the messy middle—the part of the campaign most consultants don’t tell you about.

If you’ve ever had a CFO pop into your office (or Zoom) and say: “Quick question… when will the money from this campaign actually come in?” …you probably felt a small wave of panic. Not because it’s a bad question. It’s a great question. It’s just that most fundraisers live in the gray and nuance of: “likely but not yet committed,” “they said they’re very interested,” “we’re waiting for their board to meet,” …while finance lives in the black-and-white world o

You’re sitting in a board meeting, and someone says it: “So… our goal is to raise this money by next June, right?” Heads nod. People are energized. The timeline sounds bold and inspiring. And in your gut, you know: There is no way. This is one of the most common campaign tensions I see: a timeline that looks great on a slide, but doesn’t match your donor pipeline, internal capacity, or external realities. The good news? You don’t have to choose between being the “no” person a

Instead of guessing or telling donors what they want, co-create the gift with them.