About Lee Granados

Meet Lee Granados

Building Relationships That Move Missions Forward

For more than two decades, Lee Granados, Founder and CEO of The Granados Group, has worked at the intersection of philanthropy, business, and community, helping organizations build the relationships and strategies that make transformational impact possible.

Lee advises nonprofits, associations, foundations, corporations, executives, and development teams on strategic fundraising, corporate partnerships, sponsorship development, executive and board engagement, volunteer strategy, and high-impact fundraising events.

Her approach is grounded in a simple philosophy: Fundraising is ultimately about people.

The strongest partnerships aren't built around a single solicitation, sponsorship, or event. They're cultivated through trust, alignment, stewardship, storytelling, meaningful engagement, and a clear understanding of why the relationship matters to everyone involved.

Lee specializes in finding that alignment.

From Transaction to Partnership

Companies increasingly want to understand more than what sponsorship level is available. Donors want to understand the impact of their investment. Board members want meaningful ways to contribute their expertise and networks. Organizations need relationships that extend beyond an annual ask.

Lee helps clients connect those pieces. Whether she's cultivating corporate partners, developing sponsorship strategies, coaching development teams, building Corporate Advisory Boards, engaging executives, activating volunteers, or connecting business leaders with community initiatives, the objective remains the same:

Create relationships that are valuable, authentic, sustainable, and impactful.

Built for What's Next

Lee believes strongly that organizations can't assume what worked yesterday will continue working tomorrow.

Corporate priorities change. Philanthropic investments shift. Technology transforms how people connect. New generations of donors and business leaders expect different forms of engagement. Successful organizations continually evaluate where they are, where they want to be and what they need to achieve those goals. This mindset shapes every Granados Group engagement.

Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all fundraising model, Lee combines decades of experience with current trends, data, technology, storytelling, and an extensive network across the Washington, DC and US business, association, philanthropic, and nonprofit communities.

Experience Across Mission and Sector

Lee's career and consulting work span nonprofit leadership, corporate partnerships, fundraising, community engagement, affordable housing, workforce development, healthcare, food insecurity, education, arts and culture, volunteer engagement, and major fundraising events.

That cross-sector perspective allows her to see connections others may miss.

Because sometimes the biggest opportunity isn't simply finding another donor. It's identifying the right relationship, the right alignment, and the right reason to bring people together.

About The Granados Group

The Granados Group was created to help organizations approach fundraising, partnerships, and engagement differently.

We don't believe in formulas. We don't believe every organization should follow the same fundraising plan. And we don't believe relationships should begin and end with an ask.

Instead, we develop customized strategies around each client's mission, audience, goals, opportunities, challenges, and capacity. Our job isn't simply to tell you what has worked before.

It's to help determine what will work for you next.