11 Professional Fundraising Consultants That Drive Results
Explore the top professional fundraising consulting firms and how they can help your nonprofit boost revenue long-term.
The modern fundraising landscape constantly changes, whether it’s due to the great wealth transfer, economic turbulence, or more reliance on new technologies. This makes getting up to speed on the top strategies and industry best practices a constant priority for nonprofits. You’ll naturally experience fundraising ups and downs, but you don’t have to go it alone.
Professional fundraising consultants can transform your approach, providing you with expert strategies to acquire new donors and sustain your organization long-term. This guide will explore everything you need to know about these impactful fundraising partners, including:
As we jump in and highlight different consultants, keep your nonprofit’s current needs and challenges in mind. Our guide will help you evaluate which firms match up with your priorities.
FAQs About Nonprofit Fundraising Consultants
Before we get into our list of qualified fundraising consulting firms, let’s answer any questions you may have.
What is a professional fundraising consultant?
A fundraising consultant is an experienced professional who helps nonprofits and other donation-based organizations assess, outline, and improve their fundraising processes. Some consultants specialize in one area of fundraising, like capital campaigns or direct response fundraising, while others offer holistic advice and support for your overall strategy.
What services do fundraising consulting firms offer?
Professional fundraising consultants can assist in improving several aspects of nonprofit operations, like fundraising, strategic planning, and leadership development. However, some common consultant specializations include:
Fundraising appeals: These consultants plan fundraising appeal strategies and may create direct mail, email, or online appeals for your nonprofit.
Prospect research: Experts in major giving use your nonprofit’s data and outside sources to research and identify prospective major donors.
Donor stewardship: For a holistic fundraising boost, your consulting firm might help you create a stewardship matrix or plan for retaining and upgrading your current donors.
Capital campaigns: Specialized nonprofit fundraising consultants can guide you through every aspect of a capital campaign, from planning to execution and follow-up.
Nonprofit accounting: These financial experts can help you get your books in order and develop strategies for better cash management.
No matter your consultant’s specialty, they should evaluate your current operations, give advice on your needs, and leave you with long-term takeaways and guidance to carry forward.
How much do nonprofit fundraising consultants cost?
The cost of a fundraising consultant’s services can vary widely. Pricing often depends on factors like the size of your nonprofit’s fundraising campaign, the timeframe for working with the consultant, and which services you need. Typically, fundraising consultants charge either a fixed rate per project or a daily rate for general support.
To get an accurate cost estimate for your nonprofit, set up a consultation or request a proposal from your chosen consulting firm.
What should you look for in professional fundraising consultants?
Other than evaluating the specific services they provide, how do you determine if a fundraising consultant is a good fit for your nonprofit’s needs?
Explore consultants’ websites, case studies, and business reviews to learn about their approach, and don’t be afraid to ask for the opinions of other nonprofit leaders who’ve worked with them. When you meet with fundraising consultants face-to-face, you can ask detailed questions and assess whether their offerings truly align with your organization’s needs. Ultimately, you should look for:
Proven fundraising results
Marketing expertise
Data-driven fundraising strategies
Positive, trusted reviews
Experience with similar nonprofits
Additionally, keep in mind that you may work with your chosen consultant for multiple months or years. Someone who aligns with your team’s values, communication style, and fundraising philosophy will help you enjoy working together and enable you to achieve the best results.
The #1 Fundraising Consulting Firm: Meyer Partners
Now that you know the basics, let’s start reviewing our top recommended consulting firms, starting with Meyer Partners.
Meyer Partners is a full-service nonprofit marketing and fundraising agency dedicated to helping nonprofits surpass their fundraising goals. Through data analysis, skilled storytelling, and experience-informed appeal strategies, our team of professional fundraising and marketing consultants enables nonprofits to maximize results from every fundraising campaign.
Our philosophy centers on cultivating long-term, high-value donor relationships that will sustain your nonprofit for years to come. We do this by creating powerful, data-driven fundraising appeals and combining them with multichannel marketing communications designed to engage and retain donors.
At our core, we’re a team of experienced professional fundraising consultants who value empathy, commitment, and passion. We believe in the work you do, and we want to help you sustain it.
Our Top Fundraising Consulting Services
While we’re technically a marketing agency for nonprofits, Meyer Partners provides more than just effective copy and creative outreach strategies. We’re also known for other fundraising and communications services like:
Data analytics and predictive modeling
Integrated marketing campaigns (print and digital)
Direct mail appeals
Email marketing campaigns
Landing page optimization
Disaster response fundraising
If you’re looking for a full-service nonprofit communications firm to help you make the most of every campaign, Meyer Partners may be the agency for you.
What Makes Meyer Partners Unique
Our team of fundraising consultants has worked with nonprofits for over 30 years, and we’re proud to support organizations of all shapes, sizes, and causes.
What makes us uniquely positioned to drive results for your nonprofit is our expertise in creating data-driven, multichannel fundraising campaigns that tell your story. We can inspire your donors to give with powerful appeals like this one:
Just take a look at some of the results we’ve achieved for organizations like yours:
Average gift size increased by 20%
85% increase in total number of active donors
Raised more than triple the campaign’s revenue goal
31% higher response rates to emergency appeals than previous campaigns
Excited to see results like this for your nonprofit’s fundraising campaigns? Reach out to our team of expert consultants today to learn what we can do for you.
Other Top Fundraising Consultants to Consider
After Meyer Partners, here are ten other fundraising consulting firms we recommend you explore.
The Moran Company: Executive Search Consulting
The Moran Company is a fundraising consulting firm that specializes in executive search for nonprofits. Their team of recruiters comprises former nonprofit staff, fundraisers, and even CEOs, so they know exactly how to spot a qualified nonprofit candidate. Their combined sector expertise and extensive network of nonprofit contacts will help you find the perfect fit for your organization’s leadership positions.
Their Top Consulting Services
The Moran Company offers a customized, four-step executive search process:
An in-depth organizational assessment to identify your position’s needs
A six-week recruitment period fueled by personal outreach
Multiple rounds of interviews with semi-final and final candidates
Continued consultation and support through the leadership transition
Why This Consultant Stands Out
This consulting firm only offers executive search and recruiting services, and they have a database of over 15,000 candidates to choose from.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt: Organizational and Board Development
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt, also known as TWB, is a group of fundraising consultants who specialize in increasing results, capacity, and impact for both small and large nonprofits across the country. TWB customizes its services to suit each individual nonprofit’s goals. They partner with your board to identify your specific needs, assess by-laws, and institute best practices.
Their Top Consulting Services
Specifically, TWB offers special services for organizational and board development, like:
Strategic planning and organizational analysis
Board assessment and training
Interviews with key stakeholders and constituents
Why This Consultant Stands Out
All of TWB’s consultants have served as senior leaders for nonprofits, so they each bring unique, hard-won expertise to the table.
Perlman & Perlman: Fundraising Consultants for Charity Compliance
Perlman & Perlman is a law firm dedicated to serving the charitable sector. They provide legal advice—and litigation services, if necessary—to nonprofits, covering a wide range of interest areas. In particular, they are knowledgeable about charity compliance.
Their Top Consulting Services
Some of their specialties as a fundraising consulting firm include:
Compliance services
Charitable solicitation registration
Technology, digital privacy, & security
Why This Consultant Stands Out
The consultants at Perlman & Perlman have over sixty years of nonprofit legal experience, and they have offices across the country to assist nonprofits.
Westfall Gold: Major Gifts Fundraising Consultants
Westfall Gold is a major donor fundraising agency dedicated to empowering nonprofits to leverage their most valuable relationships. With their help, you can transform major donors’ relationships with your nonprofit, inspire them to thoroughly invest in your mission, and turn them into lifelong ambassadors for your organization.
Their Top Consulting Services
Westfall Gold offers a Major Donor Experience program, which includes:
A “vision-casting weekend” to inspire and connect with major donors
Strategic program planning and speaker selection for the weekend
Consulting on best practices for all major donor strategies
Why This Consultant Stands Out
The fundraising consultants at Westfall Gold have hosted more than 575 events for major donors, offering a highly specialized service that can boost your major giving program.
Gonser Gerber: Comprehensive Advancement Consulting Firm
Gonser Gerber offers specialized advancement consulting services for nonprofits, schools, and religious organizations. Their comprehensive consulting approach helps your organization holistically thrive. After performing an evaluation of your strategic plan, they’ll help you optimize staff efficiency, strengthen core competencies, and implement widespread best practices.
Their Top Consulting Services
Their services as a top professional fundraising consultant include:
Comprehensive advancement program audits
Institutional strategic planning facilitation
Evaluation of all your major fundraising programs
Why This Consultant Stands Out
Gonser Gerber serves a wide variety of organization types, including higher education institutions, nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations, and religious groups.
Zacharias Advancement Consulting: Annual Fundraising Consulting
Operating as a “full-service resource” for nonprofits of all sizes, Zacharias Advancement Consulting takes a highly donor-focused approach to annual fundraising. Additionally, this consulting firm offers capital campaign support, board development, and enrollment campaigns for schools.
Their Top Consulting Services
To ensure your annual fund addresses all donors’ needs, Zacharias Advancement Group will help you:
Create distinct plans for donors of all levels
Develop annual fundraising strategies that inspire and engage donors
Improve the ways you track and utilize giving metrics
Why This Consultant Stands Out
The consultants at this firm take a unique approach to annual fundraising, designing campaigns that address specific donors’ interests to engage them in annual giving.
American City Bureau: Feasibility Studies
American City Bureau (ACB) works with a wide range of nonprofits and community organizations to conduct in-depth feasibility studies for capital campaigns. In addition to advising you on how to improve your campaigns, ACB offers support for general major donor development and strategic planning to provide you with the best philanthropic results.
Their Top Consulting Services
ACB’s feasibility studies are three- to four-month processes that involve:
Identification of possible major gift support
Evaluation of volunteer leadership for the campaign
Long-term strategic plan development
Why This Consultant Stands Out
ACB conducts in-depth feasibility studies designed to help you develop a long-term strategic plan, not just a capital campaign.
The FOCUS Group: Capital Campaign Consulting
For more help with capital campaign planning and execution, consider partnering with the FOCUS Group. As a professional fundraising consultant specializing in capital campaigns, they offer more than just consulting. The FOCUS Group has also developed nonprofit-specific campaign management software to help your organization throughout the process.
Their Top Consulting Services
In combination with their software, the FOCUS Group’s core advising services include:
Development of a personalized capital campaign strategy
Creation of plans for best-case and worst-case scenarios within their software
Cultivation and solicitation of major donor prospects
Why This Consultant Stands Out
The FOCUS Group’s philosophy is to take donors seriously and build capital campaigns around the smallest group of key donors that you need to reach your goals.
Aria: Telemarketing Consulting Firm
Aria is a fundraising consulting firm that works with a variety of organizations to craft the perfect messaging and improve their donor and customer experience. This agency utilizes personalized telemarketing consultation to complement its fundraising strategy.
Their Top Consulting Services
Specifically, Aria’s services include:
Outbound and inbound telemarketing
Lead generation
Handwritten note cards
Why This Consultant Stands Out
Aria’s unique focus on telemarketing and handwritten note cards can help your organization engage and retain donors in new, compelling ways.
Brenda Moore & Associates, LLC: Development Consulting
Brenda Moore & Associates stands out as a professional fundraising consultant who offers development consulting specifically for faith-based organizations. Churches and religious nonprofits can take advantage of Brenda Moore’s expertise in both fundraising and resource development.
Their Top Consulting Services
Brenda Moore can help your church or religious organization:
Establish a new development program
Grow your competency for acquiring major and planned gifts
Gain confidence as both a spiritual leader and a fundraiser
Why This Consultant Stands Out
This consultant works exclusively with faith-based groups, so she knows all the ins and outs of the best faith-based fundraising strategies.
How to Hire the Right Professional Fundraising Consultant
If you’re seeking professional fundraising help, turning to a consultant is your best bet. But, in order to have a truly valuable partnership and holistically improve your fundraising efforts, you need a consultant who is specifically qualified to fulfill your exact needs.
To discover and partner with the best consultant for your organization, we recommend taking the following steps:
1. Identify your nonprofit’s needs.
First, look at your nonprofit’s data and past engagements to determine if there are any major gaps you need to address. Meet with your board and development committee to see if they have any ideas, and make sure to obtain their approval for hiring a consultant. You want to ensure everyone is on the same page before moving forward.
Then, clearly define your needs and the exact areas you're seeking help in. These might include direct response fundraising, capital campaign planning, board development, and more.
2. Research consultants based on those needs.
Now that you have a list of needs and have identified your strategy gaps, start researching consultants who offer those services. In addition to researching their specialties, review previous organizations that the consultant has worked with. If you see that they often work with nonprofits with similar missions to yours, there’s a good chance they can provide you with valuable assistance.
3. Submit RFPs to your top options.
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are documents your nonprofit can create to determine which consultant candidate is best for you. This document lays out your nonprofit’s needs, mission, the current context of your organization, and any relevant goals and project specifications.
When you find a consultant you think may be a good fit, send them your RFP and a deadline for sending their proposal. Candidates will then use your RFP to create unique proposals about how they plan to help your nonprofit address its needs and support your long-term goals.
4. Discuss your situation with each consultant.
After receiving a proposal, schedule a meeting with the consultant and your nonprofit’s leaders to talk it through. Meet individually with each standout consultant who returned a proposal, and discuss your thoughts, concerns, and expectations. Ensure they have a complete understanding of your needs and budget constraints, and use this time to get a feel for how they work.
Then, start to narrow down your choices by asking for and contacting the consultants’ references. These conversations will help you see how the consultant works in action and what other results they’ve achieved.
5. Choose your best fit.
Finally, choose a fundraising consultant based on those discussions and what they bring to the table.
Once you’ve chosen your ideal consulting partner, make sure to follow up and start discussing the next steps. Remember, consultants are there to help you, so helping them gain a complete understanding of your nonprofit’s gaps and needs is essential.
Additional Resources for Your Fundraising Consultant Search
How else can your nonprofit organization take steps to improve internal processes and build better relationships with donors? Check out these additional resources:
Meyer Partners: A Full-Service Nonprofit Marketing Agency. Explore how Meyer Partners can help improve your nonprofit’s marketing, fundraising, and donor stewardship strategies.
Donor Acquisition: 10 Strategies to Attract New Donors. Learn the steps you can take along with hiring a consultant to strategically acquire new donors with high long-term value.
Donor Stewardship: How to Create & Use a Stewardship Matrix. Searching for a consultant to help you boost donor retention rates? Explore information about a fundamental tool you can use to steward donors in the meantime.
