Since 1991, Innovative Resources Group has worked side-by-side with more than 300 nonprofits across a spectrum of sectors to help realize greater philanthropic investment in support of their vision.

Innovative Resources Group

Build philanthropic relationships that fund your impact.
Our Services

Powering philanthropic
investment
.

Executive Coaching

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We guide and coach CEOs, volunteer leaders, boards, and staff to increase impact and diversify investors. We can provide interim advancement office leadership.

Vision Articulation / Campaign Planning

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We inform and guide vision articulation and strategic direction-setting, fiscal forecasting, and action planning.

Capacity & Market Studies

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We conduct in-depth campaign readiness assessments, market analysis, and planning studies that determine how capable organizations are of meeting their advancement goals—and how to close the gap.

Creative Services & Communications

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Articulating an organization’s vision to philanthropic investors calls for a compelling narrative. Through our Creative Innovations Studio, we develop, write, and design print and digital publications, digital media, and websites that communicate impact, value, and strategic vision.

Diversify Funding Sources

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We explore new paths to philanthropic investment, identifying donors, articulating mission and impact, strengthening bonds with potential major donors, engaging corporate/civic leaders, and identifying grant opportunities and loan financing programs.

Cultivate Volunteer Leadership

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We build, train, and support Engagement Teams of selected volunteers and staff, creating an effective group of door-openers, cultivators, and askers. The result is a philanthropic network that will help grow your organization and sustain it into the future.

Executive Coaching

We guide and coach CEOs, volunteer leaders, boards, and staff to increase impact and diversify investors. We can provide interim advancement office leadership.

Vision Articulation / Campaign Planning

We inform and guide vision articulation and strategic direction-setting, fiscal forecasting, and action planning.

Capacity & Market Studies

We conduct in-depth campaign readiness assessments, market analysis, and planning studies that determine how capable organizations are of meeting their advancement goals—and how to close the gap.

Creative Services & Communications

Articulating an organization’s vision to philanthropic investors calls for a compelling narrative. Through our Creative Innovations Studio, we develop, write, and design print and digital publications, digital media, and websites that communicate impact, value, and strategic vision.

Diversify Funding Sources

We explore new paths to philanthropic investment, identifying donors, articulating mission and impact, strengthening bonds with potential major donors, engaging corporate/civic leaders, and identifying grant opportunities and loan financing programs.

Cultivate Volunteer Leadership

We build, train, and support Engagement Teams of selected volunteers and staff, creating an effective group of door-openers, cultivators, and askers. The result is a philanthropic network that will help grow your organization and sustain it into the future.

Our Process | Establish Goals

Define your vision in real terms.

Expertise across nearly every nonprofit sector allows us to help you clearly articulate your vision, define the scope of your project, and craft a compelling narrative for potential investors.

We built this nonprofit's development capacity by curating, training, and supporting a volunteer leadership team.

Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI)

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Case Study
Our Process | Plan

Craft a plan that is unique to your goals.

Whether you're expanding your community outreach or establishing a major gifts program, our expert counsel will develop a revenue-generation action plan and identify ways to engage philanthropic investment.

By focusing on building philanthropic investment rather than fundraising, BACC became positioned to launch its Access for All Initiative, the organization’s largest effort to expand its services and impact throughout the Bay Area.

Bay Area Cancer Connections

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Case Study
Our Process | Build Capacity

Establish practices that can sustainably fund your work.

We'll work with your staff and board and develop volunteer leadership teams that can build relationships with the philanthropic partners that will be key to making your project a success and funding your work into the future.

Testimonial

"Innovative Resources’ approach gelled with me from the first moment the team explained it—about cultivating volunteers and major donors to become ambassadors, and working with their networks to bring more people to Baykeeper."

Sejal Choksi-Chugh

Executive Director
San Francisco Baykeeper
Testimonial

"The Innovative Resources team cares about each project and knows you can be successful. Beth has an exuberant spirit! She and her team know how to elicit people’s thinking and listens and assimilates that. They did their homework and knew what we needed, what was best for our church."

Anne and Fred Osborne

Creating the Future Leadership Team
St. Philip's Episcopal Church
Testimonial
Our Process | Communications

Branded materials to engage your supporters and tell your story.

Our Creative Innovations StudioTM develops communication materials that can expand your reach in the community and articulate your vision to current and future supporters.

Our Process | Implement

We offer expert counsel as you work toward your goal.

We'll stand with you as you work toward your goals – offering expert counsel, leadership, and guidance every step of the way.

"Through several workshops, Innovative Resources Group took us through a thoughtful series of exercises that generated an effective approach to major gifts development. They coached reluctant board members on how to approach fundraising in such a way that even the most timid board member felt comfortable setting up a development call."

Carrie Woerner

Former Executive Director
Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation
Testimonial

"The Innovative Resources team introduced new language and encouraged people to think differently, which also applied to the publications we did. Instead of one bound booklet saying ‘this is the campaign’ we had a prospectus folder that wrapped around a series of inserts. This enabled us to arrange the materials to appeal to the audience. It could be maximized to get the right message to the right prospective donor."

Nat and Anita Prentice

Creating the Future Leadership Team
St. Philip's Episcopal Church
Testimonial
Testimonial
Results

More than 300 successful projects across every sector.

Bronx Community Health Network

This health center needed to build a philanthropy program from scratch, starting with deep research into their community.

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Bronx, NY

Bay Area Cancer Connections

By focusing on building philanthropic investment rather than fundraising, BACC became positioned to launch its Access for All Initiative, the organization’s largest effort to expand its services and impact throughout the Bay Area.

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Palo Alto / San Mateo, CA

Grace Episcopal Church

We worked closely with the church volunteer leaders and clergy to encourage them to adopt a more holistic approach to generating philanthropic investment and embrace its 150th Anniversary with a game-changing initiative for the Church.

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St. Helena, CA

Hamilton College

We helped to develop a comprehensive engagement strategy that led to a $1M annual increase in unrestricted giving.

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Clinton, NY

Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI)

We built this nonprofit's development capacity by curating, training, and supporting a volunteer leadership team.

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Utica, NY

Community Resource Initiative

We helped this team of capital defense investigators articulate their mission and kickstart their digital philanthropy.

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San Francisco, CA

Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

We helped this cultural institution kickstart a major gifts and individual giving program to supplement its endowment and corporate sponsorships.

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Utica, NY

Notre Dame Schools

Notre Dame had set a $15M goal to renovate its existing school, and needed a campaign planning study to assess whether it was attainable.

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Utica, NY

Utica University

We helped this University realize its most successful fundraising effort to date and brought its advancement organization to maturity.

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Utica, NY
Our Team

Depth and breadth of experience.

Beth Hershenhart

Founder & CEO

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George Nehme

Senior Vice President for Client Relations

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Peggy O'Shea

Senior Advisor

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Nanette Maxim

Content Developer and Editor

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Bob Barkowski

Director of Design Services

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Sean Taylor

Website Developer

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Janet Cooperman Hiser

Communications, Marketing, and Web-Content Specialist

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Susan Knapp

Fiscal Planning & Policy Specialist

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Cheryl Gnade McGrattan

Marketing & Communications Specialist

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Alyssa Spina

Grants Advisor

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Father Carlomagno Osorio

Spanish-Language Content Developer

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Our Partners

Bristol Strategy

Donor Search

MarketSmart

John Zogby Strategies

Carter Consulting Group

Michael D. Rubin & Associates

Contact

Let's talk about how we can build capacity at your organization.

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Testimonial

"Our mission needed to be looked at, how to move forward in the 21st century. Beth and the Innovative Resources team have a convincing way of making you feel that you can do something, and they helped us go beyond our target. We got our building; we got it done!"

Anne Osborne

Comprehensive Campaign Leadership Team
NY-NJ Trail Conference