Kyle Cartwright, CAP® has joined Early Futures Partnership as Director of Fund Development, bringing more than ten years of experience in fundraising, philanthropy and nonprofit leadership across Nebraska.
For Kyle, EFP’s mission is personal. He and his wife, Koren, are parents to Porter (5), who just started kindergarten. They were fortunate to have exceptional child care and early learning for Porter in his first years. Kyle wants to be a part of making that kind of strong start accessible for every Nebraska family.
Most recently, Kyle served as Director of Development at Civic Nebraska, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on civic engagement, voter education, and youth civic leadership. There, he grew the organization’s revenue diversity and built new fundraising approaches, including its major gifts and planned giving programs.
From August 2024 to March 2025, Kyle also served as Civic Nebraska’s Interim Executive Director during the most significant period of change in its nearly two-decade history. He led the organization through the departure of its founder of 17 years while retaining the vast majority of the organization’s more than 50 staff. In the same stretch, the organization:
managed a major surge in demand and funding around statewide voter education,
won a successful case before the Nebraska Supreme Court,
carefully transitioned its afterschool programs to another provider so students and families maintained services, and
engaged in repeated legislative debates over how Nebraska awards its electoral votes.
A Nebraska native, Kyle has also held development and executive leadership roles with:
The Lincoln Community Foundation, where he developed his love for fundraising, philanthropy, and community engagement.
The Lied Center for Performing Arts, as development director.
The Nebraska Cultural Endowment, as Executive Director. It is a nationally unique public-private partnership for the arts and humanities.
An entrepreneur at heart, Kyle has founded two consulting practices. Through them, dozens of nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropists have trusted him to advise on fundraising strategy, effective philanthropy, and community impact.
Kyle graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Music Education program in 2013. He still plays saxophone as a staff sergeant in the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 43rd Army Band. He lives in Lincoln with Koren and Porter. Outside of work, he enjoys running, ultimate frisbee, good podcasts, board games, and mentoring small business leaders and local youth.