As a fundraiser for over thirty years, I’ve often been contacted for free advice by friends involved with nonprofits. The groups are generally small and my fee has been a few cups of coffee. After a number of conversations with one such friend whom I had coached over numerous cups of coffee, she decided to do more face-to-face major gifts solicitations. She contacted me on her way to meet with a great prospect to find out if, after she had asked the prospect for a significant donation, would it be alright to ask that same donor if she knew others who might be interested in supporting the cause. The simple answer was YES. And from that conversation, I realized that my friend was certainly not alone. There are many others like her, working for small, underfunded nonprofits that could use some good advice on a regular basis and some solid coaching on the basics of fundraising.

From that experience grew MatchDotDollars. As a consultant, my favorite clients have been small nonprofits that raise adequate funding, but have the potential to raise so much more with the right tools and guidance. Generally, these clients do not have trained fundraising staff and have limited resources to pay for consulting services. Offering professional fundraising services at a below market rate, by matching experienced fundraisers with these small nonprofits to work for one year, seemed to be the way to go. And so, MatchDotDollars was born.