English Hudson and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee: Strengthening Readiness, Securing Support

When the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) set out to grow its foundation revenue while onboarding a new foundations lead, they needed momentum without the usual ramp-up. English Hudson stepped in to accelerate readiness and convert interest into investment. 

We began by strengthening the donor communications strategy—enhancing the case for support and refining the writing behind briefings, proposals, and updates—so that every conversation could move a prospect one step closer to a 'yes'.

Then, by aligning systems from the start, English Hudson set the pace—establishing a rhythm that powered faster proposals, reviews, and results. Because English Hudson ensured the prospect map, case language, and follow-up workflows were in place before day one, the new foundations lead didn’t spend weeks searching for files or rewriting basics—she started getting deliverables out the door immediately. Briefing decks went out on schedule.

Proposals and updates advanced in sequence. Reviews moved faster because everyone worked from the same playbook. The development department ran smoothly, with more work being completed on time. The Executive Director and Development Director gained a partner who could anticipate needs and keep priority items moving forward.

With the systems, messaging, and rhythm in place, WLC was positioned to act the moment it mattered—so readiness met opportunity immediately. An English Hudson introduction transformed what had been a long-standing challenge—a funder previously hard to reach—into swift achievement. With materials prepared and messaging well-defined, credibility quickly shortened the distance from interest to decision—enabling a seamless transition to a substantive briefing.

As WLC’s Development Director Melissa Nussbaum put it, “We can see that EH’s good name … means a lot, because we were able to move very quickly to getting funding.” That powerful combination of opened doors and funder-ready systems translated into immediate action: within 48 hours of the briefing, the funder approved $100,000 for WLC’s immigrant-justice work, also signaling interest in expanding their support to additional areas of WLC’s programming. 

Melissa continues:

“Our work advanced because of EH’s strong support—we’ll be passing thanks to the Meyer Foundation for their support grant.”

This is the kind of progress that doesn’t make headlines but changes outcomes: disciplined setup, a confident operator, and a clear runway—so when the right doors opened, WLC was already halfway through them.

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