Bentz Whaley Flessner

What Bentz Whaley Flessner does

Bentz Whaley Flessner, now operating as BWF Zuri following a 2026 merger under MissionWired ownership, is a full-service nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy consulting firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in Minneapolis. The firm serves colleges, universities, health systems, children's hospitals, NGOs, and arts and culture organizations across North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and the Pacific Rim, organized around three primary verticals (Education, Health, Nonprofits). Its service portfolio spans campaign planning and management, prospect research and analytics, CRM selection and implementation (Salesforce, Slate for Advancement, Blackbaud), AI and data science, business intelligence, digital marketing, strategic communications, donor relations, and outsourced program management.

The firm's underlying technology stack combines partner-licensed CRM platforms with proprietary extensions and an AI product. The Expert Access suite bundles 32+ custom tools for Blackbaud CRM (including Velocity ETL, List Builder Generator, Outlook Add-In, Duplicate Compare Utility, FROGz mobile app, and Email Template Manager). Donor AI is a packaged predictive analytics product powered by IBM Watson that delivers prospect scoring, campaign outcome forecasting, and engagement optimization across Pipeline, Campaign, Engagement, Healthcare, and Membership offerings. Microsoft Power BI is implemented for client-facing business intelligence dashboards, and the firm integrates with wealth screening (iWave), prospect analytics (FundMiner), data integration (Omatic), and EMR systems (Epic) in healthcare deployments.

Revenue is generated through professional services engagements, managed services contracts, and productized offerings (Donor AI subscriptions, Expert Access licenses). Pricing is quote-based with multi-year contract cadences; no standard pricing tiers are publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales: direct consultant outreach to organizational leadership, RFP responses, and thought-leadership-driven demand generation through webinars, white papers, case studies, and conferences such as AHP, AAMC, NACCDO, and Woodmark Group events.

Name

Bentz Whaley Flessner

Legal name

BWF Zuri

Website

https://www.bwf.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BWF Zuri is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy consulting firm serving universities, health systems, and NGOs globally with campaign strategy, CRM implementation, and the IBM Watson-powered Donor AI analytics product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & Reporting for Donor Programs (BPADAOAL)

Keywords

• Nonprofit fundraising consulting
• Philanthropy advisory services
• Campaign management consulting
• Nonprofit CRM implementation
• Donor prospect analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fundraising Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements providing strategic counsel, campaign planning and management, prospect development, and organizational optimization for nonprofit clients.
2. Technology Implementation Services: CRM selection, implementation, and managed services for platforms including Salesforce, Slate for Advancement, and Blackbaud.
3. Donor AI Products: AI-powered predictive analytics packages (Pipeline, Campaign, Engagement, Healthcare, Membership) available for individual purchase or custom configurations.
4. Managed Services: Outsourced program management covering campaign management, annual giving execution, direct marketing, and CRM administration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BWF Zuri provides fundraising and philanthropy consulting services to large nonprofit organizations, universities, healthcare systems, and NGOs. Offerings span campaign planning and management, prospect development and research, CRM selection and implementation (Salesforce, Slate for Advancement, Blackbaud), AI-driven donor analytics, business intelligence, managed annual giving, strategic communications, and organizational strategy. The firm also sells two proprietary technology products: Donor AI (IBM Watson-powered predictive analytics) and Expert Access (30+ tools extending Blackbaud CRM).

Product overview

BWF Zuri (formerly Bentz, Whaley, Flessner & Associates) is a full-service nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy consulting firm offering a portfolio of advisory services organized across five main practice areas: Campaigns and Fundraising Strategy, Technology and Operations, Engagement and Donor Experience, and Organizational Strategies. The firm's product portfolio includes two named technology products: Donor AI (an IBM Watson-powered predictive analytics platform for donor prospect scoring and campaign forecasting, available in Pipeline, Campaign, Engagement, Healthcare, and Membership packages) and Expert Access (a suite of 32+ custom tools for Blackbaud CRM users, including Velocity ETL, List Builder Generator, Outlook Add-In, Duplicate Compare Utility, FROGz mobile app, and Email Template Manager). Beyond these products, BWF Zuri provides an extensive range of consulting services spanning campaign planning, CRM implementation (Salesforce, Slate, Blackbaud), AI and data science, business intelligence, prospect research, digital marketing, strategic communications, donor relations, and organizational strategy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Donor AI: AI-powered predictive analytics solution for fundraising that helps identify top prospects, forecast campaign outcomes, and make data-driven decisions.
• Expert Access

Products and services

• Donor AI AI-powered predictive analytics product for nonprofit fundraising, powered by IBM Watson. Identifies top donor prospects, forecasts campaign outcomes, and delivers data-driven decisions through packages for Pipeline, Campaign, Engagement, Healthcare, Membership, and custom configurations.
• Expert Access for Blackbaud CRM Suite of 30+ custom tools extending Blackbaud CRM, including Velocity ETL, List Builder Generator, Outlook Add-In, Duplicate Compare Utility, FROGz mobile enhancement, and Email Template Manager.
• Campaign Planning and Management Comprehensive fundraising campaign planning and management services including feasibility studies, campaign readiness assessment, campaign management, volunteer engagement, and data-driven insights for successful fundraising campaigns.
• Managed Services Outsourced managed services including campaign management, multichannel campaign execution, managed annual giving, direct marketing management, strategic communications, CRM management, prospect development, prospect research, and data science/business intelligence.
• Systems Selection and Implementation CRM systems selection and implementation services including system needs analysis, selection facilitation, custom implementation planning, training and support, post-implementation review, and change management for nonprofit organizations across Salesforce, Slate, and Blackbaud.
• AI and Data Science AI and data science services including custom constituency analysis, predictive modeling, AI readiness assessment, strategic analytics assessment, portfolio optimization, performance metrics, and analytics training. Leverages Donor AI powered by IBM Watson.
• Reporting and Business Intelligence Reporting and business intelligence services including dashboard development, KPI formulation and monitoring, data governance, strategic data consulting, educational workshops, supplemental staff support, predictive modeling, AI-driven insights, and custom analytics solutions.
• Prospect Development and Research Prospect development and research services including prospect identification, wealth and philanthropic screening, donor profiling, data analysis and reporting, prospect pipeline development, portfolio optimization, prospect development assessments, strategic research, and prospect research training.
• Annual Giving and Digital Marketing Annual giving and digital marketing services including annual giving assessments, digital fundraising assessments, donor segmentation analysis, personas development, journey mapping, donor acquisition and retention strategies, social audience analysis, and authentic video creation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced pipeline friction by 4x through AI modeling and HIPAA-compliant data integration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• IBM WatsoncoreTechnology or IntegrationIBM Watson powers BWF Zuri's Donor AI predictive analytics platform, providing the underlying AI technology for fundraising prospect identification and campaign forecasting.
• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationBWF is a trusted Salesforce implementation partner providing strategic counsel, business process optimization, CRM implementation, and managed services for nonprofit organizations.
• Slate for Advancement (Technolutions)coreTechnology or IntegrationPlatinum-level preferred partner providing Slate implementation services to support advancement teams' modern fundraising operations.
• BlackbaudcoreTechnology or IntegrationSeasoned Blackbaud implementation partner offering comprehensive services for advancement teams including Expert Access program with 30+ custom tools.
• Microsoft Power BIsupportingTechnology or IntegrationBusiness intelligence platform utilized for dashboard development and data visualization for client organizations.
• iWavesupportingTechnology or IntegrationWealth screening and prospect research platform integrated into BWF's prospect development services.
• FundMinersupportingTechnology or IntegrationFundraising analytics platform offered as part of BWF's technology partner ecosystem.
• Omatic SoftwaresupportingTechnology or IntegrationData integration and migration tools for nonprofit CRM implementations.
• BloomerangsupportingTechnology or IntegrationDonor management and engagement platform within BWF's technology partner ecosystem.
• DonorPerfectsupportingTechnology or IntegrationFundraising CRM platform offered as part of BWF's technology partner ecosystem.
• Tessitura NetworksupportingTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated constituent relationship management platform for arts and cultural organizations.
• Penry AdvisorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred partner for campaign strategy and fundraising advisory services.
• Level5 EventssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred partner for campaign events and engagement activities.
• MissionWiredcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company that acquired BWF to join with Zuri Group, forming BWF Zuri. Strategic consolidation to expand service capabilities.
• boodleAIsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAI platform partner referenced in engagement and donor experience services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Blackbaud: Blackbaud is the dominant provider of CRM and fundraising software for the nonprofit sector, including the Raiser's Edge and Blackbaud CRM platforms that BWF implements for clients. They are both a technology partner and a broad incumbent that could expand into adjacent consulting services.
• Huron Consulting: Huron Consulting is a large professional services firm with a dedicated Higher Education and Healthcare practice that provides fundraising assessments, advancement optimization, and CRM implementation — competing with BWF on enterprise transformation engagements in BWF's core verticals.

Direct peers

• Zuri Group: Zuri Group was a CRM implementation and managed services firm for nonprofits before merging with BWF to form BWF Zuri. They provided systems selection, implementation, and managed services across Salesforce, Slate, and Blackbaud platforms — directly overlapping with BWF's technology operations practice.
• Graham-Pelton: Graham-Pelton is a fundraising and advancement consulting firm serving nonprofits, universities, and healthcare organizations. They provide campaign management, development counsel, and talent search services directly comparable to BWF's campaign and strategy practice.
• Ruffalo Noel Levitz: Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) is a leading provider of fundraising, enrollment management, and student success services to higher education institutions. They offer campaign counsel, annual giving, and advancement services that compete directly with BWF in the education sector.
• Marts & Lundy: Marts & Lundy is a premier fundraising consulting firm specializing in campaign planning, feasibility studies, and philanthropic counsel for educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and cultural nonprofits — a long-standing direct competitor to BWF in capital campaign consulting.
• Grenzebach Glier and Associates: Grenzebach Glier is a leading fundraising and philanthropy advisory firm serving higher education, healthcare, and nonprofit clients. They offer campaign counsel, prospect research, and advancement services that directly overlap with BWF's core offerings.
• CCS Fundraising: CCS Fundraising is one of the largest fundraising consulting firms in North America, providing campaign counsel, feasibility studies, and development services to nonprofits, healthcare systems, and educational institutions — a direct competitor to BWF in capital campaign strategy and major gift fundraising advisory.

Regional players

• True North Custom Publishing: True North Custom is a fundraising communications and content agency serving hospitals and nonprofits, with strong presence in healthcare philanthropy publications and donor communications — comparable to BWF's campaign communications and strategic communications practices, particularly for health system clients.

Others

• MissionWired: MissionWired is the parent company that acquired BWF and merged it with Zuri Group to form BWF Zuri. MissionWired provides digital fundraising, advocacy, and direct marketing services to nonprofits and progressive causes — adjacent services that complement BWF's traditional fundraising counsel.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCU5j6eqlShEUUmon1xvEKPA
• Facebookfacebook.com/bentz-whaley-flessner-173470512703452
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/79898
• Instagraminstagram.com/bwfzuri
• Xx.com/bwf_social

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bentz Whaley Flessner