Our Services
Fundraising Strategy and Planning
Advancement Experts takes an integrative approach to fundraising planning, helping organizations build a realistic and sustainable strategy. Our team utilizes their extensive experience in fundraising and executive management to help nonprofits build a foundation for robust fundraising, donor pipeline development, and ongoing support.
Examples:
Comprehensive fundraising plan to include multi-channel annual fundraising, major gifts, special events, and planned giving
AI-Powered Fundraising -- our proprietary AI data assessment tool that drives fundraising planning and donor development
Case for Support creation
Planned Giving strategy and coaching
Relationship development with corporations and foundations
Strategic Planning and Direction
Our approach to strategic planning is integrative and participatory. We start with vision, mission, and core values and build Pillars, Priorities, Objectives, and Key Results that create a focused path for organizational advancement. Along the way, we gather feedback from key stakeholders through exercises, surveys, and interviews.
Once the plan is developed, we create a dashboard to track progress toward goals and a strategic plan placemat for a high-level visual.
“Choosing Advancement Experts to facilitate our strategic planning was an excellent decision. The process was flawless and yielded a phenomenal strategic plan. We would highly recommend Advancement Experts to any nonprofit.“
– Trudy Crowetz, CEO, Nonprofits First
Campaign Study, Readiness, and Implementation
Advancement Experts helps organizations plan and implement comprehensive campaigns to scale their services and impact. We customize our approach to every client and create a foundation for campaign readiness and success. From campaign study to volunteer leadership to donor development, we personally and effectively develop and guide organizations through their campaign plan.
Campaign Services Components:
Campaign discovery and readiness – early actions to start the campaign successfully
Comprehensive campaign study and recommendations
Campaign leadership training and engagement
Campaign implementation
Donor prioritization
AI-Powered Fundraising – an assessment tool to identify and qualify leadership and major-level donors
Benchmarks, goals, and dashboard
Organizational Assessment and Leadership Training
When nonprofits experience misalignment between staff, leadership, and mission, we step in to help. Our organizational assessment and training is customized to each nonprofit, taking into consideration their unique history, culture, and challenges.
Our toolkit is full of assessment instruments, including surveys, interview questionnaires, and essential function checklists that can help organizations identify key areas for improvement.
In addition, we offer a multitude of training and development opportunities to help staff and volunteers engage more deeply in the cause.
Examples:
Board structure, make up, and management
Bylaws review and revision
Gift Acceptance policy creation
Advancement Audit
Staff input surveys and interviews
Board engagement interviews
Community benchmarking surveys
Organizational charts, staffing alignment and assignment, and job descriptions
Interim Chief Development Officer
Staff & Volunteer Training Opportunities:
Everything DiSC Assessment (Certified)
Essential Enneagram Assessment (Certified)
Articulating the Case for Support and Developing Your Elevator Pitch
Making the Ask
From “Identify” to “Renew” – Making the Most of a Donor Journey
Building a Culture of Philanthropy Where Everyone Gets to Fundraise
Planned Giving 101
Family Philanthropic Guidance
We help families and individuals establish clarity, alignment, and shared direction while discovering and building priorities and operational structures for effective and sustainable philanthropy.
Our phased approach begins with board discovery and assessment, followed by mission, vision, and values development. Our work culminates in a three-year strategic giving plan. Ultimately, we strive to equip foundations with a clear identity, defined priorities, and practical systems to guide grantmaking, leadership, succession, and long-term stewardship.
Examples:
Foundation Leadership Structure
Mission, Vision, and Shared Values creation
Grantmaking priorities and structures
Strategic planning for giving success
Grantmaking processes
The Board School
The Board School develops effective board leadership from both sides, preparing individuals to serve on boards and helping nonprofits build stronger, more effective boards. Through training, coaching, and consulting, we provide the foundation for successful board leadership and engagement.
For corporate employees joining boards: Board Member training sessions cover why boards matter and how to serve well, while one-on-one coaching and curated board matching help individuals find the right fit.
For nonprofits: Workshops strengthen board engagement, governance, and fundraising and include learning on building boards with purpose, elevating board effectiveness, creating a culture of shared philanthropy, and crafting compelling elevator pitches.
Consulting: Customized support covers board makeup analysis, recruitment and onboarding, governance policies, and board assessment.
“Your presentation on inspiring philanthropy was exceptional! I thought it was engaging, thought-provoking, and incredibly inspiring. I know our Board walked away with a much broader perspective on the many ways each of us can participate in philanthropy and the lasting impact we can have. It was exactly the kind of conversation I had hoped would spark new ideas and deeper engagement, and all of the different ways to get involved.”