Your development director just left. Now what?
Leading your organization is hard enough.
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Leading fundraising too? While searching for a development director?
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That's exhausting.
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You're juggling donor relationships, team management, board demands, and a hiring search - all at once.
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Something has to give. It shouldn't be your fundraising.
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I lead development during the gap so you don't have to do both jobs.
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You focus on finding the right hire. I keep fundraising moving.
Hello! I’m Katie.
I lead fundraising in between development directors, so you don't have to.
Since 2023, I've partnered with mid-size organizations as an interim director of development - stepping in when they're between fundraising leaders to assess what's working, keep critical projects moving, and build a stronger foundation for the next hire.
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Before starting Built to Raise, I spent nearly 15 years in nonprofit fundraising, leading teams and programs at organizations big and small. I know what makes development directors succeed (and what makes them leave). More importantly, I know how to set your next hire up to actually stick around.
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I'm based in St. Louis, Missouri, and work with mission-driven organizations across the country.
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Ready to talk about what's next for your organization?
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Katie Mendez
Clients Include
Working with Katie was a pleasure! She has insight into fundraising from many angles and provided a bounty of practical advice, while understanding the constraints of a small shop. She created a tailored plan with our greatest strengths and opportunities at the forefront.
It has been reassuring to move forward with Katie's roadmap, knowing we are consistently taking action to focus on the value provided by donor retention.
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Rachel Levi, Director of Development, EarthDance Farms
Katie stepped in as our Interim Director of Development during a time of transition. She helped us meet our short-term fundraising goals, and set us up with an incredible toolkit of fundraising templates and a fundraising plan for the coming year.
Katie is an absolute joy to work with! She is highly reliable, delivers results fast and is kind and passionate about improving fundraising for nonprofits.
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Sophie Albert - Executive Director, North Valley Food Bank
Katie was exactly who we needed, right when we needed her. She floated in like a development-oriented Nanny McPhee—listening carefully to where we were as an organization, assessing with gentleness our fundraising gaps, and swiftly crafting and executing solid action steps to help us close out a particularly wonky year.
I can’t speak highly enough of Katie’s ability to listen. This gift was absolutely critical as we worked to implement new ideas while simultaneously fighting to find our way forward. She was far more than a consultant for us—she became and remains an ardent supporter of our mission in countless ways and a true friend to our organization.
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Milton Mitchell, Executive Director, College Bound