Austin Achieve Public Schools is a tuition-free charter school serving East Austin youth with a mission to prepare all scholars for college success. By 2020, the network had grown to nearly 1,900 students across PreK-12, with an ambitious 3.0 strategic expansion plan and a proven track record of results: strong STAAR performance among returning scholars, a growing waitlist of over 700 students, and year-over-year fundraising success anchored by meaningful board engagement.
Three core needs drove this engagement:
The Chief Advancement Officer was going on leave, creating an immediate gap in day-to-day oversight of the development team and major donor relationships at a critical fundraising period.
Despite strong grassroots fundraising instincts, the team lacked the infrastructure, the donor management systems, the pipeline clarity, and the gap-to-goal tracking needed to sustain and grow giving as the school scaled.
Austin Achieve had a bold 3.0 strategic vision, growing to 5 or 6 campuses and over 7,000 students, and needed to build a fundraising engine capable of fueling that growth, including new corporate and individual giving channels.
Conducted a comprehensive audit of the advancement team's activities, systems, and donor portfolio. Provided interim management of the development team, advised the CEO on major gift strategy, and began building a grassroots giving campaign strategy.
Continued team management while executing on campaign deliverables. Developed a corporate giving strategy, clarified gap-to-goal processes, and moved the grassroots giving campaign through execution with junior staff support.
Bridged interim management to the incoming Director of Development. Developed a structured onboarding plan, curated professional development resources, and provided weekly advisory check-ins with the CEO through the handoff.
Delivered monthly one-on-one coaching sessions and on-demand support for the new Director of Development, including review of campaigns, deliverables, and strategic guidance to sustain the gains achieved during the engagement.
Stronger stepped in at a critical moment and helped us maintain momentum in our fundraising work while strengthening the systems our team needed for long-term success.
Stronger Consulting partners with mission-driven organizations to turn complex challenges into clear, practical action, from strategy through implementation.
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