Purposeful. Strategic. Innovative.

A woman-owned, woman-led collective that helps nonprofits build forward-looking development and communications practices that innovate — and get results.

We’re rooted in the fundamentals that have helped over 150 nonprofit clients succeed, but wired to help you navigate an ever-changing landscape of digital transformation. We work through a lens of justice, equity, and belonging to help build the power and voice of the communities we and our clients serve.

Common Great customizes our approach based on your mission, history, impact model, stage of growth, budget, and staff capacity. Our core team works with and consults for multiple nonprofits simultaneously - operating with an iterative culture of teaching and continuous learning that unleashes your ability to succeed after our work together. We constantly test innovative ideas and emerging practices in real-time across all our clients, and apply those lessons to your organization too.

Justice, Equity & Inclusion Towards Collective Liberation

Nonprofits navigate a world of structural and systemic inequities and privilege based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability – including the fundamental intersection of race with other aspects of identity. This compromises our collective efforts to create a more equitable world.

As an adviser to nonprofits, Common Great has a responsibility to use our positioning to help build the power and voice of our clients and the communities they serve – without further reinforcing injustice or perpetuating harm. 

Informed by the principles of community-centric fundraising, our methodology helps our clients develop communications and fundraising practices that are effective and sustainable – but also ethical, equitable, and inclusive. Our pragmatic approach helps nonprofits sustainably shift their internal practices and external communications, navigate power dynamics with donors and funders, and invite the whole community to help solve collective challenges. 

We meet each organization where they are on their equity journey – but we refuse to work with organizations whose mission, programs, or advocacy activities result in greater social, economic, or political harm and oppression of historically marginalized people and communities. Our efforts may be imperfect, especially as a white-led team, but we are committed to continuous learning and being accountable for our impact, not just our intentions.  

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Taking a percentage commission is against the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Code of Ethics. Every AFP member promises to put philanthropic mission above personal gain, which includes declining compensation structures built on commission or contingency, or that incentivize sacrificing long-term donor relationship-building for short-term results. Common Great works through project-specific flat fees, hourly rates, or retainers with clear services, deliverables, commitments, and policies.

  • Nope. Success in fundraising is dependent on many factors that look different for each organization: the existing donor base, the leadership and board’s commitment to participate, staff size and experience, random acts of deities, and more. But we can guarantee you’ll get our full attention, best ideas, and the benefit of our experience helping 120+ nonprofits raise over $40M.

  • While we run campaigns and can advise you on strategy for cultivating your major donors, being an “ace for hire” isn’t our style of consulting. In the long run, it’s far more effective for you to manage your own major donor relationships than to hand them over to a temporary team member. We infuse our projects with a culture of teaching and learning and focus on increasing your skills and capabilities. We don’t want to go fishing for you—we want to teach you how to fish. It’s always our goal to take the fear and apprehension out of fundraising, and to work our way out of a client needing us in order to succeed.

  • We’re not live event planners—our strength lies in the communications and philanthropic strategy for an event, along with knowing how to leverage events as an important tool in your year-long fundraising strategy. We’ve recently helped several organizations with converting their in-person events to virtual. If you need help with in-person event logistics, we can refer you to several trusted partners who specialize in event planning and can help you create the event of your dreams.