Most nonprofits run fundraising out of one person's head. The donor history, the grant deadlines, the appeal calendar, it all lives with whoever's been there longest. When that person leaves, so does the system. Rebuilding it from scratch costs more than the fundraising itself.

That's the problem George Ricciardella built Second Story Consulting to fix. George works with nonprofit EDs and CEOs to put their development operations on rails, so the fundraising keeps running no matter who's at the desk.

How the engagement works

The Rebuild runs the first 90 days: a full development assessment, a donor data foundation with real segmentation, a case statement, and a 12-month fundraising calendar with an owner assigned to every line.

The Operating Retainer picks up in months 4 through 6. George drives execution himself first, then hands ownership to the nonprofit's own team, managing giving programs, grants, and events with weekly reporting along the way.

Standing Counsel is what's left once the systems hold: senior advisory access for the big calls, a second set of eyes on every appeal before it goes out, and on-call support when something urgent lands.

His newest offering, the AI Development Office, puts custom AI agents on prospect research, donor briefing documents, and draft communications, so staff time goes to donor relationships instead of data entry.

Track record

George has helped a nonprofit client grow annual fundraising from $163,000 to $1.2 million over three years, and helped secure over $20 million in BHCIP funding for organizations he's worked with.

Where this fits with Givelink

Givelink covers what a nonprofit receives: the exact items its programs need, donated directly by verified supporters. Second Story Consulting covers how a nonprofit raises and manages the relationships and funding behind that need in the first place. Different layers of the same problem.

If your development operation runs on one person's memory instead of a system, it's worth a conversation.

George Ricciardella, Founder, Second Story Consulting george@secondstoryconsulting.com · www.secondstoryconsulting.com