Tom is the Founder and Managing Partner of Raffa, which he established specifically to service the needs of the nonprofit community. During his more than 39-year career, Tom has provided accounting, auditing, tax services and business consulting to the nonprofit sector, conducting studies on management structure, internal and operational controls, and management information systems. Many Raffa clients have also enlisted Tom’s assistance in business strategies, assembling compensation and fringe benefits studies and packages, executive compensation and retirement plans, fundraising efforts, investment policies, indirect cost allocations, financial projections and matters of governance.
To serve Raffa’s clients more fully, Tom founded three affiliate organizations, Raffa Financial Services, Inc. (RFSI), Raffa Social Capital Advisors (RSCA) and Raffa Wealth Management (RWM). RFSI, formed in 1999, provides insurance and investment products and services, while RWM, formed in 2005, provides investment consulting and financial planning to private foundations and high-wealth individuals who support the nonprofit sector. RSCA was formed in 2016, to accelerate and scale those groups and individuals with solid social impact programs that could change the world.
Tom was named Business CEO of the Year for Social Value Leadership by Greater DC Cares and one of the Top 50 CEOs in DC by CEO Magazine in 2009. He was voted CPA of the Year by his professional peers and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management in 2008. His professional and volunteer support of nonprofits has garnered him several other recent awards, including the 2016 Individual Making a Difference Award from The Nonprofit Village, the Georgetown Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, the Volunteer Achievement Award from the Accountants for the Public Interest and SmartCPA two years running from SmartCEO Magazine. Raffa was named as one of the top Corporate Philanthropist in the Region for the past several years. Tom was recognized for the creation of Companies for Causes and his commitment to improving education outcomes for students by the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation at the 2014 P.E.A.R.L.S. Awards with the Innovation in Philanthropy Award. Last November, he was named the Italian Man of the Year by the Italian American Association (Lido Civic Club).
Tom shares his expertise through articles in national publications such as The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Nonprofit Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which cover issues affecting the nonprofit sector. He also has been an instructor and speaker for many nonprofit training programs and conferences and various federal agencies. He speaks often to at various corporate functions on matters of corporate social responsibility.
Tom is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the District of Columbia and is an active member of AICPA. He is also a founding board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and the Alliance for Nonprofit Insurance and has served on the board of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and Sister Cities of Montgomery County. He is a founding member and the chairman of the board of Social Impact 360 and Companies for Causes and he sits on the board of the Park City Community Foundation. Tom is the Vice Chair, the Treasurer and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Catalogue for Philanthropy. Tom is also a member of the board of the United Way of the National Capital Area where he serves on the Strategy Committee and the Audit Committee. Tom is the Treasurer and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tom is a graduate of Georgetown University, a member of the Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program and has served as a mentor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business for more than 20 years. He often speaks at Georgetown University and George Washington University for various classes and seminars and is currently involved with the Entrepreneurship Fellowship.
