Our Work
Philanthropy catapults ideas into action. It is the engine that powers your organization and enables you to create change and impact. Yet raising funds successfully to support your mission is not easy. It takes focus, experience, and expertise. We work together with you, your board, your staff, and your stakeholders to create a strong foundation for successful fundraising.
Our Approach
Relationships are key in fundraising and they are the cornerstone of our work with you. Little Bean Group takes the time to delve deep and learn about your organization’s fundraising and its culture. We curate a customized and strategic approach that suits your needs and working style. Our goal is to ensure clients are supported throughout our engagements and are well-positioned to continue to reach and exceed their goals beyond our work together. We are here to assist, guide, and facilitate your organization in its quest for ongoing sustainability.
Our Clients
House of Ruth
House of Ruth engaged Little Bean Group to lead the Board of Directors retreat. We led a fundraising overview session that provided Board members with a detailed overview of nonprofit fundraising and to help Board members understand national trends and best practices. We reviewed key fundraising topics including the donor lifecycle, donor engagement, and donor stewardship and how Board member engagement in those areas will help the organization to strengthen its fundraising efforts. Board members left feeling more confident in their abilities to help support the organization’s fundraising efforts.
Chapel Haven Schleifer Center
We partnered with Chapel Haven Schleifer Center to provide an in-depth workshop on best practices for Board members including governance, fiduciary responsibility, and the characteristics of the most effective boards. We reviewed the key aspects of Board service and held a generative discussion on what their Board needs. Little Bean Group then shared a document suite codifying what was covered in the workshop to support their Board work going forward.
Georgetown Day School
We partnered with the Chief Advancement Officer to create fundraising operating plans that guided efforts throughout the fiscal year. Little Bean Group analyzed data, identified trends, and partnered with staff to create goals and plans for the advancement team. We also worked closely with leadership to evaluate and enhance key aspects of the School’s fundraising infrastructure to ensure long-term success.
The Field School
We stepped in to support the Head of School and the Advancement Division during a period of transition. We helped close out a successful year-end fundraising campaign and establish priorities and strategies to reach the annual fund goal. Along the way, we worked closely with the Head of School to advance her personal donor outreach and helped to onboard the new Director of Advancement. The Field School closed its fiscal year with record-breaking fundraising and is poised for great future success.
Doctors for America
Little Bean Group led a full day training seminar for Board members to learn more about fundraising and ways in which they can engage with and support organizational fundraising efforts. Board members crafted their own stories of engagement which became the foundation of role playing exercises. Each Board member left with a clear plan of action for how they will further engage in fundraising efforts.
South Carolina State Museum
We partnered with the Museum to evaluate and assess the Museum Foundation’s development efforts. We evaluated performance around key categories including membership, annual fundraising, donor engagement, and donor stewardship. We benchmarked against similar institutions and identified best practices. We focused on both identifying strengths and weaknesses as well as providing clear recommendations to help the Museum determine where to invest resources for the future.
Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center
EDCJCC and Little Bean Group partnered for more than a year on a variety of fundraising efforts including: creating a case for giving, developing processes to support the CEO’s donor outreach, further engaging the Board of Directors with fundraising, restructuring the institutional advancement committee, and evaluating the existing donor acknowledgement and stewardship processes. Through a sustained and collaborative relationship, Little Bean Group has become a trusted advisor and partner in all aspects of the Center’s fundraising.
American University Washington College of Law - Tech, Law, and Security Program
The law faculty engaged Little Bean Group to help identify and engage new prospects and enhance existing fundraising collateral. Following a thorough review and research process, Little Bean Group identified a high-volume pipeline of new prospects for the program and collaborated with development staff and faculty to execute outreach efforts.
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
We engaged with JFGW to help establish and implement fundraising metrics. We created training materials, updated definitions, and sought buy-in from fundraising staff by leading team discussions. Throughout the process, we provided coaching to individual fundraisers and created a fundraising structure to support current and future fundraising efforts.
Clarisse Machanguana Foundation
We were thrilled that the Clarisse Machanguana Foundation contacted Little Bean Group for assistance in thinking through how to tell the story of the Foundation and its important work with youth in Mozambique. Through conversation and collaboration, we created a Case for Giving that the Foundation will use to help prospective donors understand why they should support the organization.
Truman National Security Project and Truman Center
Truman engaged Little Bean Group to revamp their development efforts following the arrival of a new CEO. We built a best-in-class development operation from the ground up, from board engagement to gift processing. Truman built upon these early successes and is experiencing significant growth.
Future of Privacy Forum
FPF and Little Bean Group created a successful prospect engagement and tracking strategy that has led to a significant increase in prospect activity and new membership. Working directly with the CEO and senior staff, we conduct weekly prospect outreach and engage those prospects throughout the development lifecycle.
