Philanthropy Expert partners with nonprofit executives and boards to strengthen strategy, governance, fundraising, and leadership performance. Our work blends structure, accountability, and strengths-based insight to create measurable progress and long-term sustainability.
Our Advisory Focus Areas
Organizational Strategy: Aligning mission, priorities, and decision-making frameworks to move vision into action.
Fundraising Strategy: Clarifying revenue goals, campaign planning, donor engagement strategy, and messaging that drives results.
Board Governance & Development: Strengthening board composition, agreements, bylaws, recruitment strategy, and governance posture.
Strategic Planning Facilitation: Leading collaborative planning processes that create clarity, ownership, and measurable outcomes.
Executive Performance & 360 Evaluations: Designing and facilitating structured 360 reviews for Executive Directors and CEOs to support growth, alignment, and transparent feedback. Guiding boards through effective, mission-aligned annual performance feedback that strengthens the Board-Executive partnership.
Employee Engagement & Organizational Culture: Supporting communication, alignment, and performance across leadership and teams.
Human Resources Advisory: Providing guidance on role clarity, accountability systems, organizational structure, and leadership transitions.
Performance & Accountability Systems: Establishing leadership rhythms, metrics, and meeting structures that drive consistent progress.
Leadership Development (Strengths-Based Approach): Executive and team coaching grounded in Gallup CliftonStrengths to improve confidence, influence, and effectiveness.
Client Testimonials
“Through strategic planning, board governance training, and coaching, Philanthropy Expert helped us strengthen how we function as a board — from clear agreements and bylaws to more intentional board composition. We now have an engaged, well-rounded board ready to lead Four Mile forward.”
– Elsa Harberg, Four Mile Historic Park
“The greatest value from coaching this year was the clarity around our goals and the structure to meet them. Brainstorming together and receiving guidance on fundraising plans and messaging gave our team the confidence to act — and we closed the year exceeding our campaign goal in just 14 hours.”
– Brittany Sanelli, Institute for Taoist Education and Acupuncture
“I cannot thank you enough for all the support, encouragement, and insight you offered to me over the last 18 months. I learned so much from you. It’s clear that you are dedicated to helping and empowering other to achieve success. My first year, was hard in so many ways, but nothing compared to what happened in 2025 and continues still today. Your willingness to listen and provide ideas on how to best navigate and move forward has been greatly appreciated. You also continue to encourage taking care of me – which I know I am not the best at doing, but fully recognize its importance.”
– Jody Curl, Project Safeguard
Want to learn more? Contact smonahan@philanthropyexpert.org to discuss.
