From Fortune 100 to Philanthropy: A New Growth Blueprint for Nonprofits

NEW YORK, NY – June 23, 2026 – In a move that signals a strategic pivot for both the firm and the sector it serves, CCS Fundraising has appointed Jorge Granada as its first Chief Growth Officer. The decision to bring a veteran of Fortune 100 tech giants like SAP and Dell into the leadership of a 79-year-old nonprofit consultancy is more than a high-profile hire; it’s a statement about the future of philanthropy. It suggests that the metrics, systems, and strategies that build billion-dollar enterprises are now seen as critical tools for organizations dedicated to social impact.

Granada’s appointment is a clear indicator that the nonprofit advisory world is embracing a more rigorous, data-driven approach to expansion and client service. For a firm like CCS, which has built its reputation on deep, relationship-based fundraising counsel, this move represents a calculated fusion of old-school wisdom and new-school analytics. The question is no longer if corporate strategies can be applied to the nonprofit world, but how they will be adapted to serve missions, not just markets.

A Strategic Play for Scale and Sophistication

CCS Fundraising’s decision to create the CGO role and fill it with an executive of Granada’s caliber comes at a pivotal moment. The firm, recently named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms for 2026, is navigating an increasingly complex philanthropic landscape. Nonprofits today face immense pressure to demonstrate measurable outcomes, optimize operations, and compete for donor attention in a crowded digital space. In response, CCS has been making strategic leadership adjustments, including the recent promotion of Peter Hoskow to President and Chief Operating Officer, to sharpen its focus and enhance regional service delivery.

Bringing in Granada is the next logical step in this evolution. He is tasked with leading the firm's Marketing and Business Intelligence functions, a mandate that goes far beyond traditional business development. His role is to build a unified growth engine that aligns strategy with execution across the global firm. This is precisely the kind of expertise he honed in the corporate sector, where he was known for building systems that create alignment and accountability.

“Jorge brings a rare combination of growth leadership, operational rigor, and a proven ability to translate strategy into results,” said Peter Hoskow in the official announcement. “As CCS continues to evolve, Jorge’s leadership will help us expand the number of nonprofit organizations we serve and broaden the solutions and capabilities we provide to our client partners.”

This isn't just about growing CCS's own bottom line. The strategy is to build a more robust platform that, in turn, amplifies the impact of its clients. By integrating sophisticated business intelligence and marketing automation, the firm aims to provide deeper insights and more effective fundraising solutions to the healthcare systems, universities, and cultural institutions it advises.

Importing the Corporate Growth Playbook

The title 'Chief Growth Officer' itself signifies a shift. Once confined to tech startups and rapidly scaling corporations, the CGO role is now being recognized for its value in mission-driven sectors. A CGO’s purview is holistic, breaking down the traditional silos between marketing, sales, and strategy to create a single, unified approach to long-term, sustainable growth. For Granada, this means applying lessons learned from launching enterprise-level products like SAP Leonardo and scaling Dell’s online business in the Asia-Pacific region to over $1 billion.

His experience is not in fundraising, but in building the systems that enable scalable success. At MGT, a private equity-backed firm, he helped grow the company from under 100 employees to over 1,200, navigating two successful transactions along the way. This background is critical. He is not being hired to make fundraising calls, but to design the architecture that allows a global team of consultants to be more effective, data-informed, and strategically aligned. His task is to translate the art of fundraising into a science of scalable impact.

This transition from a purely for-profit environment to a mission-focused one is a deliberate choice. As Granada himself stated, “Life is too short not to focus on leaving a meaningful mark in making society a better place.” He emphasized his attraction to CCS’s focus on “outcomes over outputs,” a philosophy that resonates with the corporate world’s obsession with measurable results. The challenge, and the opportunity, lies in defining what “growth” and “outcomes” truly mean in a context where the ultimate goal is social good, not shareholder value.

Redefining Impact in a Competitive Landscape

The appointment positions CCS to compete not only with traditional fundraising consultancies like Marts & Lundy and Orr Group but also with strategy houses like The Bridgespan Group and the social impact arms of major firms like McKinsey and BCG. By bringing in a CGO with Granada’s credentials, CCS is signaling its ambition to lead on strategy and systems, not just campaign execution.

Granada’s focus will be on building scalable demand generation and sales transformation engines—corporate terms for what is, in the nonprofit world, a system for identifying, engaging, and partnering with more organizations that need help. The goal is to expand CCS's reach, allowing it to serve a wider and more diverse array of nonprofits, from local human services agencies to global environmental organizations.

This move acknowledges that the tools of modern business—data analytics, strategic marketing, and systems management—are no longer optional for nonprofits that want to thrive. By embedding this expertise at the highest level of its own organization, CCS is betting that it can better equip its clients to navigate the future. It’s a move that reflects a core belief articulated by Hoskow: that growth is most meaningful when it creates greater impact for the causes and communities its partners serve.