non profit consulting firms

The Glue That Holds Us Together: Why Nonprofits Have Always Been America’s (and the World’s) Greatest Unifying Force
Gallery
The Glue That Holds Us Together: Why Nonprofits Have Always Been America’s (and the World’s) Greatest Unifying Force

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

The Glue That Holds Us Together: Why Nonprofits Have Always Been America’s (and the World’s) Greatest Unifying Force

Every time this country has fractured — the Depression, Vietnam, September 11th — it wasn't the government that stitched us back together. It was the sector we still treat as an afterthought. I know this because I was there, staffing a Red Cross respite center in New Jersey after 9/11 — and what I watched happen in that room changed everything for me. Read why I believe nonprofits are the only force that can heal what's broken right now.

By Sterrin Bird|2026-03-06T13:10:13-08:00March 6th, 2026|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Authenticity, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, Top fundraising consulting firms|0 Comments

How Good Can This Get?
Gallery
How Good Can This Get?

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

How Good Can This Get?

You almost can’t answer this question without other people. It pulls people toward each other. It requires shared imagination. You need someone else’s vision to expand your own. You need the person across the table to dream out loud so you can dream louder. The question is inherently collaborative.

By Sterrin Bird|2026-03-06T12:13:50-08:00March 4th, 2026|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Authenticity, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, Top fundraising consulting firms|0 Comments

The Scaffolding Isn’t Optional: What Nonprofits Need Now to Sustain Society’s Future
Gallery
The Scaffolding Isn’t Optional: What Nonprofits Need Now to Sustain Society’s Future

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

The Scaffolding Isn’t Optional: What Nonprofits Need Now to Sustain Society’s Future

We keep the lights on when governments turn away. We feed families when benefits go away. We respond to disasters, advance medical research, protect press freedom, and provide the social infrastructure that makes civic society possible. We are Chief Development Officers at thirteen of the world's most essential nonprofit organizations, and we're here to tell you: the scaffolding is cracking.

By Sterrin Bird|2025-12-08T12:00:12-08:00December 8th, 2025|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Authenticity, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, Top fundraising consulting firms|0 Comments

The Human Heart: Taking Time to Understand
Gallery
The Human Heart: Taking Time to Understand

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

The Human Heart: Taking Time to Understand

Forget your funnels, ditch your "yield," Your conversion rates and data fields. No #algorithms know the art Of one good human, heart-to-heart.

By Sterrin Bird|2025-12-08T12:03:20-08:00September 8th, 2025|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Authenticity, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, Top fundraising consulting firms|0 Comments

When Your Reputation Precedes You (And How to Use It Wisely)
Gallery
When Your Reputation Precedes You (And How to Use It Wisely)

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

When Your Reputation Precedes You (And How to Use It Wisely)

Lady Whistledown wielded more power than the Queen herself, yet no one knew her identity. She influenced London society not through royal decree, but through proximity, observation, and the strategic sharing of truth. In the nonprofit world, the most effective transformational leaders operate with similar invisible influence—creating lasting change not by commanding from corner offices, but by embedding themselves in the work itself. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 2

By Sterrin Bird|2025-09-02T11:10:36-07:00September 3rd, 2025|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Authenticity, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, Top fundraising consulting firms, transformational leaders|0 Comments

The Power of the Pen (and the Player-Coach)
Gallery
The Power of the Pen (and the Player-Coach)

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

The Power of the Pen (and the Player-Coach)

Lady Whistledown wielded more power than the Queen herself, yet no one knew her identity. She influenced London society not through royal decree, but through proximity, observation, and the strategic sharing of truth. In the nonprofit world, the most effective transformational leaders operate with similar invisible influence—creating lasting change not by commanding from corner offices, but by embedding themselves in the work itself. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 2

By Sterrin Bird|2025-08-27T17:24:35-07:00August 27th, 2025|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Authenticity, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, Top fundraising consulting firms, transformational leaders|0 Comments

Dear Reader, Your Organization Has Secrets
Gallery
Dear Reader, Your Organization Has Secrets

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

Dear Reader, Your Organization Has Secrets

Just as Lady Whistledown observed London society from her hidden vantage point, nonprofit leaders often miss the most crucial dynamics happening right under their noses. While they're busy crafting strategic plans and measuring outcomes, the real story of their organization unfolds in hallway conversations, bathroom meetings, and the careful choreography of who gets invited to which "informal" gatherings. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 1

By Sterrin Bird|2025-08-27T13:04:39-07:00August 20th, 2025|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Authenticity, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, Top fundraising consulting firms, transformational leaders|Comments Off

Make Failure Your Fuel
Gallery
Make Failure Your Fuel

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

Make Failure Your Fuel

As summer and my birthday approach this time of year I am always reminded of how we are constantly afforded the opportunity for new beginnings. Graduations, summer adventures, old chapters closing and new doors opening. Yes, it’s a romantic view of our time rotating around the sun and no surprise, I’m a sucker for commencement [...]

By Sterrin Bird|2025-03-10T16:54:24-07:00May 29th, 2018|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Abby Wambach, Advancement, Barnard College Commencement, Donors, Fundraising, fundraising consultant, Fundraising consulting, fundraising consulting firm, Harvard, Higher Education, impact investing, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, social change, Top fundraising consulting firms, top non profit consulting firms, Wolfpack|Comments Off

General Disruption
Gallery
General Disruption

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

General Disruption

In the category of random and possibly inappropriate nicknames, I had a former boss who used to refer to me in public as “General Disruption.” She gave me the nickname because, as she put it, I was there to disrupt the ways in which the organization was thinking about and tactically fundraising. Of course, [...]

By Sterrin Bird|2025-03-10T16:55:08-07:00May 21st, 2018|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Bolder Board, Dan Pallotta, Donors, Fundraising, fundraising consultant, Fundraising consulting, fundraising consulting firm, Harvard, Higher Education, impact investing, Kennedy School of Government, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, social change, Top fundraising consulting firms, top non profit consulting firms|Comments Off

Love: The Heart of Fundraising
Gallery
Love: The Heart of Fundraising

Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising

Love: The Heart of Fundraising

About three years ago my life was crumbling. My marriage was over, I was trapped in a job I didn’t love, was working insane hours for a very difficult person and it was taking everything I had to hold it all together - for me and for my two kids. I was laying up [...]

By Sterrin Bird|2025-03-10T16:55:29-07:00May 10th, 2018|Categories: Fundraising coach, Nonprofit fundraising|Tags: Advancement, Donors, Fundraising, fundraising consultant, Fundraising consulting, fundraising consulting firm, Harvard, Higher Education, impact investing, Major Giving, non profit consulting firms, non profit strategy, philanthropy, social change, Top fundraising consulting firms, top non profit consulting firms|Comments Off