Further Together is a fundraising firm that is dedicated to driving systemic change, both inside and outside the nonprofit sector.
We believe fundraising has the power to do more than keep the lights on. Done well — done ethically — it can shift power. Build movements. Change who gets a seat at the table.
That's our north star: creating real change inside the sector and beyond it.
Further Together is a Toronto-based fractional fundraising firm serving social justice nonprofits across Canada and the United States. Every engagement is built entirely on Community-Centric Fundraising methodology.
About
Further Together
Our Founder
Before I was a fundraiser, I was a service user.
Maria Rio - CEO & Founder of Further Together
"In 2002, when I was nine years old, my mother, my sibling, and I came to Canada from Mexico and applied for refugee status. We lived in a World Vision shelter for six months."
When I was in high school, I skipped school to go to food banks — they were only open during school hours, when my mom was at work. My family had to choose: I could go to class, or we could all eat.
The organizations that helped us kept us safe. I won't forget that. But none of them fought the systems that made us need charity in the first place. They treated symptoms. They didn't touch root causes.
That gap is why I'm here.
I founded Further Together because I kept meeting Executive Directors who felt the same friction I did — and who didn't have anyone in their corner willing to say so plainly. That's the firm I built.
2002
Arrived in Canada as a refugee. Lived in a World Vision shelter for six months.
2011
Started fundraising face-to-face for World Vision — the same charity that ran our shelter. Did agency fundraising for almost five years, representing over 10 different nonprofits
2015–2022
Moved in-house. Grew to be a Director of Development and Communications. Practiced CCF and proved it worked.
2023 — present
Founded Further Together. Speaker at AFP ICON, AFP Congress, Xlerate, Imagine Canada. Host of The Small Nonprofit Podcast. Board of Living Wage Canada.
Our Approach:
Fundraising that challenges the status quo.
We are the only CCF-specialist Fractional Fundraising firm in Canada
We practice Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) — a framework that reorients fundraising away from donor flattery and toward the dignity, voice, and power of the communities you serve.
No poverty porn or savior narratives
Stories of resilience & systemic change, where donors are partners in justice work, not heroes
Fundraising done with communities
Not to them, not for them — with them. We center and respect lived experience.
Relationships, not transactional asks
Meaningful engagement and education year-round, not just when you need money.
Advocacy that shifts systems
Everyone has a role to play when it comes to building a better, stronger future.
You don't need to be practicing CCF before we work together. But you do need to be open to it. If traditional fundraising has felt at odds with your values, you're exactly who we work with.
Five areas. A different way of working in each one.
01
One-to-one relationships
Real conversations about the systems your community navigates — not just the programs you run. Donors treated as partners, not prospects.
02
Digital funnels and donor acquisition
Campaigns designed to attract donors who share your values — not just anyone with money. Community built around a shared purpose.
03
One-to-many campaigns
We measure what's working. We tell stories that center your community's agency — not their hardship. Data and dignity together.
04
Your value proposition
A compelling case for support directed by your values and rooted in your community. What makes your organization worth funding is systems change work — not the optics.
05
Modern and consistent branding
We assess how consistent, dignified, and honest your brand comes across. Your brand should reflect your values — not perform them. Everything from tone to imagery.
Why we are the right choice
Four things no other firm can say.
There are many fractional fundraising companies out there. Here is what makes Further Together the right choice for social justice organizations.
CCF isn't an add-on. It's the whole model.
Every other fractional fundraising firm will tell you they're values-aligned. Further Together is the only firm in Canada that specializes exclusively in CCF — built into every strategy, every campaign, every donor conversation. Not mentioned in our marketing and forgotten in delivery.
50+ years of experience — right-sized for your org.
Our staff bring more than 50 years of combined fundraising experience across community organizations, arts institutions, food security nonprofits, and grassroots charities. We are not large-shop consultants who occasionally work with small organizations. This is where we’ve always worked — $500K to $5M, where the margin for error is real.
Lived experience at the top of the firm.
Maria arrived in Canada as a refugee at nine years old. She used food banks, a shelter, and drop-in centres. She became a fundraiser because she believed in the work — and then spent a decade watching the sector use fundraising tactics that undermine it. It's why this firm exists. To do things better.
A firm that thinks out loud.
The Small Nonprofit Podcast has been running since before Further Together existed. Four episodes a month, every month — on fundraising, CCF, sector politics, and the conversations most consultancies won't have publicly. It's the clearest signal of how we think. If you want to know whether we're the right fit before booking a call, start there.
Our Vision of a Better Sector
We believe fundraising is a political act. How you raise money, who you center, and what stories you tell are choices with consequences. Our values aren't a list. They're in every strategy we build, essential to how we approach our work, and the lens through which we see the world.
1. Nonprofits are genuinely in community
Not performing community. Actually centering it. Real partnerships with funders, service users, and peer nonprofits. Funders practicing trust-based philanthropy. Boards led by people with lived experience. Corporations not charity-washing their brands. CCF as standard onboarding. Organizations confident enough to use disruptive tactics — protests, sit-ins, deputations — when the moment calls for it.
2. Leaders can actually lead
Demographic diversification of board and ED seats. Leaders equipped for political action. Organizations that tackle root causes, not just symptoms. Nonprofits upskilling their leaders and mobilizing their service users and donors. And nonprofits that practice internally what they claim externally.
3. Nonprofits are good places to work
Financially
Living wages. Permanent positions. Salary transparency. Staff who don't need a second job — or need to access the services their own organization provides. Staff, service users, and volunteers not treated as “less than”.
Culturally
Rejection of burnout culture. Psychological safety. Fundraisers who know when to turn down a gift — and whose leadership backs them up. EDs with professional development budgets and coaching access. Fundraising with integrity.
Our Team
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Maria Rio
CEO & FOUNDER
15 years in fundraising, sought-after speaker and thought-leader. One of Canada's leading voices on Community-Centric Fundraising. Came to Canada as a refugee, hosts The Small Nonprofit podcast, and has never stopped pushing for equity in the sector and beyond.
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Caitlin McBride, CFRE
SENIOR CONSULTANT
A decade building donor relationships that hold — from large-scale UK nonprofits to grassroots Canadian charities. Certified Fund Raising Executive. Board vice-chair at New Westminster Family Place.
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Nevine Sedki
SENIOR CONSULTANT
25+ years in community-centric fundraising and organizational development. Raised millions across arts, youth, and community organizations. Long-time DJ and radio host.
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Ysabel Gayahan
ADMIN ASSISTANT
10+ years in marketing, design, and operations — the person who makes everything run smoother than it should. Brings an industrial engineering brain to creative work, which means nothing slips through the cracks. Based in the Philippines, fluent in freediving, and always planning the next island.
Is this the right fit?
We work best with a specific kind of organization.
Being honest about fit saves everyone time.
This is probably you:
✔ Annual budget of $500K or more
✔ ED doing fundraising alone or understaffed
✔ Want strategy or hands-on implementation
✔ Open to moving away from donor-centric practices
✔ Social justice mission at the core of your work
This probably isn’t:
X Budget under $500K
X Immediate cash flow crisis
X Don’t need fundraising implementation or guidance
X Don’t work in Canada or the USA
X Not open to CCF principles
If that's you — let's talk.
A 45-minute discovery call. We'll look at where your fundraising is now, where you want it to go, and whether we're the right fit to get you there.
No pitch. Just an honest conversation about your situation.