Activate New Supporters
Fundraising isn't about asking. It's about earning.
I approach fundraising as a trust-building process with three strategic phases and recursive feedback loops:
Brand
Craft messaging that stops scrollers and starts conversations. This isn't about logos or taglines; it's about understanding your audience deeply and defining what makes you impossible to ignore.
Marketing
You've got their attention. Now earn their trust through honest storytelling, consistent presence, and showing up like you mean it, again and again.
Fundraising
When people trust you, they invest. With their dollars. Their time. Their voice. That's how movements grown … not just through donations but through deep, sustained participation.
There are 2 million nonprofits in the U.S. Most are invisible.
Despite incredible missions, they struggle to cut through the noise, build trust and secure sustainable funding.
The problem isn't their cause — it's their voice.
Latest insights
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Can We All Become Nonprofit Consultants? (NPQ)
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A Conversation with Vu Le
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We Optimized Everything, And Made It Worse
Three ways I can
help you
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From community-driven fundraising to brand-centered marketing, Michelle delivers engaging talks that challenge outdated playbooks, inspire new thinking, and equip teams to lead with authenticity.
Through storytelling and strategy, these engagements help nonprofits reimagine donor relationships, build movements around their mission, and grow with purpose.
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Elevate your nonprofit with the right community-driven strategies in fundraising, donor engagement, marketing, and brand to amplify your impact and deepen supporter connections.
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Access open-source, actionable guides on fundraising, marketing, and nonprofit career growth—no sign-ups required, ready to share with your team.
The story you tell shapes the support you get.
Generic messaging gets ignored. And inconsistent storytelling breeds skepticism. And without trust, even the best missions struggle to get funded.
The organizations that break through don't have better missions. They have better belief systems — and a strategy to match.
Let's build yours.
Kind words from nonprofiteers
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![Tasha Van Vlack headshot]()
"Michelle speaks not only from her vast nonprofit experience, but she also speaks from the heart. She is willing to question WHY the social impact space operates as it does with a kindness and caring that brokers conversations vs. alienation. "
Tasha Van Vlack
CEO at The Nonprofit Hive -
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"Michelle helped broker an awesome program partnership for Austin Youth River Watch a couple years ago that we are still benefiting from today. Michelle has so much wisdom to share and does so with such a uniquely empathetic and highly engaging style. I recommend Michelle highly for any project related to nonprofits or development. She is fabulous!"
Melinda Chow
Co-ED at Austin Youth River Watch -
![Headshot of Mitch Stein]()
"I've had the opportunity to collaborate with Michelle several times over the years and she always brings amazing insight on nonprofit work with refreshing candor. Her thoughtful and genuine approach invites people into a transformative conversation and builds real community. I always recommend her for speaking opportunities and strategic support."
Mitch Stein
Head of Strategy at Chariot -
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"Michelle and I met after worlds intersected because of the community-centric fundraising movement. It has been a privilege to see how Michelle shows up for this industry everyday - from her intentional, thought-provoking posts to speaking sessions around inclusive leadership in fundraising practices."
Meenakshi (Meena) Das
CEO at NamasteData.org -
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"Michelle was our very first choice for introducing Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) to the Center for Child Protection. Her knowledge of the history of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector was invaluable to creating the context for CCF values and principles, especially for those new to the movement. We are so grateful to have partnered with Michelle in our education and growth."
Shelley McKann
Grants Manager, Center for Child Protection -
![Zoe Metcalf]()
"I was drawn to Michelle by her authenticity and insights into topics of critical interest to me – the nonprofit community, professionalism and ethics in fundraising. Her authoritative voice drives conversations for good. I’ve learned a great deal from Michelle’s thoughtful perspective on our shared work."
Zoe Metcalf
Director of Development
Texas 2036
