Toby Pearce was promoted to Chief Development Officer at Hudson River Park Friends (HRPK Friends) to manage and expand the Development team. Over his seventeen-year career, Toby has helped raise over $100M+ for non-profit organizations that include HRPK Friends, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), and start-up mission-driven companies.
His accomplishments at HRPK Friends include launching new and successful fundraising and marketing programs, events, campaigns, committees, and initiatives to raise the profile of the organization while doubling HRPK Friends’ annual operating revenue to $5M+. Toby also set in motion its first-ever capital campaign, raising an additional $2.5M to redesign, renovate and construct the award-winning Chelsea Waterside Play Area (CWP) and is leading the effort to raise $3.5M to construct the soon-to-be-built Pier 26 Science Play Area. As for other highlights, Toby elevated the organization by participating in Friends’ brand refresh with Pentagram and by transforming HRPK Friend’s Annual Gala into a $3M+ star-studded event that resulted from nearly 600M impressions. HRPK has also grown significantly since his involvement, including Community Composting and Park over Plastic (both sustainability initiatives), the completion of Pier 26, construction of “Little Island” at Pier 55, Gansevoort Peninsula, Pier 97, the rehabilitation of the Pier 40 sports fields, and the redesign and development of CWP all totaling $1B.
At HSF, Toby served as the National Development Director, Northeast, where he was instrumental in increasing philanthropic support across all areas and specialized in developing corporate partnerships with a “triple bottom line” framework. He was the #1 regional fundraising performer. The team increased giving from $11 million to over $20 million annually. He also worked closely with the HSF leadership team and The Advertising Council to help launch a national advertising campaign, called “Generation 1st Degree” designed to place at least one college education in every Hispanic American household, resulting in over $10M in donated media and over 200M impressions.
Toby served as a Board Member of the New York City Association for Fundraising Professional (AFP). He was an AFP Conference Corporate & Foundation Track Co-Chair (2016, 2017), Advanced Fundraising Track Co-Chair (2018), and joined the Membership Committee (2019, 2020). He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University.
Toby has lived in Hell’s Kitchen for over 10 years and enjoys riding his bike down Hudson River Park, relaxing on the piers during the warmer months and hanging out at the many cafes and restaurants in the Park.