After more than eight years at the helm Caroline Cummings is stepping down as CEO of the Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network Catalysts.
In an email to RAIN Catalysts clients and partners Cummings said she is leaving to focus on family and other creative projects. Her tenure officially ends in April 2024 but she'll take a scheduled sabbatical Nov. 15 through Dec. 15.
RAIN is a statewide nonprofit that works within communities to support entrepreneurs. Recently the group launched a partnership with Portland Seed Fund to get capital into the hands of more founders while also bolstering the investor’s ability to train a new generation of venture capital.
It is also experimenting with a crowdfunding partnership with the online platform Republic to help founders turn to their fans and local communities for funding.
Cummings said she will work closely with the board and the new executive director to ensure a smooth transition. She will remain a team member as a special projects contractor working on three projects: an international project with the U.S. State Department in Islamabad, Pakistan, a national project with the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the project with Portland Seed Fund.
RAIN Catalysts, which has 22 employees, is funded through federal grants and commitments from the communities in which it works.
“During my tenure with RAIN Catalysts, we have been invited to serve 52 small and rural communities in Oregon and Washington and expanded nationally and internationally. We tripled our budget and quadrupled our staff size from pre-pandemic to today,” she wrote in her email.
“We have secured partnerships with many organizations seeking to serve entrepreneurs and innovators in unique ways. It has been my privilege to lead RAIN Catalysts and I am most grateful to the board, the incredible RAIN Catalysts team, and the amazing funders, partners, and colleagues who have made this such a fulfilling experience.”
Prior to RAIN Catalysts Cummings was vice president of business development at Palo Alto Software. She also co-founded RealLead a real estate lead generation startup.
