For working fundraisers
Fundraising training for the work in front of you.
Prepare for a donor meeting, write an appeal, or work through a plan with your board. The Fundraising Co. brings training and practical tools together for fundraisers in eight sectors and at four career stages. Standard membership is $349 a year; you can explore the framework and free resources now.
8 sector tracks · 4 career stages
Start with the kind of work you do.
You can use the same listening skills at a food bank and a university, but the conversations will be different. Each track applies the Invitation Framework to the people, decisions, and responsibilities in that sector. If you're changing fields, The Bridge helps you identify what you already know and what you'll need to learn.
Faith-Based
Stewardship, offertory, and mission funding for churches, parishes, dioceses, and ministries.
Higher Ed
Advancement for colleges and universities, from annual fund calls to comprehensive campaigns.
K-12 Schools
Annual fund, auction, and capital work for independent, parochial, and charter schools.
Healthcare
Grateful patient programs, hospital foundations, and health-system philanthropy.
Arts & Culture
Membership, patrons, and campaigns for museums, theaters, orchestras, and cultural organizations.
International NGOs
Individual giving, institutional funders, and cross-border fundraising for global missions.
Human Services
Fundraising for food banks, shelters, youth programs, and community organizations.
Environment
Member programs, campaigns, and major donors for environmental and advocacy organizations.
Donor relationships
Measure the relationships you sustain, not just the gifts you secure.
The campaign total matters. So does what happens after the gift: whether you followed through, whether the donor heard from you, and whether they want to stay involved. Make room for those questions in your planning and reporting.
Compare your own costs and assumptions. Price your own cold outreach →
A donor may give once, give regularly, volunteer, or consider a future gift. Let their interests guide the conversation.
Free tool · no sign-in
Run your own numbers with the Retention Snapshot.
Use four figures from your monthly giving program to estimate donor loss and explore possible recovery scenarios.
The method, as a workspace
Work out the next step with a donor.
Willingly™ gives you a place to prepare for a meeting, keep track of what a donor has told you, and plan a thoughtful invitation. You write the message and decide what happens next, including how to follow up when the answer is no.
- Built on the seven movements of the Invitation Framework
Jane, you mentioned how hard it can be for families to find after-school care. Would you consider a gift of $25,000 toward the first year of our afternoon program? I'd be glad to walk through the plan with you.
Fictional example of an invitation written by a fundraiser.
Which career stage are you in?
The work changes as your career does. Every track runs through the same four stages, so you know what to learn next.
New to fundraising, whatever your title
Foundationstypically years 0–2
Learn the work behind your first fundraising plan.
Owning a portfolio and a program
Practitionertypically years 2–7
Plan, manage, and assess your fundraising programs.
Running the shop and the team
Leadershiptypically years 7–15
Run the shop: people, campaigns, and the board.
Leading philanthropy across an institution
Executivetypically years 15+
Lead philanthropy across the institution.
What does membership include?
Training
Lessons and field guides for work from a first donor conversation to leading a fundraising team. Written previews are available while the curriculum is in development.
Materials
Appeal letters, plans, and worksheets to adapt to your organization. Downloads open as each resource clears review.
Support
Member Q&A and a sector-based community are planned for launch. Studio adds document feedback and office hours.
Try it before you join
Browse free module outlines and current written previews. The curriculum is still in development; downloadable materials open as they clear review.
- Free previewHow Fundraising WorksFoundations
- Free previewThank-Yous That Keep DonorsFoundations
- Free previewMetrics That Matter: Your Development DashboardPractitioner
- Free previewCapital Campaign ReadinessLeadership
- Free previewSuccession, Consulting & Your Next ChapterExecutive
- Free previewEthical AI in Fundraising: Keeping the Donor FreePractitioner