The Work

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I work alongside nonprofits to build corporate and institutional partnership programs they can run without me. That's the core of what I do. Not generic fundraising consulting, but the specific work of building the frameworks, pipelines, and stewardship systems that turn one-time sponsors into multi-year partners.

Every engagement starts with listening. I synthesize what I hear, build a plan with you, hold you accountable to it, and teach you to hold yourself accountable after I'm gone. The goal is never dependency. It's a replicable system your team owns.

I work with a small number of organizations at a time. That's by design. Every engagement is defined together before work begins. If something comes up that falls outside the current scope, we name it and figure out the right path forward - whether that's expanding the engagement, referring you to someone better suited, or saving it for a later phase.

BUILD

Ground Floor

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Building your corporate partnership program from scratch

Best for: Early-stage or grassroots nonprofits building a corporate partnership program for the first time. One dedicated development staff member or an ED wearing the development hat. Annual budget: $500K-$3M.

Some organizations have never had a formal corporate partnership program. The relationships exist (a few sponsors here, a couple of foundations there) but there's no framework underneath it. No tiers, no clear entry points, no stewardship arc, no pipeline. Just goodwill and hustle holding it together.

Ground Floor is the infrastructure build. I start by learning your organization, your community, your existing partners, your team's capacity, and what you can realistically sustain. Then we build. The centerpiece is a sponsorship framework laid out as a benefit-mapped menu, organized around the four reasons companies give (client entertainment, employee engagement, marketing exposure, and mission give-back) with clear tiers and entry points, plus a values screen so you can tell a real fit from a one-time logo. Around it, a pipeline for developing new partners and a stewardship arc designed so sponsors feel valued rather than processed. The output is a replicable model. Something your team can run, iterate, grow, and retain donors with.

This is specifically a corporate and institutional partnership build. It's what I've done at multiple organizations across multiple sectors, and it's the work I'm most confident delivering.

Ready to build something that lasts?

Watering Buddy - Buddy Co.

Room Service

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RUN

Coaching and accountability for your corporate partnership portfolio

Best for: Nonprofits with an existing corporate partnership program ready to grow and manage it more intentionally. Annual budget: $2M-$10M.

Some organizations already have corporate partners. What they need is someone in the room while they manage and grow those relationships. Someone who looks at the data with them, helps them see what each partner is ready for, prepares them for the asks that feel too big, and holds them accountable to the goals they've already set.

Room Service is a coaching and accountability engagement. We meet every other week to review the portfolio, looking at each corporate and institutional partner individually, identifying the next right move, and working through whatever is creating resistance or stall. Once a month we check in on goals and make sure the work is actually moving. Where your tiers or benefits need a tune-up, we adjust them together. This is growing what works, not a rebuild. I'm not here to tell you what to do and disappear. I'm here to build your capacity to make these decisions yourself down the line.

This is the offer where the “teacher” model lives most explicitly. I ask the question underneath the question. I push on what isn't landing. I help you build the internal permission to make the ask. The engagement ends when you can run this without me.

Ready to do the inside work?

Cleaning Buddy - Buddy Co.

The Residency

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FIX

Full assessment and rebuild for a stuck or stalled corporate partnership program

Best for: Established nonprofits with a development team whose corporate partnership program has plateaued or stalled. Ready for a full rebuild. Annual budget: $5M+.

Some organizations have been doing corporate fundraising for years but something has calcified. The same sponsors are giving the same amounts. New partners aren't coming in. The stewardship is on autopilot. The team is reactive and the program feels stuck even though everyone is working hard.

The Residency is the full assessment and rebuild. I come into the organization first, conducting interviews, reviewing data, analyzing existing partners, and doing an honest audit of what's working and what isn't before touching anything. Then we rebuild from the foundation: the stewardship arc, the sponsorship framework rebuilt as a benefit-mapped menu around the four motivations, a corporate and institutional case for support, the pipeline strategy, and the internal systems that hold it all together. The output is a replicable model, a full findings and recommendations report, and a handoff that leaves your team running the program with clarity and confidence.

This is not a quick engagement. It's a sustained commitment from both sides. The organizations that get the most from it are the ones that are genuinely ready to do the work, not just ready to look like they're doing the work.

Ready to rebuild?

Residency Buddy - Buddy Co.

Ready to build something that lasts?

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