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Mission/Values
If you work with a nonprofit organization that is undertaking a major capital campaign, please contact us.
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Mission
The mission of Stephen E. Cramer & Associates, LLC is a personal one that has grown out of 30 years of service to the nonprofit community and that has derived its guiding principles from the men and women, both professional and volunteer, that have been a positive influence in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy. Our mission is this:
To provide professional, ethical, mission-focused, fundraising management consulting services to institutions and organizations that provide quality programs and services in their communities and desire to strengthen their capacity by setting a leadership standard in philanthropic development.
We are personally driven by the professional desire to assist selected nonprofit organizations and institutions to be successful in adding value to their mission delivery with and through successful Major Gift, Capital, and Endowment Development.
Values
We operate, deliver services, and relate to each client according to the Code of Ethics of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Our fees are set in advance of service and are not based on a percentage of a client's fundraising goal.
We believe that the heart and soul of philanthropy is volunteerism and will therefore serve you, the client, best by working with and through the top quality volunteers and leaders of your organization. We will not approach your loyal donors, supporters, and friends independent of this stated value.
We respect, adhere to, and foster in our recommended practices the Donor Bill of Rights.
In order to personally and intimately understand our clients and the philanthropic community, each partner and consultant of the Cramer & Associates firm maintains an active leadership role and philanthropic support in one or more nonprofit organizations.
We believe and practice in working directly and personally with each of our clients and are selective in our partnership in order to accomplish this close relationship with Leadership, Volunteers, Staff and Executives.
We believe in developing a proper Board-directed planning linkage to any Major Gift, Capital, and/or Endowment Development program. A current strategic plan for your institution or organization must be in place before any major fundraising activity takes place.
We believe that leadership is the essential ingredient for any successful fundraising undertaking and further believe that appropriate assessment, planning, and leadership identification are critical before moving forward in raising any funds.
We believe that leadership level/major gifts will be solicited and secured best by using the approach of finding the right person to ask the right individual for the right amount at the right time and in the right manner for the right cause.
Because Cramer & Associates is committed to personally working with a few selected clients at any one time and is further committed to strategic and limited growth, we value the opportunity to develop long-term partnerships with our clients by providing comprehensive fundraising services over time that are tailored to each client as appropriate and when strategically needed.
We believe in the highest standard of performance over profitability and are therefore committed to a hands-on consulting service by our partners and senior consultants and limiting high-overhead non-essentials in order to keep consulting fees competitive. The value we provide to clients derives from our professional and personal experience and our credentials. We will not compromise the firm's professional and ethical principles; rather, each proposal that is made to a prospective client will be written from this perspective and will not be enhanced to secure superfluous fee income.