Grow Your Fundraising

As a consultant, I partner with folks like you at small and midsize nonprofits in the Bay Area so that you can increase your organization’s impact, while delighting and meaningfully engaging your donors. I have expertise in every mode of fundraising as well as a knack for making connections, building sound strategies, and getting projects done creatively and on time. Whether you’re looking for support with a capital campaign, major donor fundraising, or board engagement, I’ll help you bring a greater sense of joy, ease, and authentic connection to the work.

Consulting Services

  • Capital Campaigns

    Thinking about a building project? I can support you in carrying out a listening tour (feasibility study) that will get your donors excited about your vision. Then I can support you with both strategy and implementation as your capital campaign gets started.

  • Major Donors

    Working with Major Donors has the best return on investment in fundraising. Having the right mindset, structures, and strategies in place makes all the difference. I can build your knowledge, confidence, and success in major gifts, even if you’re a novice.

  • Foundations

    You might be wondering, “Which foundations might fund us? And how do we get their attention?” I can help crack the foundation code for you – researching funders, developing strategies, and writing compelling introductory emails and proposals.

  • Board Engagement

    The success of your fundraising efforts increases dramatically when your board members build donor relationships alongside you. I offer strategies and workshops to authentically engage board members with fundraising so that it’s easeful and exciting.

Selected Engagements

  • I served as Interim Development Director in 2020 and led the development of a Fund Development Strategic Plan in 2021. In 2022, I designed and facilitated a listening tour that YES board members and leadership staff carried out to gauge their donors’ appetite for supporting a capital campaign. In 2023, I trained board members and capital campaign committee members on solicitation and developed campaign brand, marketing materials, and grant proposals. As of June 2024, the campaign has raised $4 million towards a goal of $5.2 million.

  • Since 2020, I have provided comprehensive grant seeking support to Foodwise (formerly CUESA), including prospecting, strategy development, project planning, as well as grant writing and reporting. Submitted more than 30 applications and reports with a win rate of 74%. Major multi-year awards have included a $150,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation as well as a highly competitive $230,000 grant from the California Department of Agriculture.

  • Beginning in 2020, supported the design and build out of a major gifts program, including: the training and coaching of a novice major gifts officer, tiering and qualifying a portfolio of donors, crafting individual donor strategies, and establishing regular donor stewardship reports. A focus on warm, authentic relationship building and the development of a menu of giving opportunities supported the Zen Center in raising $2 million in major gifts annually.

What Fellow Fundraisers Say

Myles' headshot

“I’d thought in order to be a fundraiser, you had to be charming and somehow disingenuous. What Vanessa helped me understand was that I could be transparent. All I needed to do was learn what donors loved and offer them giving opportunities centered around those things. Thanks to Vanessa’s support, my team and I were able to generate a lot more major gifts and maintain much warmer connections with donors.”

- Myles Cowherd, Major Gifts Officer, San Francisco Zen Center

“Serving in the role as our capital campaign manager for our brand new, nature-inspired community hub here in Richmond, Vanessa has leveraged her diverse set of talents and strengths to bring us within view of the finish line. As the author of our campaign, she has worked with myself and our Development Director to steward a successful end-to-end project. Among the many elements of the campaign that she has led include designing a large-scale donor listening session, onboarding and training our capital campaign committee and board members to make asks, creating donor profiles, writing capital grant requests to foundations, and designing strategy, content, and language for marketing materials. Together her efforts have kept our campaign on track and our $5.2M goal in view. Her positive and collaborative nature sets the tone in our weekly meetings and she shows her investment by learning and supporting our mission and programs. We couldn't ask for a better champion and partner for our campaign!” 

- Eric Aaholm, Executive Director, YES Nature to Neighborhoods

Claire headshot

“Vanessa is super-efficient while also exuding confidence, spaciousness, and a relaxed assurance that everything will go great. She holds the big vision as well as the tiny details so important to nonprofits, and is skilled in quickly gaining understanding of all the nuanced aspects and considerations of a project and an agency. She’s creative, a great writer, and a great partner/collaborator. She is also a blast and a joy to work with, highly responsive, and reliable.

- Claire McMurtry, Development Director, YES Nature to Neighborhoods