The best fundraising programs are built by leaders who invest in themselves.
Data-driven, People-First Solutions
Services
The Philanthropic Advisory™ focuses on three distinct areas: People, Programs, and Plans. Each begins with an assessment. Each ends with measurable outcomes. None of them ends with only a report and a handshake, but rather a roadmap and an executable strategy. That is why every engagement begins with assessment, not as a formality, but as the foundation of everything that follows. Not just advice. TPA provides strategic counsel, seasoned leadership, and execution-oriented support built for today’s nonprofit reality.
PEOPLE
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE COACHING AND MENTORSHIP
Traditional performance management operates on a fixed assumption: an employee either meets expectations or they don't. If they don't, an intervention follows. If they do, the conversation ends. This is flawed.
TPA operates on an entirely different assumption. Every employee, at every performance level, is in a permanent state of development. There is no fixed point at which growth is complete. Our optimization approach treats performance not as a binary condition but as a continuous trajectory.
Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are designed to move people out. Our signature Performance Optimization Plans (POPs) are designed to move people up. As a People-first consultancy, we start with our Individual Growth Assessment (IGA) to help fundraisers establish a baseline, identify obstacles, and address structure and resource issues that typically lead to burnout and turnover. Then identify what is needed to perform at the next level.
The proprietary Individual Growth Assessment gives you an honest, scored picture of where your staff members stand across eight dimensions of personal performance, along with a prioritized plan for where to focus for future growth.
PROGRAMS
ORGANIZATIONAL FUNDRAISING ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY
Beginning with our Development Health Diagnostic, we help organizations understand exactly what your fundraising program is built on and what it's missing.
Before an organization can improve its fundraising performance, it must understand the strengths of the systems, structures, and resources that support that growth. We conduct thoughtful reviews of development operations, team structure, board engagement, and fundraising systems to help organizations identify opportunities, close gaps, and prepare for the next stage of growth.
These assessments are designed to provide a baseline and practical insight, not shelf-bound recommendations.
Services include:
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Development strategy design
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Fundraising plan creation
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Leadership and board alignment
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Priority setting and execution roadmaps
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Planning support for development leaders
PLANS
PROJECT-BASED COUNSEL
When the project is big, leaders and their teams need to be ready. The Philanthropic Advisory™ includes an assessment of people, existing program structure, support, and resources in each project-based consulting engagement before a strategy is developed. Aspirational goals require a sound strategy. Strategy precedes structure. But successful plan development requires a comprehensive assessment of people and the programs (systems, structures, resources, and support) they operate within.
Whether testing and launching a capital campaign, a major gift initiative, or a development restructuring to more efficiently and effectively increase philanthropic revenue, we ensure the elements for success are in place so that your capacity matches your fundraising ambition.
Most campaigns don't fail because of a bad strategy. They fail because the leaders and teams running them were already overextended before the first solicitation was made and weren't afforded the ability to pause and assess before launch. The Philanthropic Advisory™ surfaces those risks before they become a crisis, then develops an executable strategy.
The Elm Place Collaborative is the parent platform and strategic umbrella under which a set of specialized Practice Groups align to strengthen nonprofit organizations through modern, flexible, and execution-driven support.
The Elm Place Collaborative is designed as a more responsive and integrated ecosystem. Each Practice Group plays a distinct role, yet all are intentionally connected, creating a stronger, smarter, and more adaptable support model for mission-driven organizations.
In this model, The Philanthropic Advisory™ is the most visibly client-facing venture, while the other Practice Group Ventures strengthen its work behind the scenes and expand the value delivered to nonprofit organizations.
The result is a modern hub-and-spoke approach:
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Elm Place Collaborative is the strategic umbrella and curator
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The Philanthropic Advisory™ serves as the client-facing advisory and fundraising venture
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Specialist Network Curation builds the collective bench of vetted experts, aligned around strategic and complementary roles
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Research, Education, and Training generates insight and builds practitioner readiness
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Capacity Lab - AI Integration identifies and creates tools and efficiencies that improve delivery, decision-making, and execution
This relationship is what gives the model its power.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
PROJECT-BASED COUNSEL
Board Governance & Strategic Planning
Strong organizations require more than committed boards; they require aligned leadership, sound governance, and a clear strategic path forward.
Services include:
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Board recruitment and development
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Governance assessment and advisory
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Strategic planning facilitation
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Leadership alignment sessions
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Fundraising Case for Support development
Campaign Strategy, Planning, & Execution
Successful capital campaigns don't begin with solicitation. They begin with clarity, readiness, disciplined planning, and the right leadership structure. We help organizations prepare for major gift initiatives and comprehensive campaigns through feasibility studies, campaign design, board engagement, and strategic counsel that strengthen confidence before public momentum begins.
Services include:
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Feasibility studies
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Campaign readiness assessment
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Campaign design and structure
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Campaign governance advisory
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Capital Campaign Counsel
Major Gifts & Pipeline Development
Major gifts programs thrive when organizations focus on the right prospects, practice disciplined cultivation, and adopt an intentional portfolio strategy.
Services include:
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Prospect qualification
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Donor cultivation strategy
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Portfolio development and management
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Major gifts pipeline design
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Moves management frameworks
Development Strategy & Plan Creation
A strong development strategy should do more than inspire confidence; it should give both leadership and team members a practical roadmap for execution.
Services include:
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Development strategy design
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Fundraising plan creation
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Leadership and board alignment
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Priority setting and execution roadmaps
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Planning support for development leaders
Interim Fundraising Leadership
Periods of transition can either stall progress or become an opportunity for stronger leadership and clearer direction. The Philanthropic Advisory provides interim and fractional support for organizations navigating fundraising leadership gaps, growth periods, or organizational change.
Services include:
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Fractional CDO/Interim Development Leadership
Built for This Moment in the
Nonprofit Sector
The data is not ambiguous. 95% of nonprofit leaders cite burnout as a concern. The average development professional stays in a role 16 to 18 months. Most nonprofits under $10M are leaving significant funding on the table, not because they lack a worthy mission, but because their fundraising program and the people leading it are not operating at full capacity simultaneously.
The old consulting model, consisting of PowerPoint slide deliverables, will not address the issue. Strengthening the team, providing adequate resources, structure, and support, and focusing on the changing donor mindsets and increased competition for philanthropic dollars are all necessary and prerequisites before arbitrarily increasing the revenue line in the budget or prematurely launching a significant fundraising initiative. And, these three distinct areas: People, Programs, & Plans, must be addressed simultaneously.