A self-paced course built for first-year development directors at small and mid-sized nonprofits. Audit what you inherited. Build a functioning fundraising program. Stop guessing.
Organized across three acts: Diagnose, Build, Execute.
Lessons, worksheets, and frameworks you can apply immediately.
Templates, worksheets, and planning tools you take with you.
Module quizzes to reinforce learning and track progress.
Exclusive content on real-world fundraising challenges.
Revisit modules anytime. No expiration. No time limits.
Months 1–3 · What do you actually have?
Audit what you inherited across five areas: donor data, revenue mix, communications, systems, and board engagement. Walk out with a 60-Day Findings Report you can hand to your ED.
Deliverable: A completed diagnostic and findings report
Months 1–3 · What's broken? What's the plan?
Set revenue goals from actual data, not wishes. Evaluate which channels to keep, kill, or build. Learn to use the Shiny Object Filter to protect your time from bad ideas dressed up as opportunities.
Deliverable: A 12-month fundraising plan with monthly benchmarks
Months 4–7 · Who gave, and why did they stop?
Segment your list even when it's small. Learn why donors give (and stop giving). Map your non-ask touchpoints before making a single solicitation. Build your post-gift protocol.
Deliverable: A donor segmentation map and 12-month stewardship calendar
Months 4–7 · Build the systems that make fundraising repeatable
Rebuild your communications around three pieces every shop needs: the impact report, the appeal letter, and the stewardship touch. Build a 12-month editorial calendar that balances asks with deposits.
Deliverable: An editorial calendar and 3 draft communications
Months 4–7 · Build your first package
Build your first package. Find your first 10 prospects. Learn what companies actually buy (it's not your logo). Script the ask meeting for when you have no track record.
Deliverable: A sponsorship package and a 10-company prospect list
Months 8–12 · When grants make sense and when they're a trap
Learn when grants make sense and when they're a trap. Write an LOI that gets you to the full proposal. Set up a grant calendar so deadlines stop surprising you.
Deliverable: A grant calendar and a draft LOI
Months 8–12 · Give them a menu, not a mandate
Stop telling board members they 'should be fundraising.' Give them The Fundraising Menu: 12 structured ways to support development, from making thank-you calls to hosting a table. Let them choose. All of it counts.
Deliverable: A customized board fundraising menu and commitment letters
Months 8–12 · Put the systems to work
Calculate the monthly recurring number that covers your baseline operating costs. That's your Monthly Giving Floor. Then build the program: conversion letters, signup page, retention protocol.
Deliverable: A monthly giving program launch plan
Months 8–12 · Prove the model
This is the proving ground. Everything you built in Modules 1–8 gets tested in an 8-week campaign. Segmented asks, multi-channel touchpoints, a December 31 tactical playbook, and a January debrief that sets up Year Two.
Deliverable: A complete year-end campaign plan and appeal draft
I built them because the standard advice doesn't work in a small shop with no budget.
A structured 60-day audit that replaces gut instinct with data. Five areas, scored. The same process I used on day one when I needed to know what was broken before I could fix anything.
Four questions that kill bad fundraising ideas fast. When someone suggests a gala, a golf tournament, or a peer-to-peer campaign, run it through the filter. Most won't survive. That's the point.
Board engagement without guilt. Give your board 12 structured choices for how they can support fundraising. Stop expecting every board member to be a major gift solicitor.
The monthly recurring revenue number that covers your baseline operating costs. Calculate it once. Build toward it all year. When you hit it, you sleep better.
What happens in the two days after a gift determines whether you get a second one. This protocol covers the thank-you call, the receipt, the personal note, and the data entry. Four steps. Non-negotiable.
Self-paced online course with lifetime access.
© 2026 Kyle Conner, CFRE