How We Work
Rooted in clarity, not complexity
Every engagement starts the same way — by understanding your organization before prescribing anything. Here's what that looks like, start to finish.
Discover
We begin by listening and learning — spending time with your donor pipeline, past campaigns, team, and board to understand where your fundraising truly stands. Usually 1–2 weeks.
Design
A collaborative, relational plan built together with your team — focused priorities, timeline, and the specific service mix that fits, never a generic playbook.
Deliver
Hands-on work alongside your team: strategy sessions, embedded leadership, donor management, or a facilitated retreat.
Sustain
Documentation, training, and a handoff plan so what has been built will keep running after we step back.
In Depth
Three ways we work with you
Transformational Giving
Major donor strategy built around your highest-capacity relationships — moves management, gift planning, and ask strategy designed to deepen trust before deepening the ask, backed by the case for support and donor-facing materials that make the ask land.
- Donor portfolio audit and segmentation by capacity and affinity
- Moves management system design and rollout
- Case for support development and major-gift proposal writing
- HNW and UHNW donor communications and stewardship assets
- Board and staff coaching on donor conversations
- 90-day and annual major gifts plan with clear metrics
Fractional Leadership
Interim or embedded senior fundraising leadership — serving as your Director of Development, Chief Development Officer, or Advancement Director — for organizations between hires, scaling a program, or needing experienced direction without adding a full-time role.
- Acting as (or alongside) your Director of Development, Chief Development Officer, or Advancement Director
- Team management, hiring support, and performance coaching
- Budget, forecasting, and board reporting on fundraising KPIs
- Continuity of major donor relationships during transitions
- Structured handoff plan to a permanent hire
Team Retreats
A two-day, in-person retreat built to do more than the name implies — this is about building a flourishing culture, real capacity, and shared strength, with honest realignment around mission and values. Fundraising teams are carrying acute pressure right now; this is the space to address it directly, then leave with the focus and direction that unlocks deeper generosity from donors.
- Pre-retreat interviews with your team and senior leaders to surface real dynamics, gaps, and opportunities
- Two full days, in person, addressing strategy, team gaps, and realignment around mission and values
- Facilitated sessions built for teams carrying real, acute pressure — not generic team-building exercises
- Genuine team connection time woven throughout, plus concrete building blocks to leave with
- Optional overnight extension with a guest speaker on a topic identified with your senior staff
- A written summary with concrete next steps, plus an optional 30-day follow-up
Questions
Frequently asked
You get a senior fundraising leader for a set number of days per week, embedded in your team the way a staff member would be — running strategy, managing reports, and holding donor relationships — without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
A consultant typically advises from the outside. Fractional leadership means we sit inside your org chart, make decisions, manage people, and are accountable for results — closer to an interim hire than an advisor.
Transformational giving strategy engagements usually run 3–6 months. Fractional leadership placements run 3–12 months, often bridging to a permanent hire. Team retreats run two days, with an optional overnight extension and a 30-day follow-up.
Yes — this isn't just remote consulting. Before founding Giardino Agency, we led fundraising strategy for international NGOs across Africa and Asia. We understand first-hand what it takes to raise major gifts for work happening on the other side of the world from your donors.
A two-day, in-person retreat with real purpose — pre-retreat interviews to understand where your team stands, facilitated sessions addressing strategy, team gaps and opportunities, and honest realignment around mission and values, plus genuine team connection time and concrete building blocks to leave with. If it runs overnight, we can bring in a guest speaker on a topic identified with your senior staff beforehand. You'll leave with a written summary and concrete next steps — the kind of retreat that builds real focus and direction, and unlocks deeper generosity from donors.
We work with small, growing shops raising under roughly $2M annually and just building a major gifts program; mid-size organizations scaling one; high-revenue organizations needing sophisticated strategy for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth donors; teams needing realignment or restructuring who need steady, senior fundraising leadership; and international development, humanitarian, and other global-facing organizations balancing field impact with donor relationships and HQ strategy. If you're not sure where you fit, a first call will clarify that quickly.