Comprehensive Fundraising Counsel
We provide a full continuum of fundraising services designed to successfully achieve fundraising objectives, including campaign readiness/feasibility studies and campaign management. We can help you craft fundraising program policies and plans, identify and evaluate potential donors, develop gift cultivation and solicitation strategies, and create plans for donor recognition.
Fundraising Operations Counsel
What makes us different from most other consultants is our keen insight into the operational side of fundraising – those processes that support your philanthropic endeavors. Fundraising efficiency is more important than ever, especially as organizations are asked to do more with fewer resources. We can help ensure that your organization is as efficient and effective as possible by evaluating and adjusting your processes and procedures in areas such as gift processing, revenue reporting, prospect management, stewardship, and beyond. We can also assist with the development and implementation of policies and procedures or conduct job function/position audits.
Development Assessments
Before launching into a major fundraising endeavor, we can uncover what may hold your team back from raising big money. A Development Assessment takes a macro look at the entirety of a development program: organizational structure, personnel, and procedures; revenue streams, fundraising strategies and tactics, and donor relations; board structure and volunteer engagement; case for support and relevant materials; and data management and software. We see a Development Assessment as an advocacy process that helps staff and leadership alike improve its fundraising practices, policies, and infrastructure. Rather than only identifying problem areas, the focus of any assessment will be problem-solving, culture transformation, and the use of action plans to manage changes.
Even if a campaign isn’t in your near future, a well-designed Development Assessment can determine where to focus your organization’s resources in the immediate near-term, while also developing longer-term objectives that will guide development operations for years to come.
Grant Writing
One of our most notable strengths is the development of compelling, targeted grant proposals for nonprofits of all sizes. Having successfully written grants for the region’s major foundations, we can identify the funding sources with the greatest potential, create an engaging grant package, and provide counsel regarding the most effective strategies for actions both before and after a proposal is submitted.
Special Projects
Finally, we are capable of designing and executing a wide array of projects – simply let us know what your needs are. Using contract counsel can be a cost-effective solution that eases the stress on a busy development team. Past projects have included a full revamp of a global energy company’s regional corporate social investment program, a national survey of best practices in stewardship, and a survey of development staff benefits among an organization’s peer institutions.