Erika D. Williams | Source | Vice President, Client Development at RSF Social Finance

Erika D. Williams leads development for philanthropic funds at RSF Social Finance, a San Francisco–based financial services organization that creates innovative lending, giving and investing programs. A skilled relationship builder with deep experience in finance, nonprofits, business development and fundraising, she works closely with other RSF executive team members to activate money for transformative social, ecological and cultural change.

As vice president of integrated capital, Williams leads RSF’s donor relations, development and community engagement activities. She sets the strategy for RSF’s Donor Advised Fund program as well as specialized philanthropic funds including the Racial Justice Collaborative and the Women’s Capital Collaborative. She takes a venture philanthropy approach to her work, using long-term engagement, collaborative initiatives with stakeholders and partners, and various types of social and financial capital to drive systems change.

Williams is an expert source on investing and giving for maximum impact, the effective use of integrated capital and ways to flow capital toward solving systemic problems. She speaks and writes regularly on philanthropy, racial justice and regenerative finance topics. Recently she has appeared at the Investments & Wealth Institute ACE Academy 2023, Stella Mission2Money Conference, American Sustainable Business Network Conference and Confluence Philanthropy Conference. She has been interviewed by the NPR podcast Planet Money and the Washington Post, and published by American Banker, Investments & Wealth Monitor, Professional Wealth Management and Sustainable Brands.

In addition to her work for RSF, Williams is a member of the Social Venture Circle Restorative Investing Task Force, which strives to share knowledge and fill the gap between traditional philanthropy and impact investing.

Before joining RSF, she was development manager at the Oceanside Museum of Art in California, where she helped grow major gifts by 300%. She previously worked at major financial institutions, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.