With an insistence on keeping “F-U-N” first in fundraising, Elton Taylor firmly believes giving should be a joyful experience and approaches nonprofit fundraising with joy in mind. From chimpanzees to chambers of commerce to young children of homeless families, he has spent 17 years leveraging a passion for communication and storytelling to create change.
After being away from the Greater New Orleans area for two decades, Elton joined the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) in December 2023 as Director of Major and Planned Giving. Quite the unexpected surprise, this return home finds Elton continuing to evolve professionally, confidently leaning into the superpowers of introvertedness, and being unapologetically more vocal about his lived experience as a Black male fundraiser. He is also thinking more critically about what legacy work specifically means for him within the nonprofit sector at this stage in life.
Elton maintains an active public presence on social media, sharing healthy doses of encouragement, experiences enjoying plant-based food, and professional insights into fundraising. He also serves various communities through volunteer involvement with The Avidity Awards and its governing body, the Avidity Recording Academy (ARA); the Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); and the African American Development Officers (AADO) Network as well as its Men of Color in Development (MOCID) affinity group. Elton also consults as a strategy partner with Dallas-based firm The Henry Group.
