Our Services

Our proprietary Developmental Study^© is a more comprehensive version of the traditional feasibility study to ensure that you have the best answers before pursuing a fundraising campaign. Our three to four-month process identifies and measures potential major gift support and volunteer leadership as your organization prepares for a campaign. This in-depth feasibility study is an invaluable tool that enables an organization to develop the most strategic plan for long-term philanthropic success.

We have a proven, 5-step approach to successful campaigning. We’ve used these steps on thousands of successful campaigns nationwide. Our method is so effective that we’ve taught our strategy and techniques at conferences and seminars across the country. Our approach represents decades of practical, first-hand campaign experiences that produce results.

There are practical steps that can help nonprofits keep or gain philanthropic momentum. Our development office audit allows an organization to examine its development program and identify ways to increase functionality.

For example:

• Does your board understand major gift fundraising? Are board members comfortable asking for major gifts? Do they understand the value of a feasibility study? If not, our board training service is a way to move forward across nonprofit sectors, including community, YMCA, educational, religious and Catholic fundraising arenas.
• Does your organization have a strong and compelling case statement? Our audit can help you answer this question and determine what key messages are absent. Writing or rewriting your case for support is a step forward.
• Do you know your prospect pool and understand how to strategically move them towards major giving levels? An audit can help you determine what works well and what needs fine-tuning. Identifying major gift prospects and developing cultivation and solicitation strategies for each individual is crucial.

We can use the audit to bring new innovations and services based on needs and help your organization maintain or enhance its philanthropic vitality in practical ways.

We’re committed to helping nonprofits as they evolve their efforts into cultivating major donors and securing major gifts – we shift how you look at major donors. While there will always be a need for targeted campaigns, nonprofit organizations of today have to move towards ongoing major donor support. Many struggle in establishing a consistent, effective major gift program, however, major gifts must be part of any philanthropic mix for long-term success. Our feasibility study research and experience shape major donor program development.

Our objective is to increase your overall philanthropic support by focusing on major donor and major gift development. Using existing fundraising infrastructures and vehicles already in place, we work with you to develop a new stream of gift support through major donors. You can typically expect the following when you implement a realistic, yet flexible, major donor development plan:

• Effective internal coordination, oversight and operations of the fundraising office.
• Clear delineation and organization of development professional, leadership and volunteer roles and responsibilities.
• Common vision and expectations of major donor development efforts.
• Stronger financial support, organizational stability and donor engagement.

If you don’t know where you want to be, it’s impossible to create a roadmap to get there. Without a vision rooted in your mission, the mission risks stagnation. We believe every organization needs a strategic plan. Stakeholders must know why your organization exists, clearly understand the primary beneficiaries, agree on the opportunities and challenges, and articulate how your organization contributes to the greater community.

Constructing a plan is a dynamic, interactive process that promotes buy-in. The “roadmap” will result from the involvement of stakeholders in a process that involves interviews, focus groups, surveys and assessments guided by our consultants.

What emerges is a plan that steers all of your activities so participants not only have buy-in but are held accountable for outcomes outlined in the plan. A feasibility study can provide additional helpful insights for your nonprofit. We specialize in a variety of nonprofit sectors, including the arts, culture, community, human services, educational, religious and Catholic fundraising.

Practice makes perfect – so does training and development. Improve your operation to run more smoothly and effectively with a well-trained board that knows and understands their role’s impact on your organization.

Our board development workshop topics include:

• Board Member Roles and Responsibilities
• Fundraising
• Goal Setting
• Nonprofit Ethics/Compliance
• Strategic Planning
• Situation Management: e.g., growth, conflict, economic uncertainty, organizational management/structure, etc.
• Customized/Other:  We can structure a workshop based on your board’s needs