Organizations often need to test the waters before launching a major campaign. Al will analyze your capacity to carry out a capital campaign, and he will help you craft a persuasive case statement. Then Al will discuss that case statement individually with donors and funders and candidly assess the potential success of your campaign.
Al will design a structure for your capital campaign, help you prioritize your prospects, train and support your volunteer and staff solicitors, and put the pieces in place to support your success.
Al helps staff and board leadership undertake strategic planning processes that promote a deeper understanding of institutional values, an appreciation for external challenges, and a focus on critical–and often overlooked–issues.
Al provides training on a variety of subjects, including clarifying the roles of board and staff; attracting, cultivating, and keeping donors; understanding planned giving and creating an effective gift planning program; and building a culture of philanthropy. In his trainings, Al works to demystify fundraising and to change the development process from a subject of apprehension to one of excitement and opportunity.
Al helps organizations analyze their fundraising staffing, plans, methods, priorities, and infrastructure, and he recommends changes so they can better achieve their goals.
Al assists nonprofit organizations with various aspects of charitable gift planning. These services include providing training to boards and staff, educating donors, building the infrastructure for accepting and managing gifts, and being on-call for confidential conversations with his clients’ donors regarding their personal gift planning.
It’s not easy being the CEO. Al can help nonprofit leaders gain perspective, reprioritize their responsibilities, manage and delegate, and move the organization forward toward ultimate success.
His work is always meticulously researched and provocative.
“Al Cantor speaks fearlessly about key issues in the nonprofit sector. His work is always meticulously researched and provocative. His
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“Al Cantor speaks fearlessly about key issues in the nonprofit sector. His work is always meticulously researched and provocative. His voice is critical to advancing the conversation about the future of nonprofits.”
Read more “His work is always meticulously researched and provocative.”
Brian Mittendorf, Chair, Department of Accounting & MIS, Fisher College of Business Distinguished Professor
[We] would never have gotten to this point without Al’s support and guidance.
“As a young organization, we needed a consultant who could help us develop our fundraising infrastructure. Al walked us through
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“As a young organization, we needed a consultant who could help us develop our fundraising infrastructure. Al walked us through everything from donor forms to Board education, ensuring that we developed a system that worked for our size organization. We have just embarked on our first ever campaign and would never have gotten to this point without Al’s support and guidance.”
Read more “[We] would never have gotten to this point without Al’s support and guidance.”
Shana Hawrylchak, Executive Director
Al approaches complex issues with thoughtfulness, moral clarity, and ardor.
“There are few individuals writing and working in the philanthropic sector today who approach complex, controversial issues with more thoughtfulness,
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“There are few individuals writing and working in the philanthropic sector today who approach complex, controversial issues with more thoughtfulness, moral clarity, and ardor — qualities that are rarely found sympathetically aligned — than Al Cantor. In particular, his work raising alarms about the rise of donor-advised funds has been a vitally important civic service.”
Read more “Al approaches complex issues with thoughtfulness, moral clarity, and ardor.”
Ben Soskis, Research Associate in the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Al’s guidance helped turn our organization around.
“Al’s guidance helped turn our organization around. Thanks to his recommendations, we have seen improvements on our board, staff, systems,
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“Al’s guidance helped turn our organization around. Thanks to his recommendations, we have seen improvements on our board, staff, systems, and tools. We then hired Al two years after his initial report to give us a sense of our status since we first worked with him, and his perspective re-propelled us into a new level where the word ‘growth’ is no longer a dream, but a reality.”
Read more “Al’s guidance helped turn our organization around.”
Doug Bechtel, President
Al brought out the best in our staff and board.
“Al invested the time to get to know the people behind our mission and guided us in creating a strategic
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“Al invested the time to get to know the people behind our mission and guided us in creating a strategic framework that uniquely fit our organization. He was wonderful to work with and brought out the best in our staff and board. He helped us identify our key strengths and a shared vision for our future so we can evolve our programs while staying true to our values.”
Heather Inyart , Executive Director
[Our] planning session couldn’t have gone better.
“Al led our Board of Trustees and staff in a strategic planning session that couldn’t have gone better. Because he
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“Al led our Board of Trustees and staff in a strategic planning session that couldn’t have gone better. Because he is so personable, we all felt comfortable in our discussions. Not only did we come together as a group under Al’s leadership, we have a very workable plan going forward.”
Read more “[Our] planning session couldn’t have gone better.”
Ann Thompson, Executive Director
On the ‘new information’ scale, Al was a 10.
“Minnesota’s nonprofits are eager to address critical issues facing their organizations, and seek out learning opportunities that address both the
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“Minnesota’s nonprofits are eager to address critical issues facing their organizations, and seek out learning opportunities that address both the how and why of their work. Al Cantor’s keynote address to our Nonprofit Finance and Sustainability Conference hit this objective perfectly: new information, hard numbers, ethical challenges, inspiring examples and a persuasive call to action. On the ‘new information’ scale Al was a ‘10,’ presenting an exceptional and singular perspective that is too rare in the fields of nonprofits and philanthropy, which actually goes back to the roots of why we do this work in the first place.”
Jon Pratt, Executive Director
Al Cantor has helped our organization level up.
“With remarkable insight, Al Cantor has helped our organization level up. Al understands scale, and was able to survey our
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“With remarkable insight, Al Cantor has helped our organization level up. Al understands scale, and was able to survey our key stakeholders, assess our operations, and recommend organizational improvements that have worked like a charm.”
James Sturm, Co-Founder
He provided an insightful assessment of where we had been and where we should go.
“Al’s well-honed development experience and innate interpersonal intelligence are unparalleled. He provided an insightful assessment of where we had been
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“Al’s well-honed development experience and innate interpersonal intelligence are unparalleled. He provided an insightful assessment of where we had been and where we should go at a time when we needed to engineer a culture shift in development practices. His insights generated quick and complete engagement from our board and volunteer leadership for our new initiatives.”
Read more “He provided an insightful assessment of where we had been and where we should go.”
Sarah Palermo, Director
Al has become my go-to guy for sage advice delivered with kindness and humor.
“Al has become my go-to guy for sage advice delivered with kindness and humor. Last year, we bolstered ‘all things’
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“Al has become my go-to guy for sage advice delivered with kindness and humor. Last year, we bolstered ‘all things’ planned giving, and we couldn’t have done it without him! Recently, a donor approached a board member by surprise about establishing a large estate bequest. With our newly completed planned giving guidelines in hand, the board member felt comfortable and confident during this meeting. Al guided us through the process, and we ended up right where we needed to be.”
Read more “Al has become my go-to guy for sage advice delivered with kindness and humor.”
Erin Fernandez, Executive Director
I never fail to learn something new.
“Al Cantor is one of the most insightful commentators on philanthropy today. I never fail to learn something new and
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“Al Cantor is one of the most insightful commentators on philanthropy today. I never fail to learn something new and interesting when I read his columns.”
Ray D. Madoff, Professor Boston College Law School and Author of "Immortality and the Law"
His work, both in preparing for the retreat and in conducting it, was outstanding.
“Al facilitated a critically important two-day board retreat, where we wrestled with two very big issues. His work, both in
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“Al facilitated a critically important two-day board retreat, where we wrestled with two very big issues. His work, both in preparing for the retreat and in conducting it, was outstanding. My board members were delighted. All are experienced, having served on many boards, and all shared their happiness with the planning retreat and its outcomes. One expressed that this was the single best meeting he had attended in all his years of board service.”
Read more “His work, both in preparing for the retreat and in conducting it, was outstanding.”
John Molinaro, President and CEO
I highly recommend Al Cantor.
“Faced with a challenging fundraising goal well beyond my previous experience, I feel so lucky that we got connected with
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“Faced with a challenging fundraising goal well beyond my previous experience, I feel so lucky that we got connected with Al Cantor. He was able to understand our project and donors, and before I knew it, we had a strategy and plan to execute it. Al’s patience and humor made the whole project not only successful, but manageable and even fun. I highly recommend him to anyone seeking to improve their fundraising experience.”
Elizabeth Stout, Executive Director
My copy of Al’s report is well worn from use and reuse.
“My copy of Al’s report is well worn from use and reuse. His work continues to inform our development activities
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“My copy of Al’s report is well worn from use and reuse. His work continues to inform our development activities and our strategic planning process. Al did a great job of helping us take a hard look at how we could improve, and it never seemed painful or threatening. He brings so much curiosity, wisdom, and fun to the process that it feels like a privilege to be involved.”
Read more “My copy of Al’s report is well worn from use and reuse.”
Rick Swanson, Development Director
Al Cantor worked wonders at our board retreat.
“Al Cantor worked wonders at our board retreat. We had a challenging structural governance issue to address and we were
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“Al Cantor worked wonders at our board retreat. We had a challenging structural governance issue to address and we were able to resolve it effectively. Best of all, the board members felt comfortable with Al’s leadership. His sense of humor, enthusiasm and ability to keep the conversation on track made the experience of working through the problem a pleasure.”
Anne Galloway, Executive Director
Our only regret is that we didn’t start working with Al earlier.
“We’re grateful for Al’s support and guidance. Our only regret is that we didn’t start working with Al earlier.”
Michelle Ollie, Co-Founder