Skoll Awardees
Client Testimonials
Clients range from location-specific, such as Haiti or Nepal, to globally focused, addressing issues such as maternal health, clean water, education, women’s leadership, and more. We invite you to contact us to learn more about our results, and to explore collaboration for greater impact. Together, we are a force for good.
“Black Fox Philanthropy has been integral to the launch and success of our major gifts program at a time when Bridges to Prosperity was in a pivotal stage of organizational growth. The Black Fox team is unique in that it is able to give objective insight into your work and compare it to other folks in the industry who have had success. In addition, since Natalie comes from the donor perspective, she is able to bring to light vocabulary that we now use both in our discussions and our print material. Natalie and her team have helped to equip our organization with the tools necessary to create a development plan that will speak directly to the hearts of our donors and to grow our capacity to achieve our wildest ambitions. We received a return on this investment many times over, and cannot recommend them highly enough.”
~ Avery Bang | Chief Executive Officer | Bridges to Prosperity
“Black Fox Philanthropy played a key role in CU Peru’s fund development plan. From the moment I started working with them and throughout the project they displayed both the passion and the knowledge that we were looking for. Their thorough research and continued communication gave me a sense of ease throughout the entire process. CU Peru is now equipped with well researched funding opportunities that are invaluable to our organization. Being a one staff shop, we could have never done this without Black Fox Philanthropy. We are truly appreciative of their professionalism and services.”
~Melissa Traynham | Executive Director | Comunidades Unidas Peru
“Black Fox Philanthropy led our team through a day long intensive workshop that covered the power of storytelling, identifying skills and roles within fundraising, reviewing current trends in the sector and secrets to building powerful donor relationships. Natalie has a natural ability to connect with others and is extraordinarily passionate about her work. It was a pleasure to work with [Black Fox] and we’re thankful for the ‘gold nuggets’ they provided the team to help Concern achieve excellence in fundraising!”
~ Dara Burke | Vice President, Individual Giving & Events | Concern Worldwide US
“My experience working with Black Fox Philanthropy was refreshing, informative, and productive. Black Fox brought professionalism, precision, and passion to every step of our collaboration to ensure the delivery of high quality work consistently and on time. It was a true pleasure to work with such a responsive, knowledgeable and dedicated team.”
~ Sophie Andar | Ed.D. Executive Director | Culture Reframed
“DigDeep had the pleasure of working with Black Fox Philanthropy for funder research and advancement outreach, with the purpose of establishing new relationships with mission-aligned funders. The ROI on the engagement is 100x thus far, including multi-year, six-figure funding from a major national foundation. We are positioned better than ever to bring clean, running water to the 2 million Americans without it. We recommend their services wholeheartedly!”
~ George McGraw | CEO | Dig Deep
“dZi Foundation began working with Black Fox in Early 2015. When the devastating earthquakes struck Nepal in April and May of that year, Black Fox was perfectly positioned to help dZi think through strategy in our response to the quakes and to show gratitude to our over 2,000 new and existing donors who stepped up after this crisis. With Black Fox’s partnership and guidance, they helped us double our funds raised through our year-end campaign in 2015.”
~ Jim Nowak | President and Co-Founder | dZi Foundation
“I turned to Black Fox Philanthropy when I started to set larger fundraising targets. The prospect of getting expert advice to exponentially grow really excited me. My BFP advisor was a perfect match who brought decades of experience and listened intently to understand my needs quickly. Not only did they offer guidance that was fine-tuned to my specific goals, but they helped me consider avenues for funding my ambitious path forward I wasn’t considering. They really went the extra mile and had a lasting impact on me!”
~ Nicholas Fusso | Co-Founder and Program Director | D-Prize
“We were so happy working with the Black Fox team on identification and building a funder pipeline for Fr. Alex You Memorial School. These passionate people understand what they are doing and they clearly know what organizations need to do what they are doing. As Black Fox slogan says “Your mission is our mission. Our Team is your team”. This is exactly what happened when we worked together. The valuable work they do that is far beyond what we pay for. Black Fox is one of the unique organizations that is passionate at seeing fairness, access to resources and helping communities thrive. I felt loved and confident throughout the process.”
~ Kule Barnabas | Fr. Alex You Memorial School
“The value we received from Black Fox Philanthropy far exceeded the investment. BFP makes you a part of their family. They went above and beyond our contractual scope of work over the course of an entire year to represent and promote Global Grassroots when opportunities arose. They have a completely comprehensive approach, weaving together analysis, research, recommendations, and content that builds internal capacity with staff and board, and builds a foundation of assets that the organization can leverage to sustain what they catalyze. Unlike most consultants, they roll up their sleeves and become your partners.”
~ Gretchen Steidle | Founder | Global Grassroots
“Black Fox Philanthropy’s team provided essential ‘insider’ information on how to directly approach organizations which focus on girls’ education and empowerment. We were encouraged to learn there are funders who care about the impact of small NGOs. Every discussion felt like a group huddle during a time out in a sports match: there was a sense of urgency, energy and tremendous support propelling us to take action. The professional training and coaching will inform and boost our approach to fundraising with more enthusiasm, optimism and drive.”
~ Nano Chatfield | The Girl’s Foundation of Tanzania
“What struck us about the research Black Fox Philanthropy did for us was that it was so specific — they uncovered so many new funders who are a bullseye in terms of aligned missions around vulnerable girls and education, and who have a demonstrated belief in our theory of change. So grateful to the Black Fox team for the fundraising quantum leap forward!”
~ Sarah Symons | Her Future Coalition
“Black Fox Philanthropy has played a pivotal role in Mobile Pathways to secure funding for our innovative mobile technology platform that democratizes immigration justice. The BFP team came on as a true extension of our own, bringing their deep, thoughtful fundraising expertise to complement our team’s technical expertise and passion. In less than eight months, the partnership brought $100,000 in the door, and since then, we’ve raised an additional $265K directly attributable to Black Fox. Not only that, but the Black Fox team taking on the heavy lifting allowed me to be a better and more present primary parent to my two young daughters. We are already looking forward to re-engaging with Black Fox Philanthropy at year’s end to uncover a fresh batch of prospective funders that will be eager to fund our work..”
~ Bartlomiej (Bart) Skorupa | CoFounder & Development Director | Mobile Pathways
“The foundation pipeline that resulted from the engagement with Black Fox Philanthropy will be extremely helpful to our organization as we aim to bring in funding before year end, and as we build our pipeline and begin revenue forecasting for 2017.”
~ Emily Varni | Impact Manager | Pencils of Promise
“The Black Fox Philanthropy team went above and beyond our expectations in responding to our urgent funding needs with compassion, diligence and professionalism. Not only did Black Fox deliver a strong funding pipeline, but they continued to stay in touch afterwards to ensure we were making progress – this team really cares! We felt seen and valued by BFP; what an invaluable investment and experience. We wholeheartedly recommend them!”
~Carey Bohjanen | Founder | The Rallying Cry
“Natalie and the team at Black Fox have been incredibly supportive and responsive to our needs. We can’t wait to continue working together.”
~ Katherine Potaski | SHOFCO
“Black Fox Philanthropy helped Splash launch our formal major gifts program by creating strategy for working with individuals and family foundations as well as performing detailed analysis of our fundraising data. Natalie also provided development coaching for Splash as we prepared for a key funder meeting. With Black Fox Philanthropy’s strategic and tactical advice, Splash is better-positioned than ever for fundraising success.”
~ Eric Stowe | Founder & Director | Splash
“After Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, Black Fox immediately jumped in to work with St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, quickly getting up to speed on our mission and organizational culture, and rolling up their sleeves to reconfigure and implement our end-of-year and spring campaigns. Black Fox greatly increased our team’s sanity and efficacy during an intense and important time in SBHF’s history. They’ve been great thought partners and provided important bench-marking for us. I’d be thrilled to work with them again!”
~ Jennifer Norris | Chief Development Officer | St. Boniface Haiti Foundation
“We have worked with consultants in the past, and it’s always helpful, but Black Fox Philanthropy has given us the most specific overview we’ve had of the NGO landscape including other groups with similar missions and scale and how they articulate their mission. As a result, they were able to give new messaging ideas and brand positioning that can help us differentiate us to key funders. That’s just what we needed.”
~ Linn Kincannon | International Director and Co-founder | SK2 Fund
“Partnering with Natalie Rekstad and the Black Fox team is one of the smartest investments TeachUNITED has made. BFP experts became part of our team, helping us unlock new sources of funding through communications, funder research, sector insights, board development, and the design and execution of a robust Major Gifts campaign. But it is their hands-on attention that really blows us away.”
~ Heather Hiebsch | Co-Founder & Executive Director | TeachUNITED
“The Black Fox team opened their hearts and efforts to us in a thrilling and fortifying way. They have a freshness and commitment that is inspiring and unique. It is clear this team serves change-making first and foremost, and that is why their help is so invaluable – they want to ensure you have the best so they can help you affect the biggest change.”
~ Leslee Udwin | Founder & CEO | THINK EQUAL
“On behalf of Village Enterprise, it was a pleasure to engage with Black Fox Philanthropy for Painless Prospecting. Our research needs for strong prospective funders were well understood and addressed by their extremely capable team, freeing up Village Enterprise’s team to focus on the most high-yield activities and relationships. We are confident that Black Fox’s expertise will give our funding pipeline the extra boost it needs to achieve our ambitious goals!”
~ Lindsay Bouchelle | Village Enterprise
“Black Fox Philanthropy helped us improve our fundraising strategy with practical resources and guidance that actually works. As a result, we got new funders on board and raised more than $400K USD. One of the key lessons I learned was how to approach, engage, and close new funding, as well as how to keep funders for the long haul. As a leader charged with fundraising, I am so grateful to be able to support my NGO with the wisdom and expertise I gained from Black Fox.”
~ Barbara Mutabazi | Founder | Women in Technology Uganda
“Working with Black Fox on building a funder pipeline for our organization, I found the team extremely friendly and approachable – even though we were working from a distance. They are personable and professional and I felt very comfortable asking questions throughout the process.”
~ Heidi Basch-Herod | Executive Director | Women’s Voices Now
“Black Fox’s development diagnostic gave us a thorough and clear assessment of our current fundraising strengths and opportunities. Not only are their recommendations highly actionable, but their findings were so valuable that we’ve shared them with our Board and staff, from marketing to operations to build common understanding for greater teamwork. We now have a more efficient pathway ahead of us to build more robust resources and relationships to realize our ambitious goals. The Black Fox team was swift, supportive, and applied their deep expertise in a thoughtful and customized way. We knew they were in our corner 100% throughout the entire process.”
~ Jensine Larsen | CEO & Founder | World Pulse
“When I contacted Black Fox, our organization was facing a fundraising crisis due to the unexpected loss of a grant, and I didn’t know whether we would still exist in 6 months. From the first call with Natalie Rekstad, who gave me immediate suggestions on finding emergency funding, I felt supported and like I finally had help to address our fundraising challenges. Over the course of our 6 months working together through the Fundraising Accelerator, our financial situation has transformed. Black Fox’s services were just what we needed to address the funding gap, tighten our communications, get grants out the door and learn about new funders. Having weekly support from the BFP team has been critical for us – and now, as we’re ending the Fundraising Accelerator, our organization has guaranteed funding for the rest of the year, and is in a stronger position than we were before the emergency. Black Fox has played a huge role in this transformation, and we are so grateful!”
~ Emily Jacobi | Executive Director | Digital Democracy
“Black Fox Philanthropy has played a pivotal role in Mobile Pathways securing funding for our innovative mobile platform that democratizes immigration law for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. The team came on as a true extension of our own, bringing their deep, thoughtful fundraising expertise to complement our team’s technical expertise and passion. Thus far, the partnership brought $240,000 in the door. Not only that, but the Black Fox team taking up the heavy lifting allowed me to be a better and more present primary parent to my two young daughters. We are already looking forward to re-engaging with Black Fox Philanthropy to uncover a fresh batch of prospective funders that will be eager to fund our work.”
~ Bart Skorupa / Co-Founder / Mobile Pathways
“After 25 years in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, I have worked with many consulting firms, including some of the big names during my time at G.E. Hands down, by far, Black Fox Philanthropy is the best consulting experience I have ever had. Natalie has developed a winning formula and attracted a first rate team. We more than doubled our investment in the first year and I am confident it will grow much more next year as a result of their capacity-building work with us. I couldn’t speak more highly of them!”
~Kate Curran / Founder & CEO / School The World
“The outcome of Black Fox Philanthropy’s work exceeded our expectations on many levels, and can already see many additional applications in addition to fundraising for the messaging. A big thanks to the team for their fabulous and highly relevant work.”
~Sonja Betschart / Co-Founder / WeRobotics
