Approach to Consulting
Essential to each BDG Consulting engagement is my commitment to a partnership grounded in mutual respect, accountability, and discretion. Whether you are a chief development officer, head of an organization, or a member of governance—my primary objective is to help make you and your team more effective and confident in your fund raising efforts.
Together, we create a roadmap to fit your organization’s short and longer-term goals. We refine and focus your priorities with particular attention to strengthening engagement of those donors who have the potential to make the greatest difference to your organization.
Drawing on extensive experience as a front-line senior development professional, I work with clients on forward-looking development strategies to meet current fund raising objectives, cultivate lasting donor relationships and build for the future.
About Barbara
Over the course of my development career, I've served some of the Boston area’s leading institutions including: Wellesley College, Babson College, Phillips Academy/Andover and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Through this experience, I had the opportunity to develop significant donor relationships in the U.S. and globally, establish successful major and principal giving programs, create unique high-level volunteer programs and advise institutional leadership. As principal of BDG Consulting, I leverage this experience to provide the critical thinking, objectivity and perspective needed to build successful, sustainable development programs.
During my initial career in advertising and public relations, in Boston and New York, I learned how competitive businesses reach, influence and grow a loyal consumer base. This background in strategic communications and marketing has been indispensable, and is well-integrated into my approach to development.
My educational background includes a B.A. in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College. In the community, I’m a perennial Pan-Mass Challenge rider, member of the grant-making organization The Philanthropy Connection, volunteer at The Women’s Lunch Place, and have served on non-profit boards in Boston and New York.
Services Offered
Each organization's development program has unique strengths, challenges and areas of opportunity. At the outset, we assess what’s working well and create an action plan designed for your particular situation and the competitive landscape.
Together we determine a timeline, set goals, and outline the general scope of BDG Consulting services required to fit your needs.
Build
Strategic, structured individual giving programs and campaign initiatives focused on existing donors and the identification of potential new sources of support
Coach
Organizational leadership, governance and volunteers
Major & principal giving officers to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors
Create
Targeted opportunities for high level volunteer engagement
Effective donor cultivation/stewardship events
Customized workshops/retreats for staff and board leadership
EVALUATE
Program objectives and goal-setting
Giving officer needs and recruitment
LOOK AHEAD
Comprehensive development planning to meet both short and longer term objectives
Partnership. Experience. Integrity.
Current and Recent Clients
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MA/Metrowest
Bottom Line
Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Cambridge Family & Children’s Service
Center for Women & Enterprise
CommonWealth Kitchen
Data & Society Research Institute
Foundation for MetroWest
Harvard Hillel
Highland Street Foundation
Massachusetts Public Charter School Association
Neighborhood House Charter School
Social Innovation Forum
The Play Ball! Foundation
Testimonials
“In my 20+ years of professional experience, I’ve worked with many consultants. Only three have stood out for the impact they have made on our organization and Barbara is at the top of that list. She brings tremendous “industry” knowledge, valuable insight, and important perspective on trends in the development profession. Barbara shifted our way of thinking about fund raising and opened our eyes to a whole new approach to development and to working with our donors. Barbara’s warm and engaging manner puts clients at ease while building trust and confidence. I can’t recommend her highly enough and look forward to our next opportunity to work with her!”
- Kate Scott, Executive Director, The Neighborhood House Charter School
“Working with Barbara is like having a personal trainer. She assesses your issues and your challenges, as well as your assets, and helps strategically craft a path forward that will work. She helped us cut through the clutter of the many things we “should do” and focus on what was achievable, all the while keeping our goals in sight. Six months into our fiscal year we have tangible results and a major gifts program that makes sense for our organization.”
- Susan Stendahl, Director of Advancement, Cambridge Family & Children’s Service
“Barbara is a mentor and guide, a teacher and counselor, and it is a joy to work with her. The ways in which Barbara makes an institution’s mission and vision her own, while encouraging and enabling lay- and professional leadership to step up and to realize themselves in actualizing institutional objectives, and the professional savvy and wisdom Barbara brings from a stellar career in institutional advancement, all are beyond valuation.”
-Rabbi Jonah C. Steinberg, Ph.D, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League New England
(Executive Director Emeritus, Harvard Hillel)
“Barbara is a wonderfully gifted, knowledgeable, and reliable consultant to work with on fund development matters. She is extremely insightful and can develop a genuine rapport with professionals she’s consulting. Her deep knowledge of philanthropy and how non-profit organizations operate allow her to provide meaningful insights and effective suggestions to ensure progress. Barbara brings a wealth of experience as well as a consistent appreciation for current trends in philanthropy to her work. Barbara’s positive demeanor, sense of humor, and open-mindedness make her very easy to spend 3+hours with each week. Highly recommended!”
- Jeffrey Chin, Chief Executive Office, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass/MetroWest
Contact
Feel free to contact BDG Consulting, at no obligation, to discuss your organization’s development needs and aspirations.
Barbara Gross
Tel: 781-296-7897
P.O. Box 81118
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481-6832