Places that foster democracy, belonging, and collective resilience.
Empowered Fundraiser Consulting directs fundraising campaigns and serves as fractional major and principal gift development officers — counsel that also does the asking. Fundraising for eight- and nine-figure facilities is the superpower of the whole firm, built over 33 years and hundreds of millions raised.
Our technology partner — MOXXEE, the AI-assisted fundraising intelligence platform built by fundraisers, for fundraisers.
Arts centers, parks, pools, and libraries are neither home nor work. They are where a community gathers. They deserve to be funded well.
You have a building or a place to fund and need to know the goal is real before you announce it. A feasibility study tests the case with your donors first, then gives you the confidence to move.
The campaign is live but private, and lead and principal gifts have to be secured before any public launch. This is where most of the money is raised, and where experienced counsel earns its keep.
Momentum slipped, the gift table has gaps, or the public phase is dragging. You need a steady hand to get it moving again and carry it to the goal.
Fundraising is a high-turnover role and momentum cannot wait. We step in as interim leadership, keeping the campaign moving and donor relationships warm while you search for your next hire.
Fractional major gift fundraising — working directly with your top donors and best prospects to accelerate gift conversations. The fastest path to new money.
Anne co-authored the nonprofit fundraising industry's framework for responsible AI.
Most counsel advises on the fundraising and stops there. We build the plan and the case, then make the asks with your team — and we cover everything a campaign touches.
Facilities, programs, and the people who run them.
Feasibility studies, campaign policies, and senior fundraising expertise.
Branding, the launch, and the events that bring the community in.
Campaign counsel is the center of what we do. A feasibility study comes first — we test the goal and the case for support with your donors through confidential interviews, then deliver clear findings and the confidence to move forward. From there, campaign counsel carries it all the way through — the quiet phase, the public phase, the close, and the celebration that thanks the donors who made it possible.
Where we start, and what most organizations hire us for first. We test the goal and the case for support with your donors through confidential interviews, then deliver findings and a clear read on readiness.
Leadership gift strategies and major donor cultivation to secure 50% of the campaign goal before launch.
Broad engagement strategies and tactics that carry the campaign through to a successful conclusion.
Thank the donors, mark the milestone, and steward the relationships the campaign built. Then set the table for what comes next, because the close of one campaign is the start of the next.
Third spaces first — the arts centers, parks, and gathering places — then the university buildings that prove the counsel works at eight- and nine-figure scale.
Meet MOXXEE, an AI-assisted fundraising intelligence platform. CRMs record what happened — MOXXEE illuminates the relationship. It holds the donor history and institutional memory — the soft signals that turn a contact into a relationship and a relationship into a gift. Built on Justice, Equity, and Transparency, with no exploitative data practices.
Learn what MOXXEE is →Interactive tools to use and guides to read or share — free, and built from years of campaigns.
A short self-assessment to reflect on where your organization stands before a campaign. The best place to begin.
Understand what moves you to give, then turn it into a real plan for how, how much, and when.
Organize your campaign priorities and gift levels into a review-ready report.
Plan and run donor salon events that build connection and gather the insight a campaign needs.
A six-session working series to build and lead your own campaign, with AI used responsibly.
A complimentary executive fundraising strategy session for leaders ready to take action.
From initial contact through gift-conversation follow-up, the old way of doing this doesn't work anymore. Learn a modern approach to securing meaningful gift conversations.
We focus on the essential human skills that differentiate excellent fundraisers from those who get by.
For cultivation partners like executive directors and department heads, high-achieving fundraisers, and middle managers thrust into leadership roles.
Anne Murphy is the founder of Empowered Fundraiser Consulting, with 33 years leading advancement strategy across higher education and the nonprofit sector. She has raised hundreds of millions for STEM education, research, and nonprofit initiatives, and guides teams through campaigns and leadership transitions.
She rose through the Oregon State University Foundation from Director of Development for the College of Science to Senior Director of Development for Engineering and Business, exceeding goal every year and managing a portfolio with $400M in donor capacity. Earlier campaigns took her through the University of Illinois, Ohio University, and UC San Francisco.
Her work reaches well beyond the university. In her own community she has led and advised campaigns and initiatives for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, The Arts Center of Corvallis, and Common Ground Food Co-op — the same disciplined approach, at the scale a nonprofit works in.
Anne is also the founder of She Leads AI, where she teaches nonprofit and higher ed leaders to use AI responsibly, and with Don Wackerly the co-founder of MOXXEE. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon with her family and three doggos.
B.S. Recreation Administration & M.S. Leisure Behavior — University of Illinois · speaker for CASE and AFP · ARCS Oregon Chapter
Don partners with Anne on strategy and the relationships that move a campaign forward, bringing a background in marketing and sales and an MBA to the work — with a steady hand on scope, capacity, and the cross-organization partnerships a campaign depends on. He and Anne are co-founders of MOXXEE.
Kate keeps things organized and people connected — donor event planning, donor communication and marketing, database management, and the operational follow-through that keeps donor relationships warm between conversations.
We have the experience to guide complex fundraising initiatives.
Anne is an ideal fundraising partner. She provides great guidance and coaching, with aplomb, humor and proficiency.
Anne's approach is more personal. Her unique blend of extensive higher ed insight and AI truly changed my perception.
University of IllinoisOhio UniversityUC San FranciscoOregon State University FoundationThese organizations share our commitment to thoughtful, effective fundraising.
A complimentary executive fundraising strategy session for leaders ready to take action.
Anne is a professional public speaker, bringing fundraising and responsible-AI talks to teams and stages.
A workshop series to build out your development program and get ready to raise more.
This is for you if you're ready to scale but need strategic insights to guide your expansion. Your board may need training, staff may need coaching, and you may need a boost in your confidence.
Talk to Anne about Campaign Launch PadAnne founded She Leads AI to help nonprofit and higher ed leaders put AI to work responsibly, through education and community.
Visit She Leads AIStart with a complimentary executive strategy session, or find Anne on LinkedIn.