Dickerson Bakker

What Dickerson Bakker does

Dickerson Bakker (legal entity Dickerson, Bakker & Associates) is a privately held professional services firm founded in 1985 in Raleigh, North Carolina, that provides fundraising, capital campaign, executive search, and grant development consulting to nonprofit organizations. The firm serves a diversified portfolio of sectors including rescue missions, Christian and private schools, higher education, churches (via the Cargill Associates division), the Salvation Army, global aid ministries, community organizations, camps, and broadcast ministries. Across its four core service lines, the firm operates an Assess-Plan-Deliver methodology with multi-year engagements and quote-based pricing, supported by a distributed network of consultants across 15+ US cities and international reach in Canada, the UK, Israel, China, South Africa, Australia, and Brazil.

The firm's underlying technology stack centers on proprietary, trademarked frameworks: Donor inSight™ (a 360° donor analytics platform launched in 2024 for KPI tracking, segmentation, and personalized messaging), Keystone Major Gifts Solution™ (a seven-component major gift program methodology), Hire Higher™ and Leaders That Last™ (executive search methodologies), and the "Treat Every Donor Like A Major Donor®" mass-personalization approach. The firm also maintains internal research assets (annual Giving Studies, Christian School Fundraising Studies, Nonprofit Staffing Studies, a 400-leader "A Better Way" study, and a 300+ nonprofit donor retention study) and implements third-party tools like Salesforce for client grants tracking. In 2026, the firm launched a packaged "A Better Way" fundraising model combining talent, relationship fundraising, and direct response.

The business model is professional services with custom, quote-based pricing across multi-year contracts. Revenue streams include fundraising consulting fees, capital campaign consulting (a five-phase process from feasibility study to fulfillment), retained executive search with a six-month placement guarantee, and full-service grant development. The firm is founder-led (Derric Bakker as CEO, Clark Dickerson as Founder) with a recent leadership transition (Andrew Olsen promoted to President in January 2026) and has grown via acquisition, notably the 2022 merger with Cargill Associates, which now operates as a division focused on church and faith-based capital campaigns. The firm claims thousands of clients served and billions of dollars raised cumulatively over its nearly 40-year history, with no external investment or parent company.

Name

Dickerson Bakker

Legal name

Dickerson, Bakker & Associates

Website

https://dickersonbakker.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dickerson Bakker is a privately held consulting firm founded in 1985 that provides fundraising, capital campaign, executive search, and grant services to nonprofit organizations across rescue missions, Christian schools, higher education, churches, and ministries in North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

Keywords

• Nonprofit fundraising consulting
• Capital campaign services
• Executive search services
• Grant writing services
• Fund development consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fundraising Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for fundraising solutions including major gift development, direct response fundraising, donor retention strategies, and campaign management. Services include high-value direct mail programs, digital fundraising approaches, creative services, and analytics.
2. Capital Campaign Consulting: Fees for capital campaign planning, feasibility studies, communications, customized planning, donor research and analytics, campaign management, and training/coaching services. Structured in five phases: Feasibility Study, Pre-Campaign Planning, Leadership Giving Phase, Public Phase, and Fulfillment Phase.
3. Executive Search Services: Retained executive search services for nonprofit leadership and fundraising positions. Includes discovery & strategy, candidate evaluation, targeted sourcing, selection facilitation, applicant screening, and onboarding support. Features six-month placement guarantee.
4. Grant Services: Full-service grant development including assessments, grant readiness consulting, grant management, research & prospecting, grant writing, and strategic counsel. Team embeds as part of client organization for comprehensive partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Dickerson Bakker provides professional consulting services to nonprofit organizations, including direct response fundraising, capital campaign planning and execution, executive search for fundraising and leadership roles, and full-service grant development. The firm operates an Assess > Plan > Deliver methodology, supported by proprietary platforms such as Donor inSight™ (donor analytics) and the Keystone Major Gifts Solution™ methodology.

Product overview

Dickerson Bakker operates as a unified nonprofit consulting platform offering four core service lines: Fundraising Solutions (including direct response, major gifts via Keystone Major Gifts Solution™, and Donor inSight™ analytics platform), Capital Campaigns (five-phase consulting process), Executive Search (Hire Higher™ and Leaders That Last™ methodology), and Grant Services. The firm also offers specialized programs for Christian schools (Fund Development Kick-Starter and Accelerator programs) and maintains Cargill Associates as a division focused on church capital campaigns. The company is organized around an Assess > Plan > Deliver methodology to help clients fuel growth, build sustainability, and achieve greater impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cargill Associates: A division of DickersonBakker specializing in capital campaign consulting for churches and faith-based organizations.

Products and services

• Fundraising Solutions Comprehensive direct response fundraising and marketing services including high-value direct mail programs, digital engagement, creative services, analytics, and smart testing. Built on a mass-personalization approach that treats every donor like a major donor.
• Capital Campaigns Consulting services for capital campaigns including feasibility studies, customized planning, donor research and analytics, campaign communications, management, and training/coaching. Structured as a five-phase process: Feasibility Study, Pre-Campaign Planning, Leadership Giving Phase, Public Phase, and Fulfillment Phase.
• Executive Search Full spectrum retained executive search services for nonprofit organizations to recruit talent for fundraising and executive leadership roles. Uses Hire Higher™ and Leaders That Last™ methodologies and includes a six-month placement guarantee.
• Grant Services Complete spectrum of grant services including grant assessments, grant readiness consulting, grant management, research and prospecting, grant writing, and strategic counsel. The team embeds as part of the client organization.
• Donor inSight™ Proprietary data analytics platform providing 360° insights into donors and their giving patterns, enabling KPI tracking, donor segmentation, and personalized messaging based on individual donor priorities and preferences.
• A Better Way Fundraising Model Reimagined fundraising approach that combines talent, relationship fundraising, and direct response to help nonprofit organizations address donor retention and donor exodus challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35% donor retention rate increases
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Capital for Compassion (Kevin Foster)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance partner for capital campaign consulting, particularly for rescue missions and affordable housing initiatives. Kevin Foster, managing principal, assists clients with Affordable Housing Program Grants and New Market Tax Credits applications as part of comprehensive campaign strategies.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CCS Fundraising: CCS Fundraising is one of the largest US fundraising consulting firms, providing fundraising management, capital campaign consulting, and direct response services to nonprofits. Highly comparable to Dickerson Bakker across campaign, direct response, and major-gift service lines.
• Campbell & Company: Campbell & Company provides fundraising counsel, capital campaign planning, and executive search for nonprofits across the US. Directly comparable to Dickerson Bakker's capital campaign and executive search offerings with a similar mid-sized, relationship-led model.
• Graham-Pelton Consulting: Graham-Pelton offers fundraising, campaign, and executive search consulting to nonprofits, higher education, and healthcare organizations. A direct competitor in campaign strategy and major-gifts work targeting similar nonprofit segments as Dickerson Bakker.
• The Alford Group: The Alford Group provides fundraising, campaign, and executive search services exclusively to nonprofits. Comparable to Dickerson Bakker in client base, mission focus, and bundled service offerings across campaign and talent work.
• Ruffalo Noel Levitz: RNL is a leading direct-response fundraising agency and consulting firm serving higher education and nonprofit clients. Direct competitor to Dickerson Bakker's Fundraising Solutions line, particularly in direct mail and donor acquisition.
• RKD Group: RKD Group is a direct-response fundraising and marketing agency serving nonprofits, ministries, and membership organizations. Comparable in faith-based client overlap and in direct mail/digital fundraising execution to Dickerson Bakker's Fundraising Solutions.
• Pursuant (formerly MarketSmart): Pursuant provides fundraising consulting, donor engagement software, and data-driven fundraising services to nonprofits. Comparable to Dickerson Bakker as a fundraising consultancy with proprietary analytics and a focus on donor retention and major-gift programs.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group: Huron is a large, diversified professional services firm whose higher education and nonprofit practice provides fundraising, advancement, and campaign consulting. A broader incumbent competitor with overlapping capabilities but not exclusively focused on the nonprofit space.
• Blackbaud: Blackbaud is the leading SaaS provider of fundraising, CRM, and financial software to nonprofits. An adjacent incumbent rather than direct consulting competitor, but its software increasingly competes with Dickerson Bakker's advisory and analytics offerings.

Emerging players

• BWF (Barkley Evergreen & Partners): BWF is a fundraising and marketing agency focused on nonprofit and association clients, providing campaign strategy, creative, and digital fundraising services. An emerging peer with overlapping services in the same nonprofit segments Dickerson Bakker targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DickersonBakker

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Dickerson Bakker