Services Offered

  • Assessment and Advisory
    When welcoming Nonprofit Development Strategies into your organization, we can work with the leadership team to evaluate operations, strategy, and structure to identify gaps and recommend improvements. The advisory can be focused on growth, for example, to advise a strategic plan or identify why staff may be turning over at a higher rate than expected. Or it can be general, focusing on areas where efficiency can be maximized or offering insights into how to incorporate established best practices into your day-to-day operations, thereby setting your organization up for long-term success.

    Fundraising Advising
    If you feel fundraising at your organization has grown stagnant, Nonprofit Development Strategies can work with your development team to identify what’s limiting that growth. By assessing your donor pipeline, campaign effectiveness, messaging, major gifts approach, and overall revenue mix, we can help you unlock your full potential by building a clear, actionable plan to increase giving.

    Hot Wash or Post Mortem Investigations
    If your organization initiated a campaign that you believe could have been run smoother, met a higher fundraising total, or had more engagement, having an objective third party, like Nonprofit Development Strategies, come in to identify areas for improvement, opportunities for growth, and build a pathway forward can be a productive exercise for all involved. 

  • Campaign Planning

    Turn your next major fundraising initiative into a powerful, results-driven campaign with a plan that sets you up for success from day 1. Nonprofit Development Strategies will help you define clear goals, set reasonable targets, identify high-impact donor segments, and craft a compelling case for support that inspires action and maximizes giving.

    Campaign Management

    Let Nonprofit Development Strategies handle the details of your end-of-year giving to your next capital campaign, so your in-house development team can stay focused on their mission and day-to-day tasks. We will set your development team up with weekly to-dos to keep the campaign on track, set your meetings, and present them with ongoing, up-to-date data, working alongside them to keep momentum up during even the longest campaigns.

  • Grant Writing

    Every amazing nonprofit program began with a need and a compelling story to a receptive ear, so lets create something beautiful together. Nonprofit Development Strategies can craft high-quality, mission-aligned proposals that clearly communicate your organization’s impact, align with funder priorities, and tell a powerful story about why your idea should stand out in an increasingly competitive funding landscape, increasing your chances of full funding and a sustained program that meets the needs of your beneficiaries.

    Proposal Management

    On small proposals, it can be helpful to have a proposal manager combine all the elements of a grant before submission. On large proposals with multiple attachments, appendices, graphics, and strict submission requirements, it’s almost a requirement. Nonprofit Development Strategies can set the templates and timeline, coordinate consistent messaging you want expressed in the proposal, compile and standardize all attachments, and guide your contributors through complex proposals’ various requirements, while securing reviews, ensuring consistency across the various elements, and ensuring the grant stays on track.

    Proposal Editing & Reviewing

    When grants are written in-house, it can give your development team peace of mind to have an outside reviewer look at the grant proposal with fresh eyes and a critical lens. From “pink reviews” that focus on program structure and the big ideas, to “red reviews” that dig into grammar, main arguments, and quality of message, to “white reviews” a copyedit so you can ensure a polished, professional document best representing your organization is sent to the funder- Nonprofit Development Strategies is ready to work with you to deliver the highest quality submission to your prospective donor.

  • If you have an individual in your sights to solicit for a major gift and need information on what to ask for, want to build out a full organization’s grants calendar, or want to understand the odds of award before investing time and energy into a massive proposal for a new funder. Whatever you need, Nonprofit Development Strategies goes beyond simple searches to analyze all the key elements your organization needs to know to make the most of your donor outreach.

  • Nonprofit needs can vary wildly and Nonprofit Development Strategies is ready to step in and help when needed. Perhaps a staff member is going on family leave, a database transition has created a need for clean up, a staffing transition has resulted in a backlog of work, your team is focused on a major project and needs someone to take over the day-to-day administrative tasks, or your team simply needs a bit of support here and there — we can step in to relieve the burden in the short or long term.

Even if you don’t see a specific service listed, we welcome the opportunity to discuss your organization and its needs. Our work is highly customizable and we are happy to tailor our services and approach to meet the unique goals and challenges of your organization.

Our Onboarding Process

Introductory Call

Every project and organization is unique. In this introductory call, we can talk through your needs, how Nonprofit Development Strategies would approach providing the support you are looking for, and outline a path forward that is realistic and tailored to the organization’s specific concerns.

Contracting

If we are a good fit for collaboration, we will create an agreement outlining the services to be provided, payment schedule, and expected timeline for deliverables. Ironing out these details first helps set clear expectations, ensure accountability of all parties, and gives you confidence in how Nonprofit Development Strategies plans to support your organization.

Discovery

Every project is different and is based upon a scope of work set forth by each organization. However, in most cases, there is a period of listening, learning, and gathering insights into what your organization does, what sets it apart, and what its exact needs are. Beginning by learning how things are can be remarkably beneficial in identifying how to get to the desired end result and increase staff buy-in for any eventual changes.

Work with Purpose

When we are welcomed into your organization, we want to deliver not just a product, plan, or idea but also help you identify solutions you can trust, backed by real care and effort. At a minimum, we will provide weekly written updates with the project’s status so you can be certain your organization’s time, money, and development is in good hands.

  • "[Emily] always keeps us on track with our grants. She is always open to talking things through and brings good ideas. Her turn around is fast and the formats she submits are always really nice, ticking all the boxes."

    - Former Development Director Client

If you would like to learn more about Nonprofit Development Strategies or would like to schedule an introductory call, please complete the form with a few details. We'll review your message and get back to you within two business days.