Fixes for visionary nonprofit leaders from an expert who’s seen it all.
If you’re struggling with leading a nonprofit, you are not alone. As a five-time executive director, I’ve been there. You’re dropped in the deep end, expected to build the plane while flying it solo, watching your life get swallowed by your job.
It doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way. You’ve got the passion and vision to lead. I’m here to give you the tools and support you need to become the kickass nonprofit leader you’re meant to be.
Nearly every problem nonprofits face can be solved with more revenue. We are the richest country on earth at the richest time in our history. Let’s find you that money.
Anyone can become a great fundraiser with the right toolset, skillset, and mindset. Fundraising doesn’t have to be scary; it can be fun and rewarding for both fundraisers and donors.
It’s time to end the poverty mindset that says nonprofit service will leave you broke and burned out. A life of service should be a powerful force for good for you, your family, and your community.
Nonprofit leaders are entrepreneurs and inventors. We make something out of nothing every day.
We ARE the leaders we have been looking for. We ARE doing a great job starting and running nonprofits. And sometimes, all we need is the right support to DO XX.
We do a terrible job preparing people to lead nonprofits.
The first time I became an executive director, I was 32, a policy and fundraising leader from Michigan, and taking on the responsibility of leading NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina – all as the Great Recession was unfolding.
After accepting the role, I quickly learned the organization had debt I didn’t know about AND our national office had just angered all of our donors. Topping it off, my board wasn’t really interested in fundraising. It was baptism by fire!
By the time I left, we had helped pass two laws, paid all of our debt, had our most successful fundraiser ever with Gloria Steinem, and our organization was doing well.
It was an incredible turnaround, but it took its toll on me personally. I instinctively knew nonprofit leadership didn’t have to be this hard. We didn’t need to drop leaders in the deep end of the pool and expect them to swim without support, training, or even basic orientation.
Our sector – the sector I love and have devoted my career to – can do better.
We CAN empower leaders with skills and support to help them thrive. There ARE tools for fundraising, board development, and leadership that work with 99% of nonprofits—no matter how unique our organizations may feel.
When I started my consulting business, I set out to distill everything I’d learned in 30+ years into practical, easy-to-use tools and trainings. I developed a signature coaching approach that combines mindset shifts with access to a nonprofit expert—someone who can help with mindset shifts as well as tactics and strategies on everything from fundraising to HR to communications.
This surround-sound support takes nonprofits and their leaders from struggling, isolated, and overwhelmed to confident and supported. It transforms fundraising, board dynamics, and burnout.
I give leaders and organizations a shortcut without cutting corners. I give clients step-by-step roadmaps, customized for them, on how to solve all their problems in due time.
I speak plainly and clearly, and people love it. I reassure people when they need it, and help them learn to trust their gut instincts about how to lead. And I teach by example—sharing stories about my biggest mistakes as a leader, as well as successes.
30+ years
of nonprofit leadership
5-time
nonprofit executive director
5,000+
nonprofit leaders trained or coached
+15M
raised myself for nonprofits in my career
Tens of Millions
of dollars raised by my clients and coachees
A Closer Look At My Experience:
In every possible nonprofit role: fundraising, policy, finance, communications, and more.
Across the sector: direct service, grassroots organizing, think tanks, political campaigns, media organizations, and more.
With nonprofits of every size and budget: from startups to $250M annual budgets.
Have proven that a four-day workweek IS possible, practical, and beneficial for nonprofits.
How to Work With Sean
Nonprofit Fixer Fellowship
Group Coaching Program
Master all three pillars of nonprofit leadership in 12 months: build a 100% fundraising board, multiply your revenue, and confidently run ANY nonprofit.
Private Coaching
Private coaching with Sean
Dramatically accelerate your career, confidence, and results. Private coachees benefit from confidentiality, accountability, decision-making support, step-by-step development plans, and more.
Consulting
Consulting retainer packages
Benefit from having a nonprofit expert on your team and on-call when you need it most. Flexible, ongoing support for every aspect of running your nonprofit—from fundraising and boards to communications, systems, and compliance.
Training
fundraising board in 100 days
Kick your board in the butt by giving them the exact tools, skills, and science-based nudges they need to raise 10% of your organization’s budget.
Kick your board in the butt by giving them the exact tools, skills, and science-based nudges they need to raise 10% of your organization’s budget.
Get your board to understand their legal and ethical obligations to stakeholders and to the government, so they see fundraising as their job. Staff are held to high standards. The board should be, too. I’ll show you how.
Learn PROVEN techniques and tools to get your board to stop sitting on the sidelines and finally commit to pitching in on fundraising activities.
Learn how to set high standards, train your board correctly, give them a great orientation (and tools), and then hold them accountable to raise 10% of the organization’s budget.
Learn how your board can “create the conditions for fundraising success” with over 100 tactics that don’t require soliciting friends and family.