Julie Berthoud - Sustainable and Equitable Donor Relationships

A major gifts program + equity =
love
multiplied.

Major gifts don’t grow because of lists.
They grow because of relationships.
Now it’s time to build them.

Let's make the world a little more just, humane, and beautiful through fundraising!

Major gifts
is about connection.

You’ve built a major gifts program. And somehow it all still depends on you. The pieces are there. But it’s not moving. Because it’s not just the strategy.

1 to 1 Mentoring &
Success Coaching

Lead your team to success and develop your major giving leadership personality. This is a 3 month program. Available upon request.

Donor Stewardship Auditing & Advising

We'll work with you to boost your organization's donor retention through our proven stewardship assessment and research-based strategies for increasing donor loyalty.

Bespoke Trainings & Workshops

Training for your non-profit’s needs – from moves management and portfolio building for major giving to the philanthropic psychology of how donors make giving
decisions.

Let's work together

We are an agency focused on helping non-profits build relationships with their donors.

A proven donor retention strategy grounded in equity that cultivates deep connections and increases donations for your mission.

Looking for individual support and tailored solutions to your specific questions in the areas of donor relations, donor retention, and major giving.

Mentoring &
Training

Training for your non-profit’s needs – from moves management and portfolio building for major giving to the philanthropic psychology of how donors make giving
decisions.

🍯 Hybrid-Program „Honey Pot“

NEW: The program for smart major gifts development is currently in beta testing. Join the waiting list for the launch!

1:1 Coaching „Leading a Gift Program“

Lead your team to success and develop your major giving leadership personality. This is a 3 month program. Available upon request.

Your donors are often not addressed personally or consistently due to a lack of time and resources.

Your donors are attracted to your kind, appreciative communication and feel understood, which motivates them to donate more.

You find it difficult to address your donors in a tailored way and to retain them.

You understand the needs of your donors and know how to respond to them.

Ihr tut euch schwer, eure Spender:innen maßgeschneidert anzusprechen und langfristig an eure Organisation zu binden.

Ihr kennt die Bedürfnisse eurer Spender:innen und wisst, wie ihr auf sie eingehen könnt, ohne euch zu verstellen.

Known from:

"Julie is a great partner if you want to develop your major giving program"

Rahel Christen

Head of Private Fundraising,
Pro Juventute Zurich, Switzerland

"Julie cultivates spaces of openness and safety,
which help us create belonging environments"

Nneka Allen

Owner Empathy Agency, Canada

"Committed, smart, charming, and thinking around the corner"

Tammo Schlüter

Senior Fundraising Manager,
SAKK Switzerland

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Want donor relationships that go deep and bring the cha-ching? I can help.

If you’re an exec director, fundraiser, volunteer, board member, or flamingo who need major giving that doesn't make donors cross the street to avoid you— and you do need it, if you want them to stick around, give you money, and tell the world about you — can help you with that. (Why would a flamingo need help with fundraising? Because flamingos are bad fundraisers.)

Then relationship fundraising is right for you!

"But Julie, what
exactly is relationship fundraising?"

Relationship fundraising focuses on cultivating long-term, meaningful and authentic relationships with donors. The goal is to foster trust, engagement, and mutual appreciation, leading to increased donor retention and larger contributions.

„Umfeld der Zugehörigkeit“

Nneka Allen, Inhaberin Empathy Agency, Kanada

„Spender:innen ins Zentrum“

Rahel Christen, Abteilungsleiterin Private Fundraising, Pro Juventute Zürich

„Absoluter Profi“

Ken Burnett, Author of Relationship Fundraising

„Ausgewiesene Fundraising-Spezialistin“

Valentine Vogel, Fundraising Expertin bei valentinevogel.com

„Über den Tellerrand schauen“

Tammo Schlüter, Senior Fundraising Manager SAKK Schweiz

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High satisfaction!

Big Gifts with Ease:

Hi, I’m Julie.

I’ve worked in major gifts fundraising across the U.S. and Europe, building relationships that actually move things — and making sure they’re shaped with people, not just for them. These days, I help nonprofit teams do the same (usually with a dog at my feet and a cat on my keyboard).

Why Big Gifts with Ease?

Because you’re successful and are looking to figure out the big gifts part of fundraising. But you don't know where to start with a major giving program. You have a portfolio with some leads for wealthy donors, but other than that, you feel lost in the world of major giving.

Becasue you know the value of deep donor relationships, to the tune of: “I’d love to casually call up my top donors but I wouldn’t dare.”

Because maybe you don’t pour over major giving literature, but you know you're in a rut and you want to move from reactive to proactive fundraising.

These values guide me:

centering justice, equity, and belonging

being brave,
compassionate, and kind

creating community, change, and collaboration

protecting
animals and nature

making space for rest, healing, and connection

leading with love, abundance, and service

In 5 steps more clarity, ease and impact

It is important to me that you achieve your individual goal, are enthusiastic about the result, and feel motivated. To make this happen, I have developed a process that is based on my experience and ensures that we efficiently work together with fun while centering equity.

Getting to know each other: Get-to-know-you session (20 min) to see if and how we can work together on a personal and professional level.

Initial consultation call: We decide on a free consultation (90 min) to better understand your situation.

Your individual plan: I will write you an offer and recommend one of my relationship fundraising packages that suits you.

Onboarding + Milestones: We start our cooperation with all participants and define responsibilities. At carefully chosen points, we review the results to date and optimize.

Goal achieved: We conclude our great cooperation with a good feeling and celebrate the results we have achieved together.

Ziel erreicht: Wir schließen unsere tolle Zusammenarbeit mit einem guten Gefühl ab und feiern uns für die gemeinsam erreichten Resultate.

Who is Julie?

Unlike other consultants, I’ve been a frontline major gift officer. Both in the U.S. and in Europe. But first I got fired from my first job as Development Director of a small animal welfare charity. It ignited a fire in me to know everything about fundraising. in learning everything about major giving, including a research-based fundraising diploma and a certification in philanthropic psychology. Guided by my research basis, intuition and rootedness in equity, I developed a unique approach focused on analyzing donor giving patterns rather than chasing wealthy donors. You can take the long route or sign up for "Big Gifts with Ease" and I'll teach you the shortcuts.

Getting to know each other: Get-to-know-you session (20 min) to see if and how we can work together on a personal and professional level.

Initial consultation call: We decide on a free consultation (90 min) to better understand your situation.

Your individual plan: I will write you an offer and recommend one of my relationship fundraising packages that suits you.

Onboarding + Milestones: We start our cooperation with all participants and define responsibilities. At carefully chosen points, we review the results to date and optimize.

Goal achieved: We conclude our great cooperation with a good feeling and celebrate the results we have achieved together.

Ziel erreicht: Wir schließen unsere tolle Zusammenarbeit mit einem guten Gefühl ab und feiern uns für die gemeinsam erreichten Resultate.

Use the game changing power of major giving through a social justice lens for your non-profit.

I help your organization empathetically and research based to make the world a better place.

There's no magic way of asking for big gifts. But if done in an intentional way, like I teach you, there can be magic ✨