Helping People Help founder Darian Rodriguez Heyman is an accomplished social entrepreneur, fundraiser, nonprofit consultant, philanthropic advisor, public speaker, and best-selling author. He began his two-decade career in social impact during his five-year tenure as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, where he founded their hugely popular Nonprofit Boot Camp and grew it to the largest nonprofit gathering in San Francisco Bay Area history after only one year. In an effort to build the capacity of even more leaders, Heyman then authored the best-selling Nonprofit Fundraising 101 and edited the best-selling Nonprofit Management 101 (now in second edition, with a new foreword from CNN’s Van Jones), which has been hailed as the bible of nonprofit leadership. In July, 2025, he published his third book, AI for Nonprofits, which shares practical, tactical tips and tools from 55 industry experts regarding how nonprofits can responsibly adopt AI to advance fundraising, programs, marketing, and back-office operations.

In addition to his active consulting practice, Heyman recently served as the part-time Executive Director of Numi Foundation, where he led their clean water, food relief, and environmental education work. A champion of both racial and gender equity, he also co-founded GenderSmart, through which he helped produce global summits and programs for finance and investment leaders representing over US$20T in assets under management, all passionate about funneling billions to women-led and -serving businesses. The effort recently merged to form 2X Global, setting a goal to help deploy US$30B in the next three years in the process. Heyman recently completed his board service at International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere (now Fòs Feminista), and is very active in the call for reproductive justice.

Heyman has overseen more than $20M in grants to Black-led and -serving nonprofits through his philanthropic advising practice. This helped lead to a wide range of consulting and coaching projects, including more than a dozen clients in Dayton, Ohio. His efforts to help local nonprofits raise millions, deepen board engagement, craft and execute responsive strategies and programs, and bolster staffing, finances, and other operational infrastructure has helped Heyman deepen his appreciation for place-based efforts.

Heyman continues his efforts to inspire leaders to action and connect professionals to the resources and best practices they need to build a better world through his work as a conference organizer, keynote speaker, and MC. Never one to preach from an ivory tower, his hard-won insights have been shared at plenaries to thousands alongside the likes of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Apple Founder Steve Wozniak, and presidential candidate Ralph Nader. He has keynoted in Kenya, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, India, Australia, New Zealand, and all over the US. Heyman founded the world’s only conference series devoted to social media for social good, co-hosted two TEDx programs, and enjoys MCing programs and connecting the dots between speakers and topics. He has led youth leadership, civil society, and green economy summits for the United Nations Environmental Programme, the State Department, the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ (AFP) international conference, the Grant Professionals Association, and Conference of Southwest Foundations, plus a wide range of state nonprofit associations and universities. Previously, Heyman served as editor-in-chief of the popular online magazine for nonprofits, Blue Avocado.

Heyman started his career by co-founding the digital advertising agency Beyond Interactive, which peaked at almost half a billion dollars in annual billings and 400 employees, and offices in over 20 countries after its acquisition by Grey Advertising (now WPP). He also worked extensively in sustainability and climate change, having supported the United Nations’ creation of the Sustainable Development Goals for both climate and gender. San Francisco’s then-Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed him as a Commissioner for the Environment, where he helped pass the largest solar rebate program in the country, with a focus on promoting equity and creating green collar jobs. Heyman also held senior fundraising and communications positions at Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room and author Bill McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.