What Is Fractional Fundraising? A Plain-Language Guide for Nonprofit Leaders
The short version
Fractional fundraising is when a senior fundraising expert works with your organization on a part-time, embedded basis — typically 20–30 hours a month — for 12 months or more. They're not a contractor you hand tasks to. They're a strategic partner who builds your fundraising strategy and systems and then implements them alongside you.
It's senior-level expertise at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. That's where the name comes from. When people first hear "fractional," they often think it just means "part-time employee." But there's a crucial difference.
Part-time staff:
You hire them as an employee
You manage them and tell them what to do
They typically have entry to mid-level experience
You're responsible for training them
They do whatever tasks you assign
Fractional fundraiser:
External expert, not an employee
Self-directed—they know what needs to happen and they make it happen
Senior-level expertise from day one
No training required
Focuses strategically on highest-impact priorities
Why this model exists
Most small and mid-sized nonprofits — whether in Canada or the United States — are stuck in an impossible position. You need experienced fundraising help, but a Director of Development with real seniority costs $100,000–$140,000 USD (or $110,000–$155,000 CAD) a year in salary and benefits. Even if you could afford it, you'd spend months recruiting, more months while they get up to speed, and you'd be taking on real turnover risk (most development hires leave within two years).
So EDs end up doing fundraising on top of everything else. It's not sustainable, and it's not what you signed up for.
Fractional fundraising was built for organizations and EDs in this situation.
| Full-time hire | Traditional consultant | Fractional fundraiser | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Ongoing | 3–6 months | 12–24 months |
| What you get | Employee you manage | Strategy + Advice | Strategy + Implementation + Upskilling |
| Experience level | Varies | Varies | Senior (10–25+ years) |
| Cost (USD) | $80K–$150K/year | $15K–$50K per project | $48K–$84K/year |
| Who implements? | Them (needs direction) | You | Both of you, together |
The key distinction from consulting: a traditional consultant delivers a plan and advises on next steps but does not implement. A fractional fundraiser builds the plan with you and then executes it with you. That matters because many fundraising plans are never fully implemented. Not because they're not great plans, but because organizations don't have the capacity to act on them.
What a 12-month partnership looks like
The first few months are foundation work: reviewing your donor data, understanding your history, interviewing key people (donors, board members, staff, etc.), building the strategy and work plan. You won't see much revenue movement yet, and that's normal. You're building something that will actually last.
By months four through six, systems are getting built and campaigns start going live — prospecting, grant writing, email campaigns. You'll see early revenue and, more importantly, momentum that hasn't existed before.
By months seven through twelve, you're seeing clear year-over-year growth. Your team has been upskilled. Systems are running. And when the engagement ends, the knowledge stays with you — the templates, the donor relationships, and the processes your team learned while building them.
Is it right for your organization?
Fractional fundraising tends to work well when your budget is between $500K and $5M, the ED is currently the primary fundraiser, and you need someone to both build strategy and implement it — not just hand over a document. We work with organizations across Canada and the United States, and the challenges tend to be remarkably similar regardless of which side of the border you're on.
It's probably not the right fit if your organization is in immediate financial crisis (fractional takes six to twelve months to show results), if you already have a senior development director in place, or if you're looking for grant writing only (a specialized grant writer is more cost-effective for that). It is also not a good fit if your ED is unable or unwilling to participate in fundraising.
One important thing to know upfront: this is a partnership, not outsourcing. You'll commit two to three hours a week — a standing call, reviewing and approving materials, connecting your fundraiser to key relationships. If you want fundraising completely off your plate, fractional isn't it. But if you want an expert working alongside you so the weight is shared? That's exactly what it's designed for.
What results look like
Results vary based on your starting point, how engaged your ED and board are, and market conditions. There are no guarantees — any consultant who promises specific dollar amounts isn't being straight with you.
What you can track to know whether the engagement is working: systems built and being used, staff who can run those systems independently, donor retention rates, new donor acquisition, email addresses collected, dollars raised, and average gift size. By month twelve, you should see movement across most of these. If you're not, that's worth an honest conversation with your fractional fundraiser about why.
What it costs — and how to think about it
Fractional fundraising typically runs $4,000–$7,000 USD per month (or $4,500–$9,000 CAD) for a 12-month commitment. At Further Together, we charge $5,500 month ($66,000 annually plus applicable taxes), which puts us in the mid-range of the market for the experience and implementation depth we provide.
The most useful comparison is against alternative options. A senior-level full-time hire runs $90,000–$150,000 USD (or $100,000–$170,000 CAD) in Year 1 when you factor in salary, benefits, and recruitment. A strategy-only consultant runs $15,000–$50,000 and leaves you with a plan to implement yourself.
Your next steps
We work with Executive Directors across Canada and the United States who are ready for a different approach to fundraising — one grounded in Community-Centric Fundraising principles, built around your values, and actually implemented rather than handed off as a document.
If fractional fundraising sounds like it might fit, the most useful thing you can do is talk to two or three consultants. Come with your real numbers, your real challenges, and direct questions. Most offer free discovery calls, although some may charge you for the consultation.
If you want to learn about Further Together's approach, book a free discovery call here. We'll tell you honestly whether we think it's a good fit — and if it's not, we'll say so.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a fractional fundraiser and a consultant?
A consultant typically delivers a strategy and then leaves. A fractional fundraiser builds the strategy with you and implements it alongside you for 12 months or more. The difference is whether the plan actually gets executed.
Do I still have to be involved in fundraising?
Yes — this is a partnership, not a handoff. You'll commit roughly two to three hours a week to standing calls, reviewing materials, and connecting your fundraiser to key relationships. The goal isn't to remove you from fundraising entirely. It's to make sure you're not carrying it alone.
What happens after 12 months?
You have three options: continue the partnership (many organizations do, because results keep building), transition to a full-time hire into the systems that have been built, or conclude the engagement and continue independently with everything your team has learned.
How do I choose the right fractional fundraiser?
Look for 10-25 years of fundraising experience. Check their track record with organizations similar to yours in size (someone who only works with hospitals won't necessarily understand your $1M community nonprofit). Pay attention to how they communicate in your discovery call—if it's clear and straightforward, that's how they'll work with you. Make sure your values align, especially if Community-Centric Fundraising matters to you. Confirm they work with 3 clients per consultant maximum—any more and they can't give you real attention.
What red flags should I avoid when choosing a fractional fundraiser?
Run if someone offers to work for a percentage of funds raised—that's unethical and violates AFP's Code of Ethics. Be wary if they promise guaranteed revenue numbers (too many variables outside anyone's control for ethical guarantees). If they're dramatically cheaper than market rate, ask why—it usually signals inexperience or desperation. If they can't provide references or specific case studies, they don't have a track record. And if they're working with 10+ clients simultaneously, they physically can't give you adequate time and attention.
How much time does our ED need to commit?
Minimum 2-3 hours per week: weekly call (60 min), reviewing/approving materials (30-60 min), making donor calls/visits, connecting fractional to key people. Fractional won't work without ED engagement. Address capacity issues first (perhaps fractional in different function like operations to free ED time) or wait until ED has bandwidth.
We’ve never had a development person before. Is fractional okay for us?
Yes! Actually ideal. Fractional builds foundation from scratch so your eventual first hire (if you want one) walks into working systems.
We just had our development director leave. Should we get a fractional fundraiser?
Perfect timing. Fractional provides immediate coverage during transition (no recruitment delay) and can help recruit/onboard replacement if you decide to hire full-time.
What can a fractional fundraiser actually do for us?
It depends on your organization's specific needs and capacity. They start by helping you figure out which fundraising areas to focus on—maybe that's building an individual giving program from scratch, or diversifying away from grants, or activating major donors you've been ignoring. Then they develop the strategy and actually implement it with you. That might look like: setting up your CRM and donor journeys, writing your email campaigns and appeals, doing prospect research, training you on how to talk to donors, activating your board through training and coaching, writing grants, managing your fundraising calendar. The work is tailored to where you are and where you need to go. Every organization's situation is different—that's why the first few months are spent understanding your specific strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.