FUNDRAISING SERVICES
Development Program Audit
Nonprofits are expected to run lean operations efficiently applying best practices in the development program operations. A development program audit can make recommendations for immediate improvements, and it can result in a plan for longer term enhancements to your development services operation that produce more successful fundraising over time.
Annual Giving Program Counsel
You may be ready to create an annual giving program for the first time, or you are looking for new strategies to enhance your existing operation so you can set more aggressive goals while streamlining your operations. Perhaps you need to upgrade your donor management systems. We can guide you through these processes. A healthy annual fund program is a vital funding source to pay for your operational expenses. And as the foundation of the individual giving program, it is among today’s annual donors that you will find future major donors.
Major Giving Program Counsel
We help you develop the giving potential of individuals who may have an interest in supporting your organization at a higher level. We will create a process with you and your team applying the principles of a donor-centered relationship to your prospective donors: identification of the prospect, cultivation of the relationship, appropriate solicitation strategies, recognition of the donor, and ongoing stewardship of the relationship. We also can help you develop your research efforts so that you can enrich and deepen your relationships with your major donors and identify new major donor prospects among annual donors and potentially others currently unaware of your organization.
Planned Giving
You may wish to give your most committed donors an opportunity to combine supporting your cause with their own estate planning goals, thereby leaving a lasting benefit in support of your mission. We can create with you a planned giving program suitable for both your donors and your organization.
Foundation and Corporate Giving
We can assess your current level of development in the foundation and corporate sectors and help you determine how to maximize this effort. If you have not yet explored these opportunities, we will work with you to build a program if it is deemed feasible.
CAMPAIGN COUNSEL
We provide strategic oversight while we work as a team with your staff through the creation and execution of the campaign. We conduct training for both staff and volunteers so they can effectively achieve campaign goals.
The feasibility study is foundational for campaign planning. A critical benefit of this process is that relationships with prospective donors are deepened as they learn more about the client’s cause. Important aspects of determining a campaign’s feasibility are considering the case for support, evaluating the donor base and volunteer corps, and assessing staffing and internal development operations. The feasibility study will make recommendations about what can actually be achieved in a campaign and how that should be implemented.
BOARD DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNANCE
It is vital that the Board of Directors has all the resources needed to fulfill its primary responsibilities: providing fiscal oversight and assuring adequate funding so that the nonprofit can achieve its mission. Board development often begins with an assessment of the board that may identify a need for additional members who can bring certain strengths not currently existing among board members. Board governance guidance may include training in board roles and making recommendations on actions the board members can take to better fulfill their obligations. And importantly, we can guide your board members in their role of fundraising leadership.
STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNSEL
Strategic planning helps you define what you want your organization to do in the next three-to-five years, and how best to apply your limited board and management time, staff, and financial resources. In the process, first you revisit your mission – why your organization exists – and you crystallize your vision for the future. The planning team will identify goals, how and when they will be achieved, and who will be responsible. You will agree to revisit the plan periodically to assess progress or make course adjustments.
A strategic planning process is particularly effective in advance of a campaign, especially when all key stakeholders participate – management and staff, board members, volunteers, lead donors and others unique to your organization.
