Hello, I am Cristina Gallegos. My team and I want to work with YOU.

A Better World Through Philanthropy & Strategy

We combine your wealth and our knowledge to create a strong future for all.

Where we are at

FOCUS FOR 2020

We are searching for partners: people and organizations that are ready for growth and yearning for clarity and strategy. In the meantime, we continue to dig for solutions to Grand Challenges and build successful collaborations with foundations, nonprofits, and enterprises looking to create deeper social impact.

 

GLIMPSES OF IMPACT FROM OUR 2019 WORK

20000+ students and their families in Los Angeles are building trajectories of excellence on their way to college – connected to our work with GEAR UP 4 LA/ LAUSD, to which we are providing strategic planning services.

39.54 millions people in California have quietly benefited from a watchdog eye and advocacy – connected to our executive coaching and strategy work with University of San Diego, Center for Public Interest Law.

160 countries have a more robust discourse on women’s human rights, gender equality, and the impact of global political economy on women – connected to our fundraising strategy work with IWRAW-AP in Kuala Lumpur.
750 families with young children are climbing their way out of poverty because of the national work of LIFT Communities to which we have provided C-suite executive coaching and facilitation services.
  • Foundations If you want to use your money to build your legacy and achieve real shifts, call us.
    If you want to inspire your kids to do good in the world, we are here!

    We can help you build initiatives and deal with your back office work.

    Solutions fueled by Design Thinking
    Executive Coaching
    Board Retreats
  • Universities If you want to become the best in your domain, call us. We help academic institutions become a leader in their space.

    We create good plans and robust goals.
    We build fundraising machines and shape development strategies.

    We use Human Centered Design to shift processes with the Student and the Faculty at the center of the work.

    Leadership Development
    Culture Shifts
  • Nonprofits If you need help with the not-so-basics, we do it in an entrepreneurial, non-traditional way.

    Our effective processes are rooted in cognitive behavior and the neurobiology of leadership. Nobody does it like us.

    Facilitation
    Board Development
    Strategic Planning

About

ABOUT

Skylark is a strategy shop employing a Triple Bottom Line business model. We work primarily in Colorado, California, EU, and South East Asia helping Foundations, Universities and NGOs to make themselves, and the world, better. This is real for us: we push ourselves towards a future where, by 2050 we positively impact, in small or large ways, 10 billion people. 

 

We provide knowledge and methods for success.  We thrive on projects where small teams are called to create deep change, and get a kick from knowing that we see opportunities and intersections most people don’t stop long enough to notice.

Our world is moving at an ever faster pace of technology advancement, globalization, and population shifts. What happened yesterday in Europe, Asia, Africa or the Americas influences the US today and vice-versa. As a result, we are constantly tweaking a blended impact formula, building collaborations, and creating strong alliances that can galvanize resources and co-create change. It is not about innovation for innovation’s sake, it is about adapting, listening, learning, and arriving at what works.

 

A 30 YEARS AGENDA

Our first decade (2016-2026) is our Transatlantic Decade. With a US + Europe lens, we are working on building financial, strategic and programmatic prowess for the Civil Society. Our current focus is on public/private partnerships and innovating initiatives with European entities, while also helping people locally.  We invest time and effort in strengthening the relationship between the US and EU,  using social entrepreneurship to push the sector from bootstrapping to affluence while generating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically, SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals. As demand-based requests arrive from entities in other parts of the world, we are judicious on what we take on, and what we say “no” to.

 

Our second decade (2027-2037) is our TransPacific Decade capturing market share in Asia/Pacific, while continuing to strengthen the civil society as a whole, building synergies, and creating more collaborations in US and EU.

 

Our third decade (2038-2048) is going to be our True Global Decade, helping to infuse demand-based, effective change strategies in societies all over the world, and empowering others to actualize their own agenda of positive, sustainable change.

 

Call us: +1 (310) 387 7017. We’ll help you shape your impact and make a dent in what ails the world.

WHO WE ARE

WHO WE ARE

We use an on-demand staffing structure drawing from partnerships with experts in a variety of areas such as evaluation, research, communication, etc.  Operating in a variety of grantmaking areas from education, to health, early childhood, the arts, food security, housing, foster youth, sciences, the environment and so on, provides us with a pretty hefty content-specific knowledge base; that being said, we are process experts.  When there is a need for capacity or for a specialized skill-set, we contract with one or more of our community partners, bringing aboard, long-term or short term, the best of the best, for you. 

CRISTINA GALLEGOS

Founder & CEO

Los Angeles, US

 

 

A passionate entrepreneur, Cristina has 30 years of experience in business, 17 of which as an advisor to philanthropists and non-profits.Read More

JESSICA BOGAR

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITIES

Denver, US

 

 

An astute navigator of relationships that create social change, Jessica combines her experience in foundation advisory with a background in communications.Read More

MAX BOBBITT

Operations Director, Sky(lark) Europe

Brussels, Belgium

 

 

With a scientific background and practical experience in NGOs and the private sector in Europe and the US, Max brings a hands-on approach.Read More

TAIMUR SHARIF

TECHNOLOGY

Islamabad, Pakistan

 

 

Representative of the new wave of offshore developers, Taimur brings to the table a unique combination of gentle humor, lean-thinking solutions, and technical expertise.Read More

ELLEN EOFF

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

San Francisco, US

 

 

Ellen helps to fill the tank on the Sky(lark) engine by catalyzing resources and teaching others how to do so successfully. Read More

ROSELMA SAMALA

GRANTS & INITIATIVES

Los Angeles, US

 

 

With over 15 years of experience in the non-profit field, Roselma provides grantmaking and strategic development to family foundations and intermediary institutions.Read More

Eloisa Grace Morris

Executive Assistant

Manila, Philippines

 

 

Eloisa is an experienced, reliable and task-oriented Bookkeeper and Executive Assistant, working directly with Cristina and supporting the full Sky(lark) team.Read More

Julie

Artificial Intelligence

Paris, France

 

 

At the same time AI and human intelligence, Julie is our secret weapon (or at least one of them). Ever since Julie joined our team in the summer of 2017, our lives have changed. Read More

Grant Linscott

Design Thinking Expert – Sky(lark) Europe

Toulon, France

 

 

Grant is a researcher, educator and consultant in the fields of Design Thinking, Design Strategy, and Business Innovation, with over 25 years of experience working with international companies.Read More

Follow Us

Putting People First