STEVEN WEISS, MBA

Steven Weiss is a creative business strategist with more than 25 years of experience serving an extensive list of prominent public, private and nonprofit organizations.

As president of The Weiss Group, Weiss has:

• Provided fundraising counsel, strategic planning and training that has raised more than $25 million for local nonprofits, including successful capital campaigns for the Center for Land-Based Learning, Yolo Crisis Nursery, Yolo Food Bank and Placer SPCA.
• Facilitated outcomes-driven retreats and developed actionable strategic plans for national organizations, statewide associations, educational institutions, healthcare companies and local nonprofits.
• Served on the Executive Leadership Team of Healthy Davis Together, UC Davis’ internationally recognized response to the pandemic that served as a model for how communities could reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help facilitate a safe, gradual return to city and campus life.
• Conducted fund development feasibility studies for the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy and Higher Education Centers that informed campaigns generating more than $50 million in support.
• Engaged as the lead consultant on the Sac Region Community Foundation’s Generosity Project, an initiative to bolster regional philanthropy that launched the Big Day of Giving, which has raised over $100 million for Sacramento-region nonprofits.

Prior to establishing his strategic consulting practice, The Weiss Group, in 2007, Weiss was vice president of Marketing & Public Affairs for The Sacramento Bee, the McClatchy Corporation’s flagship publication. He led the organization’s branding, marketing and public affairs initiatives at a time of unprecedented growth and profitability.

Weiss was director of University Cultural Programs at UC Davis where he chaired the building committee and served on the leadership team responsible for generating philanthropic support for the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Concurrently, he held a lecture appointment at UC Davis, teaching management theory and practice. Weiss began his career in the political arena, serving as deputy campaign manager during a successful California State Senate campaign. 

Dedicated to community service and professional involvement, Weiss currently serves on the board of directors for the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. He is the former board chair for KVIE, Sacramento’s Public Broadcasting Station and past board vice chair of Capital Public Radio. Weiss is a senior fellow and former board member with the American Leadership Forum’s Mountain Valley Chapter, has served as a member of the Sutter Davis Hospital Foundation Board, and is a former advisory board member for Sacramento State’s College of Business Administration. He was appointed by the mayor of Sacramento to serve on the city’s Creative Edge Steering Committee to develop an art, culture and creative economy plan for the region. Weiss is certified as a governance consultant by BoardSource, the national organization committed to strengthening nonprofit board leadership.

Weiss has been named Volunteer of the Year by the Sacramento Metro Chamber and was given the Arts Leadership Award by the Sacramento Arts and Business Council.