Annual Fund

We believe that when you embrace your annual fund development program, it can become the lifeblood of your organization. Smart annual fund programs are a mix of disciplined interaction with donors and compelling storytelling about why the community should support your organization. We will help you navigate the practices and processes of annual fundraising to emerge with donors who identify with your work and invest passionately. How do we make it happen?

Baxter Community Center

"Sandi Frost Parrish is a visionary, not only in crafting her own unique style for building a strong business, but in understanding the non profit world's greatest asset; its mission. Sandi provides the tools in building a strong fund development infrastructure to make room for long term sustainability for each of her clients no matter what their size. For Baxter, Sandi has advanced our fund development skills, increased our board's confidence and engagement in the fund raising process and has authentically embraced our vision and mission. We trust the effectiveness of her process and are grateful for the partnership and friendship she has built with us. It has also been a delight to watch her business grow while growing along with it." - Melanie Beelen, Executive Director, Baxter Community Center

Know before you grow
Smart fundraising begins with a solid foundation. If your organization can’t seem to move forward, there’s most likely something in your infrastructure holding you back. Typically, we see bottlenecks in these areas:
 
  • Understanding of staff, board and/or committee roles
  • Donor development processes
  • Donor software and list management
  • Board networks and connectivity
  • Branding and messaging
  • Communication methodologies
We'll meet with your staff, board and key volunteers to assess your organization in these and many other areas. Based on your input, additional evaluation of your tools and processes, and our own knowledge of good practices, we'll create a roadmap from where you are today to what you want to become tomorrow. This process usually takes two to three months and involves a series of in-person meetings and other exchanges. We'll provide a walk-through of your assessment to the staff leadership and board members prior to moving forward. 
Training
 
Parrish Consulting provides professional development and training to all of its clients to increase each organization's capacity for philanthropy.
 
Put it into practice

Following your assessment, we will provide a practical blend of consulting, coaching and hands-on technical support. This will most likely involve helping your organization:

  • Prioritize and complete the right steps to enhance your fundraising infrastructure
  • Equip your board for fundraising
  • Enhance communication with donors
  • Build systematic approaches for solicitation
  • Plan special events that are mission-centric
  • Design major gift programs
  • Create opportunities for new donors to get engaged with your organization.
  • Develop grant strategies
  • Recruit board members and develop board policies
  • Create relevant and active sub-committees
  • Train key ambassadors on how to "make the ask"
Repeat and re-evaluate
Our most successful partnerships involve ongoing coaching and support to address the organization's changing needs, troubleshoot when necessary, and review the success of its efforts. Our goal is to help nonprofits move away from the template-like routines of generic special events and direct mail campaigns and evolve into more personal donor engagement, with mission-centric opportunities for donors to invest. This means organizations must be willing to become more adaptive and nimble over time -- traits that our coaching helps foster on a regular basis.