Individual giving strategies & systems for messy missions that don’t fit the traditional fundraising playbook.
From Scratch Fundraising builds individual giving programs for complex, hard-to-explain, and niche causes — the ones that traditional fundraising advice leaves behind.
You've followed enough recipes that were never meant for your mission. Let's craft one that’s uniquely yours.
Traditional fundraising advice was written for causes with tidy stories and before-and-after photos. If your mission is complex, niche, or hard to explain in an elevator pitch, that recipe was never going to work for you — and that's not because you did something wrong.
It's not you.
It's the recipe.
It's not you. It's the recipe.
You're not bad at fundraising.
You're using the wrong recipe.
Most nonprofit fundraising advice assumes a direct-service org: a clear "before," a clear "after," a photo that says it all. Advocacy work, arts, disability services, historic preservation, policy — none of that fits neatly into that box. So you follow the advice anyway, it doesn't turn out right, and you start to wonder if the problem is you.
It's not you. It's the recipe.
We started from scratch — and it changed everything.
Founder Kelly McLaughlin spent years fundraising by the book: content calendars, best practices, algorithm-chasing.
It didn't work, and it didn't feel good — for her, her staff, or her donors. So she threw out the recipe and started fundraising like a community organizer instead: relationships first, dollars second.
That's what "from scratch" means here. Not a store-bought mix — a program built from the actual shape of your mission, not from someone else's recipe.
How We Work With You to Find Your Recipe
Nurture & Grow — 1:1 partnership
A 6-month hands-on engagement for orgs who want a strategist building the plan alongside them — a custom recipe, not a template, from the ground up.
Sustain & Thrive — group coaching & learning
A 12-month program for Executive Directors building individual giving for missions that don't fit the standard recipe. Monthly curriculum, weekly coaching, a cohort of EDs doing the same work. Pay-as-you-grow pricing from $25/month.
Speaking & Training
Kelly speaks on individual giving for complex missions, board engagement in fundraising, and burnout-free fundraising — virtually and in-person, for conferences or retreats.