Service 01
Senior fundraising leadership on a monthly retainer - without the cost of a full-time hire.
What It Is
Most small and mid-sized nonprofits can't afford a full-time Director of Development. But they still need someone who can build the program, steward major donors, oversee campaigns, and write the communications that keep supporters engaged year-round.
That's what fractional development leadership provides. On a monthly retainer, I embed with your team as your senior fundraising partner - building what needs to be built, managing what needs to be managed, and showing up the way a full-time hire would, at a fraction of the cost.
This isn't a quarterly check-in. It's ongoing, hands-on partnership. I attend your meetings, join your donor calls, write your appeals, and help your board understand their role in fundraising. When something needs doing, it gets done.
Who It's For
This service is for you if your organization has outgrown a volunteer-driven fundraising model but isn't ready to hire a full-time development director. It's for executive directors who are doing too much of the fundraising themselves and need an experienced partner to take the wheel. It's for boards that want to support fundraising but don't know how to organize it.
It works especially well for arts, education, and community organizations with annual revenues between $500K and $5M - organizations at the inflection point where a serious fundraising program would change everything.
What You Get
Retainer engagements are customized to your needs, but typically include: donor pipeline development and management, major gift cultivation and solicitation support, annual fund oversight, donor communications (newsletters, appeals, stewardship letters), board training and engagement, campaign strategy, and regular reporting on fundraising progress.
Engagements typically run six to twelve months. The goal is always to leave you stronger than when we started - with systems, relationships, and a team that can carry the program forward.
"When John came on board, we had about 50 donors and no real fundraising infrastructure. Within a year, he'd grown our donor base to over 300 and more than doubled our annual revenue."- Frank Callaghan, Former Board Chair, Wayside Academy
Common Questions
Fractional development leadership means hiring an experienced fundraising professional on a retainer basis rather than as a full-time employee. The consultant embeds with your team, manages donor relationships, oversees campaigns, and builds your fundraising program - providing senior-level expertise at a fraction of the cost of a full-time Director of Development.
Fractional development leadership works best for nonprofits with annual revenues between $500K and $5M - organizations that have outgrown a volunteer-driven model but aren't ready to hire a full-time development director. It's especially valuable when the executive director is carrying too much of the fundraising themselves.
A traditional consultant delivers a project - a plan, a feasibility study - and moves on. Fractional development leadership is ongoing, embedded partnership. I attend your meetings, join donor calls, write your appeals, and manage your fundraising program month after month, functioning as part of your team.
Most engagements run six to twelve months. The goal is always to leave you stronger - with systems, relationships, and a team that can carry the program forward. Some clients continue on a longer-term basis after the initial engagement.
Every engagement begins the same way: with an honest discussion about your organization, your mission, and where you want to go. No pitch. No obligation.
Phone
Location
Kawartha Lakes, Ontario - Serving non-profits across Canada and the United States