CFA’s staff has as its top priority working with its individual clients to develop the fundraising strategy that makes the most sense for their particular organization.  It is essential, however, that the leadership of the organizations we work with be fully committed to the implementation of that plan.  Our approach is a coordinated one that utilizes the unique strengths of the client organization (which we help assess) and our expertise in making maximal use of those strengths, as well as our knowledge and understanding of fundraising practices and fundraising sources around the state of Michigan.

Capitol Fundraising Associates has the capacity to handle the organization, planning, supervision and implementation of comprehensive fundraising programs, capital campaigns, direct mail and electronic appeals, person-to-person solicitations
and/or special events.

Rebecca Bahar-Cook, CEO

Rebecca Bahar-Cook is the CEO of Capitol Fundraising Associates.  As such, she develops fundraising plans, recruits and researches new donors, executes fundraising events, develops direct mail programs including messaging, assists with the designing of solicitation materials, trains fundraising staff, works on board development, recruitment of fundraising committee members and organizes call-time programs.

Bahar-Cook enjoys teaching groups fundraising best practices and has provided training sessions to many statewide nonprofits, associations and candidate training organizations on topics including Board Recruitment and Fundraising, Where to Find New Donors, Fundraising Success – What Works, Tried and New Fundraising Techniques, and Why Corporations Give. 

During her time at CFA, Bahar-Cook has worked with a wide variety of non-profit clients including Children’s Trust Fund, Citizens Research Council, Community In Schools, Greater Lansing Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity Michigan, Michigan Political History Society, Michigan State University’s Michigan Political Leadership Program and Volunteers of America Michigan.  Political clients have included many candidates running for statewide, federal or local office and ballot proposals.

In addition to her duties at CFA, Ms. Bahar-Cook served on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners from 2006 - 2016.  Other aspects of her community service have included serving on the Capital Area Michigan Works! Administrative Board, Lansing Area Economic Partnership (LEAP) Board, the Tri-County Office on Aging Board and the Ingham County Land Bank Board. Currently Bahar-Cook is on the Allen Neighborhood Center Board and often volunteers at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

Ms. Bahar-Cook earned her B.A. from Michigan State University in 1992. She lives in Lansing, Michigan with her husband, Todd, and two children, Benjamin and Sara.

Caitlin O’Rourke, Vice President

Caitlin O’Rourke is a Senior Associate at Capitol Fundraising Associates, where she manages a diverse portfolio of clients. At Capitol Fundraising Associates, O’Rourke oversees several large client events and works to bring new clients to the firm. She helps nonprofits leverage their networks and increase their fundraising capabilities.

 O’Rourke’s first job was as a legislative intern for House Democratic Leader Dianne Bryum.  Eventually becoming staff, that experience taught her the importance of teamwork and the impact of public policy on citizens. She attended Grand Valley State University and graduated with a degree in Political Science.

In 2011, O’Rourke worked as a Community Organizer, Field Organizer and Regional Field Director for the Obama for America campaign. She was based in Kalamazoo and operated within the Sixth Congressional District. O’Rourke was in charge of recruiting, organizing, and maintaining a large volunteer base. This experience honed many of the leadership and networking skills she uses today. After the successful reelection of President Barack Obama, O’Rourke was tapped to join the Michigan Democratic Party, ultimately becoming the Director of Party Relations. Within that role, O’Rourke managed staff and worked directly with local counties, congressional districts, Democratic clubs, and constituency caucuses. O’Rourke also assisted in the planning and execution of the Party’s annual fundraising dinner, a 1,500-person gala and awards ceremony.  

In 2014 O’Rourke became the Michigan State Deputy Field Director for National League of Conservation Voters and ultimately became the Field Director Michigan League of Conservation Voters. There she led a team of field organizers based in different regions across the state. She managed a staff of 15 Field organizers and 4 Regional Field Directors who worked to educate and build support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

In 2016 O’Rourke was named the Michigan Democratic Party’s Young Democrat of the Year, due in large part to her extensive volunteering and commitment to building up other young leaders. She regularly volunteers her time with the MDP and is an active member of the MDP’s Youth Caucus. She is also an instructor with the Great Lakes Political Academy, an innovative organization which gives young people in Michigan the tools they need to run a campaign and be successful in politics.

Nickolas Lentz, Associate

Nickolas Lentz is the newest Associate to join Capitol Fundraising, starting in October of 2021. Nickolas works closely with clients on a variety of projects ranging from board fundraising strategy to event planning and direct mail.

While at CFA, he has worked on digital fundraising campaigns, events that involve sponsorships, keynote speakers and auction items, and strategizing on how to bring together stakeholders for community-minded projects.

Nickolas previously worked at Greater Lansing Food Bank where he specialized in corporate partnerships and fundraising events. While at the food bank, Nickolas acted as second-in-command in a development team that raised money toward a capital campaign to build a new facility. Additionally, Nickolas spent his time building long-term partnerships during the surge in COVID-related donors that continue to be a part of the food bank’s donor base.

Before his time at the food bank, he worked for Kelly Rossman-McKinney’s state senate campaign in 2018 as her campaign Finance Director where he was part of the team that had more individual donors than any other Democratic state senate campaign in Michigan history to that point. During that time, he worked to establish and maintain a finance committee and to engage with existing donors to create meaningful relationships.

During his professional career, he has hosted and strategized on events and meetings ranging from capital campaign strategy development to 700+ attendee Galas. He has maintained donor databases exceeding 18,000 active donors in addition to communication with groups that look to have more intimate and meaningful relationships with the organizations they support.

Nickolas graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in 2017.

Carol Conn, Founder

Carol Conn is the Founder of Capitol Fundraising Associates, and she retired in 2017.  She has had extensive hands-on experience developing and implementing individual and corporate fundraising campaigns. She has also worked on annual giving campaigns and special events and has supervised the preparation of grant applications. One of her clients was the Michigan Political Leadership Program, which is a part of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research housed in MSU’s College of Social Science. Carol also did fundraising for Volunteers of America Michigan and the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

Former community involvement includes The Michigan Festival, founding Board Member, Vice President, and President; Lansing Community College, Co-Chair of LCC 2000 Blue Ribbon Committee; Board Member and Co-Chair of the Governor’s Arts Awards for Concerned Citizens for the Arts in Michigan; and Opera Company of Mid-Michigan, Founding Member, Member of the Board of Directors and President.