About Next Stage
Next Stage was founded to ensure all nonprofit organizations in the Carolinas have access to affordable, high-quality services to help them “get to the next level.”
Led by Managing Director Josh Jacobson, Next Stage aims to be a cut above. Your nonprofit deserves customized services guided by strategists who are willing to roll up their sleeves and dig in to your needs.
Next Stage makes a lasting commitment to the organizations it serves, treating the working relationship as a partnership. We aspire to be a go-to resource for the long haul and are highly accountable in each new engagement.
We believe that engaging nonprofit counsel is a two-way street – the more both sides understand going in to the work, the more likely a positive outcome is for all.
Next Stage is committed to being a different kind of firm, as interested in designing unique solutions as working with you to see them implemented.
The Team
Josh Jacobson, CFRE, Managing Director
Josh specializes in strategic positioning and tactical implementation, helping nonprofits develop the platform and tools necessary to support effective operations and fundraising activities.
Over the last 10+ years, Josh has directly managed engagements with more than 200 nonprofits. His expertise is in business planning, strategic planning, volunteer development, annual and capital fundraising, executive and development search, case strategy, and succession planning. As a consultant, Josh has worked in-depth with every nonprofit sector, bringing new ideas and approaches into every engagement.
Before relocating to NC, Josh worked in NYC – first as Senior Officer at The Juilliard School where he worked on the $150 million Campaign for Juilliard, and later as a Senior Resource Development Director with Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and an active member of the Charlotte chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) where he is Immediate Past President for 2019.
Caylin Haldeman, Project Manager
Caylin Haldeman brings a background in philanthropy and social innovation to her role with Next Stage. She joined Next Stage in 2017 and has made significant contributions to projects including Arts+, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy, Plaza Midwood Merchants, Promise Youth Development, Sustain Charlotte, and many others. In addition to her work with client engagements, Caylin serves as primary project manager for CULTIVATE, Next Stage’s incubator for emerging nonprofit organizations in the Charlotte region.
Before relocating to Charlotte, Caylin worked as a Program Associate with the GreenLight Fund, a philanthropic organization with roots in the venture capital community. Over a three-year tenure, she supported the selection and launch of five high-performing national organizations in Philadelphia.
Prior to GreenLight, Caylin spent six months as a fellow at the national consulting firm Frontline Solutions, working with the Philadelphia office in their efforts to enhance the impact of nonprofit and public-sector programs. Caylin received her BA in Urban Studies from Bryn Mawr College and spent her freshman year in Costa Rica, where she researched the role of gender in community development while working for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation.
Hannah Beavers, Consultant
Hannah Beavers joins Next Stage as a consultant with a background in operations rigor and complex problem solving. A visionary and strategic thinker with 10 years of finance and operations experience both in nonprofit and the private sector, Hannah is a local consultant, and serves as the Director of Employment Strategies at Freedom Communities. Until the end of 2018, Hannah served as the Chief Operations Officer at Mama Hope, a nonprofit focused on sustainable global development, where she designed and implemented organization-wide planning processes across six departments, four countries and five time zones.
Before her tenure at Mama Hope, Hannah spent five years working in finance at GE Energy. She is also the Founder of Glorious, an organization that partners with Tanzanian and Guatemalan leaders to build sustainable communities through childhood education.
Hannah grew up moving all around, and spent time living in 6 countries and speaks 4 languages. She graduated from Boston College where she studied Finance, Operations and Russian.
John Mackay, Senior Consultant
John Mackay is a consultant to science centers having previously served as President and CEO of Discovery Place, Inc., a role he held from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. Prior to serving as President and CEO, he served as Vice President of Planning Research and Development, and oversaw the Phase II expansion of Discovery Place, including the addition of the Michael J. Smith Wing and The Charlotte Observer IMAX® Dome Theatre.
Prior to returning to Charlotte, John also directed the construction and opening of the McWane Center/Discovery 2000, Inc. Science and Technology Museum in Birmingham, Alabama as its founding President and CEO. John has deep expertise with positioning science centers as projects deserving of community and business support, and is well-respected for his strategic vision and leadership. His network stretches across the country and internationally through leadership roles with a number of professional associations including the Association of Science Technology Centers. He received a B.A. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.A. in Biology from Appalachian State University.
Taylor Gardner, Client Coordinator
Taylor Gardner provides project and social media support in her role as Client Coordinator. Taylor joined the Next Stage team in 2018 with a background in social media management and content creation with a wide variety of industries. In addition to providing research and scheduling support for Next Stage’s client partnerships, Taylor also coordinates the firm’s social media and thought leadership activities.
Taylor is originally from Maryland where she received her BA in Mass Communbication from Towson University. Among her professional experiences includes a stint in content coordinator with Salsa Labs where she became more familiar with the CRM needs of nonprofit organizations. She has been involved in a number of causes, providing marketing support for efforts liek KnowYourStrong.org and Young, Black & Giving Back.