Fundraising Operations for Nonprofits

Your fundraising
sous chef.

Good Soup handles the behind-the-scenes fundraising operations: the CRM, the data, the systems. So your team can get back to building relationships and raising money.

Find the right fit Or just apply to work together →

Meet Dena

I've been in your shoes.

I spent years as a fundraiser, working my way from development associate to director. I've been the person staring at a CRM that doesn't make sense, manually pulling revenue data from multiple places, and building workarounds because nobody had time to fix the real problem.

Along the way, I started building solutions for my team. I got deep into systems design, built out reporting, connected platforms that weren't talking to each other, and learned how to turn messy data into something a fundraising team could actually use.

That's what Good Soup is. Because I've sat in the same seat as your team, I speak the language. I know what fundraisers need from their systems, and I know how to build it so it actually gets used. Whether you're on Salesforce, Bloomerang, Little Green Light, or something else entirely, I'll meet you where you are.

Services

Where are you right now?

Every organization is in a different place. Start with what sounds most like you.

"We have a CRM, but something's off and we don't know where to start."

You need someone to look under the hood, tell you what's going on, and give you a plan.

The Pantry Audit →

"We don't have any fundraising systems yet. We're building from scratch."

You need the whole foundation built from scratch: CRM, pipelines, workflows, and training so your team can fundraise with real structure.

The Mise en Place →

"We have a CRM. It's not working the way we need it to."

Whether you need a partner to guide your team through the fix or someone to come in and build the solution, this is where project work on existing systems lives.

The Recipe →

"We need someone who owns our development operations, not just a one-time fix."

You need a fractional partner who manages your pipeline, keeps your team accountable, and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

The Sous Chef →
Diagnose

The Pantry Audit

Get an honest look at what's really going on inside your CRM and a clear, prioritized path forward.

$2,750

One-time · 2–3 weeks

What you get

  • A plain-language findings report, organized by priority
  • A recorded Loom walkthrough of findings and recommendations
  • Step-by-step DIY guides for your top three recommendations
  • Two weeks of implementation support through your preferred communication channel so you're not figuring it out alone
This is a diagnostic, not a fix. You'll walk away knowing exactly what needs to happen so you can move forward with confidence, on your own or with me.

What I look at

  • Data quality: duplicates, incomplete records, inconsistent formatting, unused fields
  • Revenue streams: how donations, grants, and other income are tracked and connected across platforms
  • Integrations: what's connected, what's broken, what's silently not syncing
  • Reports and dashboards: do they exist, are they used, do they show the right things
  • Workflows and moves management: how gifts, donors, and prospects move through your system
  • Team usage: how your staff actually interacts with the system day to day
If you move into a Sous Chef engagement after the audit, the $2,750 is credited toward your first month.
Apply for the Pantry Audit
Build

The Mise en Place

You're fundraising without a system. There's no CRM, no pipeline, no shared way to track who's been contacted or what the next step is. You need the foundation built from scratch so your team can start operating with real structure.

$6,500

4-8 week sprint, plus 8-12 weeks of ongoing support. Includes CRM selection, system build, up to 2 integrations, knowledge capture, workflows, documentation, and training. Payment at signing.

Discovery & design

Clarify your funding strategy, map roles and ownership, and define the right data model for where you are right now.

Platform selection & system build

Help you choose the right CRM and donation platforms for your size and strategy, then configure prospect and grants pipelines, custom fields, activity tracking, and reporting dashboards.

Knowledge capture

Working sessions to get every relationship and prospect out of people's heads and into a shared, trackable system.

Training & handoff

Live training, recorded walkthroughs, workflow docs, and 8-12 weeks of check-ins to make sure the habits stick.

Add-ons: If you need help selecting a donation platform or email tool beyond the CRM (+$1,500), or have more than two systems to integrate (+$1,000 each), we'll determine that in our initial conversation so you know the full number before we start.

This is a good fit if…

  • You don't currently have a CRM or fundraising database in place
  • You're a new or growing nonprofit without fundraising infrastructure
  • Your prospect relationships live in people's heads and nowhere else
  • You're ready to move from informal fundraising to a structured operation
  • You need help choosing the right tools, not just configuring them

What to expect

The Mise en Place is focused on getting your foundation in place. I build your system, capture your team's knowledge, and train everyone on how to use it. The engagement includes ongoing support to make sure things stick. If you find you need continued operations support after the build, we can explore what that looks like together.

Let's talk about building your foundation
Improve

The Recipe

You have a CRM that needs work. Maybe it's a focused fix, maybe it's a full infrastructure rebuild. Either way, it's a defined project with a beginning, an end, and a fixed price you know before we start.

Starts at $5,000

Always a fixed project fee. We have a free scoping conversation first, I quote the full project, and you know the number before signing. 50% at signing, 50% on completion.

How we get started

  • We have a conversation about what's going on, what your team looks like, and what you're hoping to accomplish
  • I put together a proposal with a clear scope, timeline, and fixed price
  • Once we're aligned, we sign an agreement, and I get to work

This is a good fit if…

  • You have a CRM that's underperforming, misconfigured, or outgrown
  • You have internal expertise and want a collaborative partner
  • You need someone to come in and lead the build for your team
  • Your team is stretched thin and can't dedicate full attention to a systems project
  • You want a clear plan and a fixed cost before any work begins

What the engagement covers

Every Recipe is scoped to what you actually need. The engagement flexes based on your systems, your team, and how much of the work your people can take on. Here's what it can include:

  • Discovery and hands-on review of your current CRM setup
  • Design blueprint and implementation plan
  • Pipeline design, field restructuring, reporting, and dashboards
  • Integrations with donation platforms, accounting, email, and other tools
  • Data cleanup and restructuring
  • Training, documentation, and handoff
  • Post-project support (2-4 weeks included)
The range is wide on purpose. A focused pipeline rebuild for a team with strong internal skills might be $5,000-$8,000. A full infrastructure project across multiple revenue streams with dashboards, integrations, and formal training might be $18,000-$25,000+. The scoping conversation tells us which one you need.
Let's talk about what you need
Maintain

The Sous Chef

Ongoing fractional development operations. I handle the systems, data, and processes behind your fundraising so your team can focus on relationships and raising money.

$4,000/month

6-month minimum · Month-to-month after · 30 days' notice

Pantry Audit engagement fee is credited toward your first month of The Sous Chef.

1

Getting Your House in Order

Months 1–2

  • Support starts right away: if you need reports pulled, data cleaned, or questions answered, I'm on it from day one
  • Audit your CRM to understand what's working, what's broken, and what's missing
  • Clean up data and connect systems so information flows where it should
  • Design and document workflows for gift processing, stewardship, and pipeline tracking
  • Train your team with live sessions, recorded walkthroughs, and a knowledge base
2

Keeping It Running

Month 3 and beyond

  • Monthly strategy call to review progress, look ahead, and align on priorities
  • Pipeline management and accountability: making sure follow-ups happen and nothing falls through the cracks
  • Weekly async check-ins so you always know where things stand
  • Ongoing data hygiene, dashboard updates, and integration monitoring
  • Documentation that grows with you as your team and processes evolve
Apply to work together

Working Together

What it's actually like

I've been a frontline fundraiser and I know the technical side. That means I understand what your team needs and how to build it so it actually gets used. Here's what working together looks like.

You'll hear from me every week

A short async update covers what I worked on, what's in progress, and anything I need from you.

Direct communication access

Whether it's Slack, Google Chat, or whatever your team uses. Quick questions get quick answers. You're not waiting for a meeting to get unstuck.

Everything is documented

Every workflow, every change gets captured in recorded walkthroughs and a knowledge base. Nothing lives only in my head.

I leave you better than I found you

If we ever part ways, you get a full transition guide, updated docs, and clean systems.

Kind Words

"Dena has an exceptional ability to quickly pick up information about our organization. She brought clarity and structure to our fundraising operations, training our staff and improving our workflow to build stronger systems that will serve us well beyond a single campaign."

Bobbi Fabian · Executive Director

"Before working with Dena, I was intimidated by complex CRM systems. She made Salesforce easy to navigate, teaching me how to pull reports, streamline donor touchpoints, and manage grants effectively. Thanks to her guidance, I now feel empowered and more confident as a data-driven fundraiser."

Patricia (Pat) Dalao · Institutional Giving Manager

"Her curiosity and interest in learning how to improve our organization were invaluable. She instituted new procedures, software, and standards, guiding the organization toward respecting the importance of information: its gathering, its safety, its timeliness, its organization."

Kristina Afzal · IT Manager

Is Good Soup Right for You?

You might be a good fit if...

  • You're a nonprofit with a CRM that's underperforming, or no CRM at all
  • Your team is working around the system instead of in it
  • You don't have a dedicated operations person keeping things running behind the scenes
  • You have internal expertise and want a collaborative partner or a second set of eyes
  • You want someone who shows up consistently and makes your infrastructure work for your team

What I don't do

I'm the behind-the-scenes operations person for your fundraising team. I make sure your systems, data, and processes run smoothly so the people doing the frontline work can do it well. That means there are a few things that fall outside my scope:

  • Write appeals or donor communications
  • Run events, campaigns, or grants
  • Gift processing
  • General IT, custom coding, or graphic design
  • Vendor contract negotiations

Let's Connect

Find me in the wild

Ready to work together?

Fill out a quick application and I'll be in touch to set up a conversation about what's going on and whether Good Soup is the right fit.

Apply to work together

Or just say hi

Have a quick question? Not sure if you're ready to apply? Drop me a note and I'll get back to you.

Send me a message