Your reality is catching up with you
You cannot keep running your nonprofit on adrenaline and last‑minute fundraising ideas.
If you lead a small nonprofit, you are likely:
Juggling multiple programs, board meetings, operations and fundraising with a tiny (or non-existent) team.
Running events or campaigns alone and hoping it's enough to fund everything- but it usually isn't.
Sitting on email lists, volunteers, and social media followers that you know could give more- if you knew what to do and you had a better plan.
Feeling pressure from your board to "find new funding" without a clear, realistic strategy.
The problem isn't your mission. It's that you don't have a partner or a system that helps you do your job.
We are here to help.
Imagine instead that you have…
A partner that has done your job and can walk with you or work on a project, one at a time.
Simple plans for fundraising, operations, or strategic planning that your team understands.
Supporters who actually look forward to hearing from you.
A board that sees the plan, trusts it, and champions it with you.
Are you specifically looking for help with fundraising?
Fan Base Fundraising is built specifically for leaders like you- smart, stretched thin, and ready for a realistic system that actually fits your capacity.
Click below to learn more about it.
Step 1
Clarify your ideal fan
Define exactly who your ideal supporters are, why they care, and how they naturally move from curious to committed.
Step 2
Design your plan
Map 12 months of communications, campaigns, and touch points so supporters always know how to engage next.
Step 3
Launch your fan base system
Set up simple automations, recurring campaigns, and board roles so the system keeps running- even when you are busy running your non-profit.
Lisa Jacobson, CFRE, CFM
Learn from a nonprofit leader whose been there with focused online courses, such as the Fan Base Fundraising system.
Lisa is the Founder & CEO of Sila Development, a national coaching & consulting firm specializing in the areas of non-profit management and operations, fundraising and life coaching.
Lisa has over 30 years of business, non-profit and corporate leadership experience in award-winning organizations. She has focused her work in the areas of fundraising, community-engagement, marketing & communications, continuous improvement and strategic planning. She has also been a civic leader as she was elected on the Brooklyn Park City Council from 2016-2022 and completed her role there as the 13th Mayor.
Fan Base collective Membership
Ongoing support so you are never alone.
The Fan Base Collective is our membership for leaders who want regular accountability, feedback, and fresh ideas as they roll out the system across their organization.
Weekly live working sessions to build campaigns together.
Q&A so you can get other eyes on your emails, pages, and donor journeys.
Resource vault with templates and examples, updated quarterly.
Peer community of leaders at organizations under $3M/year.
What you get inside the Lab
Weekly live Zoom calls per month
Discounted access to premium consulting and courses as a member
Private Facebook group for peer support + additional support
Q&A, which is helpful as you grow
Who it is for: Executive directors, development staff, and small teams ready to work the system month after month.
Typical Collective members see their first "fan base" campaign live within 30 days.
Premium consulting
Done-with-you implementation for organizations ready to move fast.
Our Fan Base Intensive is a 60‑day consulting engagement where we co‑design your fan journey, development plan, campaigns, and systems- and walk alongside your team as you launch.
- Strategy days with your leadership + development staff
- Custom fan journey and 12‑month fundraising rhythm
- Implementation sprints with your team (copy, campaigns, donor experience)
- Board briefing deck and talking points
- Priority support between sessions
Designed for: Organizations between $500k–$3M/year that want to lock in a scalable fundraising engine.
Limited to 6 organizations per quarter.
Timeline: 60 days
Format: Live Zoom strategy sessions, implementation sprints and results
Investment: Shared on a brief consult call after we confirm fit.
Real results from small teams
Designed for the realities of small nonprofits.
We work with organizations who don't know where to start to those that are figuring it out as they go.
“Lisa's knowledge in the fundraising space is unending. Working with her has provided me with new connections and ideas that I could immediately implement and turn into funding.”
— Scooter, Executive Director
Family Service nonprofit · $500k budget
“Our board understands how our email list, events, and campaigns need to fit together. The fan journey gave us language that moved us out of vague goals and into concrete action.”
— Peggy, Board Chair
Community Foundation · $650K budget
“Growing our fan base was critical to the purchase of our second office suite and Lisa was there with us, guiding us on what to do and how to do it. The purchase was successful and we couldn't have done it without her knowledge and skills.”
— Kamaty, Executive Director
Immigrant Services nonprofit · $1M budget
Choose how you get support
Start with a course, stay for the membership, or accelerate with consulting.
Wherever you are in your nonprofit leadership journey, there is a right‑sized way to partner with us at a price you can afford.
Questions answered
Is working with us right for you & your organization?
Next step
Build a fundraising system your
small team can see success with.
Start with a course, step into the Collective for support, or apply for the Intensive if you are ready to move quickly. The first step is simply choosing how you want to learn.
Not sure where to start? Email us a quick snapshot of your organization and we will point you to the best next step.