I am perhaps the most risk-averse person you will ever meet. I constantly check bus times, train times, and airplane departure times in fear that I will miss my ride. I set my watch and clocks 5 minutes ahead of schedule so I won’t be late. I think about consequences and what could go wrong before making virtually any decision.
Therefore, leaving a well-paying and stable job would seem out of character for me. After 15 years working for large institutions in a variety of roles – frontline fundraiser, manager, Assistant Vice President, Chief of Staff – I hit a wall. I realized that I needed a new challenge. So in February 2019, I launched my fundraising consulting firm, Little Bean Group (“LBG”).
I had seen success helping to launch and meet billion dollar capital campaigns, I managed dozens of teams with hundreds of staff members. I had closed impactful gifts that would forever change the footprint of an institution, But as time passed, there were only so many problems to solve and new ways of doing things when you work at large bureaucratic institutions. I began to think about how I could look at these issues at smaller organizations and help them navigate through. Questions like “How do we find more prospects?” “How do we touch more donors?” “How do we better retain and steward donors?” all began to emerge in my mind. I thought about how to create a development strategy from scratch, how to build a development department, how to assess fundraising capacity and progress. I became more interested and excited about those questions than my day to day work and that’s when I felt it was time to move on.
My approach to client work is customized and detail oriented. Although the same strategy may work for various organizations, the devil is in the details. I spend considerable amounts of time getting to know the organization, its work, and its staff. One client recently shared that I “took the time to deeply understand our strengths and goals and helped us think strategically about partners and long-term development”. I deeply appreciate those words as they encapsulate my approach to client work.
In the two years since I launched LBG, I have worked with a public charter school, a national security leadership training organization, a prominent university, an umbrella community organization, a think tank/advocacy group, and an independent school, among others. I also hold time every month for pro bono consultations with organizations. I take my relationships with my clients very seriously and consider it a point of pride that I provide them sound advice that is backed by over 15 years of experience. As a small business, I am the primary consultant working and interfacing with clients. I have a great team behind me who help with digital strategy, content development, design, and website maintenance. But at the end of the day, I am responsible for the product I put out. This is a big responsibility and one that I don’t take lightly.
Each client’s focus and work is unique, as are their fundraising needs. No day is the same and I am never bored. I enjoy the variety of work, the many different people I work with regularly, and the opportunity to make a difference.