Vander Hook Advancement
Major Gifts Coaching
Fundraising Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders
Major gifts fundraising is part of your role, but you may not have had a chance to learn it step by step. Coaching gives you a place to think through real situations, prepare for donor conversations and build an approach that feels natural to you and right for your organization.
I work with executive directors, nonprofit leaders and development professionals who want to strengthen their fundraising skills, especially in midlevel and major-gift work.
Bring the work you’re facing now
Coaching is shaped around your goals and current challenges. We might work on how to:
- Prepare for an upcoming donor conversation or ask
- Identify a meaningful next step or brainstorm how to secure a meeting with a donor
- Build confidence in follow-up and stewardship
- Prioritize a donor portfolio or develop an engagement plan
- Talk about your organization’s work in a clear, compelling way
- Engage your board and leadership in fundraising
- Navigate a challenging donor or internal conversation
You’ll leave sessions with clearer thinking and practical next steps to put into action.
How coaching works
We’ll begin by discussing your goals and the situations you want support with. Sessions focus on the work in front of you: a donor meeting, an ask, portfolio prioritization or a challenge you’re trying to solve.
I’ll bring questions, feedback and proven fundraising approaches that we can adapt to your circumstances. You bring your knowledge of the organization and a willingness to test ideas between sessions. We can begin with a focused series and decide together whether additional coaching would be useful.
Is coaching a good fit?
Coaching may be a good fit if you have fundraising responsibilities and want to build your own skills, judgment and confidence. It works best when you can put ideas into practice between sessions and bring questions back as you learn.
If you need someone to take on ongoing fundraising work with you, fractional support may be a better fit. If you need a broader fundraising plan, we can talk about that separately.
With more than two decades of fundraising experience, I can help you approach donor relationships with preparation, purpose and a plan for what comes next.