Judi Costanza hired as Director of Vibrancy Funds at New Sun Rising

New Sun Rising is happy to announce that Judi Costanza has been hired as the Director of Vibrancy Funds for the organization. 

In this role, Judi is making funding more accessible to the people and communities supported by NSR through fiscal sponsorship and programs that offer grant funding, loans, and awards. 

“As my learning about NSR continues to deepen, the idea that [we] are intersecting community development, triple bottom line fundamentals, and proven principles of business and product design is amazing,” Judi said. “The more I immerse myself in NSR, the more it feels like real change at the neighborhood level – at scale, is possible.”  

Over the course of her 20 year career with a New York based start-up, Judi accumulated a Swiss Army Knife collection of skills and held a wide range of positions at the company. As the pandemic set in, she felt it was time to honor a voice from within and focus on the compelling need for environmental and societal change. For her next venture, her list of criteria included: a collaborative team working locally, alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, and to help channel funds from larger foundations into grassroots projects.

“Accessible financial capital is a key ingredient to building vibrant communities. Unfortunately, many change makers have difficulty securing and managing resources to fuel their efforts,” said Scott Wolovich, Executive Director of NSR. “Judi’s experience, creativity, and heart will greatly enhance our ability to support them through the Vibrancy Funds.”

Judi said she is excited to serve, learn, and help NSR grow internally so the organization can expand externally through partnerships with communities, and where she can continue learning and growing as a human.

“Previously when I thought about how real societal change takes place, I believed it started with fixing our systems. Somewhere along the way, that flipped for me,” Judi said. “The power of the people is the necessary force to lead change and I believe that starts from the ground up.”

Funding to establish the Director of Vibrancy Funds position was generously provided by Heron Foundation.