Know what’s working, what isn’t, and what to do next.

A Development Assessment is a candid, confidential, expert review of your fundraising program: your data, your systems, your public-facing materials, and your team. It's designed for organizations that sense something isn't quite working, are heading into a leadership transition, or simply want an outside, experienced eye before committing to a capital campaign, a new hire, or a strategic plan.

You'll walk away with a clear picture of what's driving your fundraising results, what's holding them back, and a prioritized set of recommendations you can act on immediately.

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When to do a Development Assessment

Before a capital campaign — to pressure-test readiness and identify gaps before donors do.

During a leadership transition — to give incoming or interim leaders (and the board) a shared, objective starting point.

After a period of plateaued or declining giving — to diagnose root causes, not just symptoms.

Before investing in a new hire or restructuring — to know what kind of role and support the moment actually calls for.

How it works

Discovery — We’ll launch with a short set of conversations with leadership to identify known strengths, concerns, and priority questions.

Materials & Data Review — I will request several documents and access to your donor data, and then conduct a comprehensive analysis independently.

  • I will run donor and gift data from the past five years through twelve points of analysis.

  • I will review the effectiveness of your public-facing materials, including grant proposals and your case for giving, recent donor appeals, the fundraising section of your website, event and sponsor materials, key policies (gift acceptance, privacy, and media), and your newsletter, annual report, or one-pagers.

  • I will look at your internal, department management assets including job descriptions, your annual fund development plan, the grants calendar, major gift portfolios and moves management systems, department standard operating procedures, event management assets, and whether your development budget is sized appropriately for your goals.

Team Conversations & On-Site Experience — I will have conversations with all Development staff and the CEO to understand not just what the systems say, but also how the work actually gets done day-to-day. This stage also includes a site visit and tour so I can see firsthand how your organization presents itself to funders and visitors; attendance at a Development department meeting; and attendance at any major fundraising events taking place during the engagement. I also share initial findings with leadership for discussion at this stage.

Report — You will receive a written Assessment with prioritized, actionable recommendations. I will present the report to leadership, then facilitate a discussion at a Development Department Meeting. I can also create a Board-friendly Executive Summary for sharing in a Development Committee or Board Meeting.

Ready to see where your fundraising program stands?

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Everything reviewed and learned in an Assessment stays strictly confidential. Reports are prepared solely for your organization. This is explicit in all my contracts.

  • No. My Development Assessments look at your whole department: structure, systems, data, materials, and yes, staff roles and qualifications relative to those roles. But looking at fit is not the same as judging performance in isolation. When I do find misalignment between a role and the person in it, my practice is to present a range of possible paths forward, typically leading with training and coaching. Before I meet with a Development team, I will walk their director or CEO through a sample report first, so there are no surprises about what the process looks like or what the finished product will actually contain.

    When I sit down with staff, I put real energy into naming the good work I see and putting their day-to-day struggles in context. Often, what people are wrestling with is common across the field rather than a personal failing. Past clients have told me they left our conversations feeling seen and encouraged, not examined.

  • Cost varies based on the size and complexity of your development department, the quality of your existing data, and the number of staff and stakeholders who need to be interviewed. Most Assessments fall somewhere between $7,000 and $25,000. I can provide you with a specific estimate following a complimentary consultation meeting: schedule here.

  • It is sometimes helpful to include Board Members who are particularly involved in Development among the folks I meet with for the Assessment, but it is not strictly necessary.

    Also, if you like, I can create a Board-friendly Executive Summary of my report and present it to the Development Committee or the Board.

  • Most Assessments take two to four months from kickoff to final report, largely depending on how quickly we're able to schedule time with your staff and leadership.

  • Typically: the ability to pull reports from your donor database, recent financial statements, your public-facing fundraising materials, key internal policies and planning documents, and time with your Development staff, CEO, and any other people who work closely with the Development Department.

  • My goal isn't to hand you a list of problems and walk away; every assessment comes with a prioritized set of recommendations, so even hard findings arrive with a clear sense of what to do about them and where to start.

  • You can, but honestly, my Assessment should help you prioritize those and do them more efficiently and effectively. Every community-based organization has parts of its work that are in better shape than others. This is about making progress feel achievable, not perfection.