Helping nonprofits and funders build right-sized approaches that fit their capacity, values, and communities.
Shifting practices,
centering community
Nice to meet you.
About Andrea
My work is grounded in Community-Centric Fundraising, where I served as a founding Co-Chair, and shaped by over two decades in the nonprofit sector. I’ve worked inside organizations, alongside boards, and within philanthropy, giving me a deep understanding of both team dynamics and the systems that shape how money moves.
I’ve seen how often fundraising expectations don’t match reality. Teams are stretched thin, boards feel unsure of their role, and strategies become overwhelming or unsustainable.
I approach this work by slowing things down; helping teams understand what’s possible, then prioritize what’s actually doable. The result is approaches that feel clear, shared, and sustainable.
My experience spans arts and culture, education, parks and public spaces, and fiscal sponsorship, as well as time working in philanthropy supporting equitable grantmaking. Across all of this work, I’m interested in how resources move, how relationships are built, and how organizations can align their practices with the communities they serve.
Grounded in Community-Centric Fundraising
Community-Centric Fundraising is a movement that aims to reimagine fundraising and philanthropy in the nonprofit sector. It encourages critical examination of traditional practices, aiming to advance social justice and minimize harm.
”The 10 Principles are how we aspire to transform fundraising and philanthropy, so that they are co-grounded in racial and economic justice.”
— Community-Centric Fundraising
Support & Services
Every organization has different goals, capacity, and community relationships. My role is to help you build a fundraising or grantmaking approach that fits your reality. Here are some of the ways we can work together:
Fundraising
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Let’s start with your people.
Through a collaborative community mapping process, we’ll identify the individuals, groups, and networks most connected to your work. Rather than relying only on traditional donor categories, we’ll explore relationships, affinities, and shared values to better understand who is already in your ecosystem, and who could be.
Together, we’ll uncover:
Core communities and adjacent audiences
Potential donors, partners, and champions
Relationship pathways and connectors
Messaging that resonates with real people
From there, we’ll identify key affinity groups and explore how different audiences connect to your work. These insights help ensure your outreach, communications, and fundraising efforts reflect the full breadth of your community.
This process lays the foundation for more meaningful outreach, stronger relationships, and sustainable fundraising growth.
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Fundraising isn’t just about what’s possible. It’s about what’s possible for you.
I help organizations prioritize fundraising efforts that align with their actual capacity, team structure, and energy. That might include exploring opportunities like major gifts, monthly giving, events, or sponsorships, and then deciding what’s realistic to implement right now.
Together, we’ll:
Identify high-impact opportunities
Prioritize what’s doable and sustainable
Build a fundraising plan that fits your team
Create a clear, manageable roadmap
The goal isn’t to do everything; it’s to do the right things well.
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Let’s shape how you show up.
We’ll develop messaging and communications strategies that reflect your values, center your community, and invite people into deeper relationship. This includes donor communications, storytelling, and engagement strategies that move beyond transactional fundraising.
Together, we’ll:
Refine your organizational positioning and voice
Develop audience-informed messaging
Strengthen donor communications and appeals
Build cultivation and stewardship touchpoints
Using insights from community mapping, we’ll ensure your communications and fundraising calendar are speaking to all of your key audiences on a recurring basis. This helps expand awareness, deepen engagement, and create more opportunities for individual, corporate, and institutional support.
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At some point, you have to ask.
I support staff and board members in preparing for real fundraising conversation, whether that’s major donors, recurring gifts, sponsorships, partnerships, or community support.
This includes:
Identifying and prioritizing prospects
Preparing outreach and engagement strategies
Creating simple, clear ask scripts
Practicing conversations and building confidence
This work helps take the fear out of fundraising and replaces it with clarity and intention.
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Fundraising doesn’t have to feel intimidating or unclear.
This workshop is designed for boards, especially those in smaller or emerging organizations, who may not have prior experience with fundraising. Together, we’ll walk through the basics of how fundraising actually works, with a focus on relationship-building rather than pressure or transactional asks.
We’ll cover:
The donor journey, from prospecting to gratitude
Common fundraising activities and where they fit
What it really means to “make an ask”
The many ways board members can participate
Most importantly, we’ll create space for board members to reflect on how they want to engage. Whether that’s prospecting, cultivation, stewardship, solicitation, or recognition, each person can identify a role that feels aligned and doable.
The goal is to replace uncertainty with clarity, and to help your board feel more confident, prepared, and connected to your fundraising efforts.
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Strategy is only useful if it can be implemented.
I provide a set of practical tools and templates to help teams track progress, stay organized, and build confidence in their fundraising efforts over time. These tools are designed to meet organizations where they are, especially those without large teams or formal systems in place.
Together, we’ll not only introduce these tools, but customize and use them in real time so they become part of your workflow.
This may include:
Fundraising metrics trackers to monitor progress toward goals, from year-over-year retention, to monthly targets, and individual staff or board engagement goals
Annual giving calendars to map cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship throughout the year
Grant tracking tools for organizations without formal databases
Storybanking templates to help program and non-fundraising staff capture meaningful quotes, testimonials, and moments as they happen
These tools help connect day-to-day work with long-term fundraising success, ensuring that important stories, relationships, and opportunities are not lost.
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I offer workshops, training, and ongoing support to help teams build confidence and capacity over time.
This may include:
Introduction to Community-Centric Fundraising
Fundraising fundamentals and training
Team and board alignment sessions
Ongoing coaching, accountability, and strategy support
Workshops can stand alone or be integrated into longer-term partnerships.
Grantmaking
I support funders and philanthropic institutions who are interested in reimagining how resources are distributed, relationships are built, and community is centered in decision-making.
My approach is informed by my experience working inside philanthropy, combined with my ongoing work in Community-Centric Fundraising. I understand both the internal dynamics of foundations and the real-world impact of funding decisions on communities.
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Philanthropy is not neutral. It reflects values, priorities, and power.
I work with funders to explore and clarify their philanthropic goals, while also creating space to reflect on how those goals show up in practice. Together, we examine funding priorities, decision-making processes, and definitions of impact.
This work may include:
Clarifying values and funding priorities
Aligning strategy with equity and community-centered principles
Identifying gaps between intention and practice
Establishing goals that reflect both impact and accountability
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Many funders are asking how to move toward more equitable grantmaking, but aren’t always sure what that looks like in practice.
I support teams in examining and evolving their grantmaking processes to reduce burden, increase access, and center community voice.
This may include:
Reviewing application and reporting processes
Identifying barriers for smaller or under-resourced organizations
Exploring participatory or community-informed approaches
Aligning grantmaking practices with stated equity commitments
The goal is not perfection, but progress toward more thoughtful, responsive, and accountable funding practices.
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Who gets funded is often shaped by who is already visible.
I support funders in expanding how they identify and learn about prospective grantees, moving beyond traditional signals of capacity or proximity.
Together, we explore:
Community-informed recommendations and networks
Relationship-based discovery approaches
Alternative ways of understanding impact and alignment
Opportunities to build trust before funding decisions are made
This work helps funders develop a broader and more representative understanding of the communities they aim to support.
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Funders don’t operate in isolation, even when it feels that way.
I help identify opportunities for collaboration across philanthropic networks, with the goal of reducing duplication, sharing learning, and increasing collective impact.
This may include:
Identifying aligned funders and partners
Exploring co-funding or collaborative opportunities
Strengthening relationships across funding ecosystems
Supporting shared learning and strategy alignment
Testimonials
“I had the privilege to work with Andrea to create a new line of work that contributed to deep impact in multiple communities across the United States. Her ability to engage with communities, understand the needs and opportunities, and create sustainable and actionable solutions is just one of her superpowers. Andrea leads with equity, challenges predominant narratives, and lives in a space of continual learning. Working with her made me better and I look forward to any opportunity to engage with her again.”
— Mary Rennekamp
“Andrea has been many things to me: a teacher, mentor, director, colleague, collaborator, and friend. As an unassuming leader, she possesses an innate ability to connect with others and cultivate relationships. When I began my job as Annual Giving Manager at the Seattle Parks Foundation, she recognized something in me that I couldn't see myself and was a constant ally as I grew in my role. As the Co-Founder of Community-Centric Fundraising, she consistently demonstrates her commitment to equity and social justice, fearlessly speaking truth to power. You can always count on her to bring authenticity to any conversation or mission.”
— Sarah Olivo, Annual Giving Manager at Seattle Parks Foundation
Clients
I’ve had the privilege of working alongside organizations across the nonprofit sector.
Collaborators
Michelle Shireen Muri
Ignited by a beautiful volunteer experience, Michelle has crafted her career through 15 years of resource generation through social justice movements. Her successes and tenure at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, now the largest immigrant rights org in the nation, fostered a critical lens towards fundraising and a deep love of community solidarity.
She believes there is deep power and personal healing in the work of generating resources from a values-aligned space.
Michelle is the founder of Freedom Conspiracy, Co-Chair of the founding Seattle chapter for Community-Centric Fundraising and host of The Ethical Rainmaker podcast.
Get in touch.
Let's shift practices and center community together!
