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PARTNER ADVISORY
Helping external partners compete, win, and deliver more effectively in advancement.
I work with a small number of external partners in higher education who want to win more work—and stop missing in subtle but costly ways—in advancement.
This includes agencies, production firms, technology providers, boutique firms, and select independent consultants.
Some are already doing donor and alumni work but still being evaluated like outsiders. Others are trying to grow into the space more intentionally but without a clear read on how to do it credibly.
In both cases, the risk is the same:
Advancement doesn't operate like brand or enrollment. The partners who assume it does usually find out too late.
Where this shows up isn't obvious failure. It's usually something more frustrating:
Being almost right.
Close, but not selected.
Brought in, but not fully trusted.
Valued for execution, but still outside the real strategy conversation.
Where I tend to be most helpful is in closing that gap—sharpening positioning and aligning your work with how advancement leaders actually think, evaluate, and decide.
The Gap Partners Miss
Not because of weak talent. Not because of creativity. But because they're still signaling "marketing partner" in a context where advancement leaders are evaluating against a fundamentally different set of pressures:
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philanthropic revenue and resources
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donor behavior
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campaign dynamics
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internal politics and optics
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institutional risk
That disconnect rarely gets called out directly. It just shows up in outcomes.
You don't lose loudly. You lose quietly.
Or you win—but at a lower level than you should be playing.
Who This Is For
This tends to resonate with partners who:
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are already in higher education but know advancement is a different system
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are getting into rooms with advancement leaders and want to hold up at a strategic level
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are trying to move from capable vendor to trusted partner
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see advancement as a real growth opportunity—not just adjacent revenue
If you're looking for extra hands, quick feedback, or general marketing support, this probably isn't the right fit.
This work is about strengthening how you're understood, trusted, and ultimately chosen in advancement.
Four Ways I Typically Plug In
1
Opportunity / Positioning Support
Working on active or upcoming opportunities where how you're understood matters as much as what you present. Especially when the deal is competitive, stakes are high, and generic marketing language won't hold up under scrutiny.
This often means tightening a pitch narrative or reshaping how your team is positioned in a competitive RFP. The goal isn't to just polish the pitch but change how you're seen and evaluated.
2
Work + Positioning Review
A diagnostic that often involves reviewing proposals, campaign materials, product language, or recent client work to identify:
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where the work is landing
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where it's missing
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where gaps exist that clients (or competitors) are already seeing
This is often where the most uncomfortable insights surface—not necessarily because the work is weak, but because it's being interpreted differently than intended. It's also where the biggest opportunities are.
3
Expansion into Advancement
Helping partners strong in enrollment, brand, or adjacent areas expand into advancement with more precision. Not as an add-on. Not as a translation exercise. But as a deliberate move into a space that will expose weak assumptions quickly.
What to offer. How to position it. Where you actually fit.
And just as importantly—what not to do.
4
Strategic Advisory
In some cases, partners might bring me in as a visible strategic advisor when added credibility, perspective, and alignment can strengthen how work is positioned.
This can include:
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participating in select prospect or client conversations
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contributing to RFP responses or pitches
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being positioned as part of the strategic team behind the work
The value isn't just in the input. It's how that perspective shapes the work— and how it's perceived.
How I Work
I'm not an executional extension of your team. I work at the layer where positioning, alignment, and institutional understanding determine whether your capabilities and work land as strategic—or get treated as capable but replaceable support.
In most cases, I'm working directly with senior leaders and small teams on specific opportunities or focused areas where the stakes are real and outcomes matter—the difference between growth and stagnation, or worse, being consistently close but not chosen.
From the Other Side of the Table
I've been on the other side of this—evaluating partners, participating in campaign planning, and seeing where strong work gets discounted, misunderstood, or left outside the decision-making.
I continue to operate in that seat, working with institutions as they assess partners, shape campaign strategies, and make high-stakes decisions.
Before moving into consulting, I spent eight years inside a major university advancement division, leading enterprise-wide marketing and communications that helped define and carry a comprehensive campaign and broader institutional priorities. Prior to that, I spent over a decade in fiercely competitive agency environments, working across brand, marketing, and higher education clients.
That combination—deep agency experience plus in-house advancement leadership—is rare.
It’s also why I see risks, gaps, and high-value opportunities that others miss.
A Note on Availability
I keep this work intentionally limited. Not due to bandwidth, but because it works best when the fit is right, the stakes are clear, and there's a real opportunity to create an edge for your business.
I'm also deliberate about where and how I engage, typically not working with competing partners in the same category or space at the same time. It keeps the work transparent, focused, and aligned.
