vacuum, it is simply not enough. We need to actively build pipelines to provide quality grants directly to local homebrew supply stores so they can offer free, accessible classes to anyone interested in the hobby.

My passion for this kind of grassroots fermentation education is rooted in the culture championed by AHA founder Charlie Papazian. I will never forget attending homebrew conferences where, instead of a traditional "Ohm," Charlie would have a room full of rowdy brewers close our eyes, breathe deep, and meditate to a collective, resonant "F-o-o-o-o-a-a-a-m."

That spirit of joyful, weird community—and his timeless advice to "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew"—informs how I approach both the brew day and nonprofit advocacy. Preserving that heritage while expanding educational and charitable resources is a mission I am eager to lead.

To hit the ground running during the initial late September to December 31, 2026 contract period and secure the targeted $40,000 in new charitable contributions, my approach is strictly aligned with your Scope of Work:

SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSES

1. If selected, what would be your priorities during the Foundation's initial contract period?

My immediate priority is establishing the operational "plumbing"—selecting a lightweight CRM, establishing secure donation processing, and creating transparent donor stewardship protocols. Parallel to this, I will architect and launch an inaugural "Founders Circle" end-of-year giving campaign to mobilize the most highly engaged AHA members and immediately attack the $40,000 Q4 funding goal. Finally, I will draft the overarching 2027 strategic fundraising roadmap so the Foundation enters the new year with momentum.

2. Based on what you've learned about the A-Ha Foundation, what fundraising opportunities do you believe hold the greatest promise?

I see a highly lucrative dual-approach. The first is Industry Sponsorships: counting on commercial craft breweries and equipment suppliers (many of whom owe their entire commercial existence to roots in the AHA) to step up as founding corporate partners.

The second relies on Individual Giving by capitalizing on shifting cultural tides. We have seen declining rates in the traditional drinking culture in the United States, but we should not be worried. It is not a decline in pub-going, socializing, or the desire for craft; it is merely a shift away from alcohol. Do-it-yourself beverage making is actually up. We need to harness this energy and channel it into beer. Beer should be an open beverage for all, whether there is alcohol in it or not. By funding grants that allow local shops to teach free brewing and fermentation classes—embracing everything from traditional ales to NA beers and hop waters—we will invite a massive new demographic into the hobby, translating directly into a broader, more robust donor base.

3. Describe a fundraising program or development initiative you helped build and what you learned from that experience.

Expanding on my time in Washington, D.C. with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), I helped build the financial, compliance, and disaster relief framework for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF) at the onset of the pandemic. This initiative mobilized tens of millions in charitable contributions almost overnight. I learned that rapid-scale fundraising will collapse without airtight backend reporting and compliance structures.

Additionally, as the founder of The Charlie Asher Cornelius Foundation, I built a private charitable entity from scratch. I learned the critical importance of early-stage donor stewardship—treating the first $50 donation with the same reverence as a $5,000 grant to build lifelong institutional trust.