What Hudson Ferris does

Hudson Ferris is a privately held, boutique fundraising consulting firm headquartered at 167 Madison Avenue, New York City, founded in 2011 with a team in the 11-50 range. The firm designs customized fundraising strategies for nonprofit executive directors, development teams, and board members, with a stated client base of 'hundreds' of organizations spanning arts, healthcare, advocacy, environment, education, and international development. Service lines include prospect research and pipeline creation, competitive analysis and donor messaging, major gifts and foundation outreach, wealth scaling, year-end appeal campaigns, crowdfunding, corporate sponsorship, relationship mapping, event fundraising, grant writing, and board training. Its research methodology is described as proprietary and human-powered, producing dossiers covering professional history, corporate affiliations, board memberships, capacity indicators, political giving, and philanthropic history rather than relying primarily on algorithmic databases.

The firm's revenue model combines bespoke professional services engagements with a recurring subscription product. In February 2025, Hudson Ferris launched Margaret, an on-demand fundraising help desk priced at $360/month (with discounted tiers for DonorAtlas users at $240/month and a $30 first-month trial for Civic Hall members), delivering unlimited expert guidance, quarterly prospect lists, semi-annual coaching sessions, and grant writing add-ons through an online portal. A second differentiated offering is its Solicitation Simulation Training, marketed as the only live-action rehearsal product on the market, using professional actors and real-time coaching. Distribution runs through direct nonprofit engagement (enterprise) and the Margaret self-serve platform (SMB), supported by GTM partnerships with Arreva, DonorAtlas, Civic Hall, and Texting for Less. AI plays a supporting role — used to ensure Margaret responses are clear and error-free and embedded within third-party prospect research platforms — while the core delivery model remains human expertise.

Name

Hudson Ferris

Legal name

Hudson Ferris Inc.

Website

https://hudsonferris.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hudson Ferris is a New York City-based boutique fundraising consulting firm serving nonprofit executive directors, development teams, and boards through customized prospect research, major gifts strategy, solicitation training, and Margaret, a subscription-based on-demand fundraising help desk.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Consulting

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Nonprofit fundraising consulting
• Prospect research services
• Donor pipeline development
• Solicitation training
• Grant writing services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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

Revenue model

1. Margaret Subscription Service: Monthly subscription service providing on-demand fundraising expert guidance. Includes unlimited access to advice, quarterly prospect lists, and semi-annual coaching sessions. Additional add-on services include coaching calls, prospect lists, and grant writing.
2. Fundraising Consulting Services: Customized fundraising strategy development including prospect research, competitive analysis, donor messaging, major gifts programs, foundation campaigns, grant writing, training and coaching.
3. Solicitation Simulation Training: Live-action solicitation training with modules for major gifts, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and event/gala support. Includes intake session, simulation preparation, coaching session, and pitch assessment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hudson Ferris is a boutique fundraising consulting firm that designs customized fundraising strategies for nonprofit organizations. Its services include prospect research and pipeline creation, competitive analysis and donor messaging, major gifts and foundation outreach, wealth scaling, year-end appeals, social media and crowdfunding campaigns, corporate sponsorship development, relationship mapping, events, training and webinars, and grant writing. The firm also offers the Margaret subscription-based on-demand fundraising help desk and Solicitation Simulation Training using professional actors.

Product overview

Hudson Ferris is a boutique nonprofit fundraising consulting firm offering a portfolio of professional services rather than a unified software platform. The core offerings include strategic consulting services (prospect research, competitive analysis, major gifts, foundation outreach, wealth scaling, year-end appeals, social media/crowdfunding, corporate sponsorship, relationship mapping, events, and fundraising training) and Margaret, a subscription-based on-demand fundraising help desk launched in February 2025. Additionally, the firm offers Solicitation Simulation Training, described as the only live-action solicitation training on the market using professional actors. The services are primarily human-delivered consulting rather than software products, with Margaret being the primary recurring subscription offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Margaret On-Demand Fundraising Help Desk Subscription-based on-demand fundraising help desk providing unlimited access to expert fundraising advice from Hudson Ferris professionals via an online portal. Includes quarterly prospect lists and semi-annual coaching sessions. Priced at $360/month.
• Solicitation Simulation Training Live-action solicitation training program using professional actors to simulate real donor meetings with intake session, simulation preparation with prospect dossiers, coaching sessions with real-time feedback, and written assessment with recommendations. Targets executive directors, board members, major gift officers, and development teams.
• Prospect Research and Pipeline Creation Comprehensive prospect research services that build tiered and prioritized donor pipelines. Research includes past giving history, assets, decision makers, deadlines, program areas, and contact information for individuals, foundations, and corporations.
• Major Gifts and Foundation Outreach Individual giving programs and foundation campaign development to drive significant contributions and long-term funding success. Includes building robust foundation prospect pipelines and scheduling meetings with decision makers.
• Wealth Scaling Identifies top prospects by narrowing donor bases and assessing unmonetized potential. Provides gift recommendations and snapshots of wealth and philanthropy indicators to qualify top donor cohorts.
• Fundraising Events Full-range event fundraising services including cultivation events, lunch and learns, meet and greets, breakfast events, panel discussions, and cocktail parties designed to be income-generating, seamless, and memorable.
• Grant Writing and Communications Crafting of grant proposals from start to finish as part of the Margaret subscription service, and general communications support for fundraising efforts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 years of combined expertise helping raise millions for hundreds of nonprofits worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ArrevaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArreva is a trusted advisor and market leader of digital fundraising, donor relationship management, and auction software. They offer an exclusive demo offer for Margaret subscribers, providing discounts on their software tools that help nonprofits further their mission.
• Civic HallminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCivic Hall is a cutting-edge event venue, coworking space, and community in NYC that supports bold ambitions. They offer a 30-day free trial and exclusive discounts for Margaret subscribers on event bookings, collaborative working spaces, and monthly meetups (saving up to $594).
• DonorAtlasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonorAtlas is described as the world's smartest prospect research tool. They offer a 20% discount for Margaret subscribers and provide functionality to find new donors and upload lists to learn more about donors.
• Texting for LessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides special pricing on business-class SMS and MMS texting services including blast texting and keyword texting. This partnership offers Margaret subscribers discounted access to texting tools for donor outreach.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CCS Fundraising: One of the largest fundraising consulting firms in the US, offering campaign management, feasibility studies, and major gifts strategy. Closest direct competitor to Hudson Ferris across service portfolio, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader geographic coverage.
• Graham-Pelton: Global fundraising and nonprofit management consultancy providing campaign counsel, prospect research, and strategic planning. Comparable in offering breadth (research, campaigns, training) and nonprofit target market, with a stronger international footprint.
• Campbell & Company: Established fundraising consulting firm serving nonprofits with campaign planning, feasibility studies, and development coaching. Direct peer with overlapping service lines including major gifts, foundation outreach, and prospect research.
• Dini Spheris: Fundraising consulting firm specializing in capital campaigns, prospect research, and feasibility studies for nonprofits. Highly comparable to Hudson Ferris's prospect research and pipeline creation services, with similar mid-market nonprofit focus.
• Orr Group: Nonprofit consulting and interim staffing firm providing fundraising strategy, campaign management, and development support. Direct competitor in the boutique-to-mid-market nonprofit consulting segment, with comparable client profiles.
• The Alford Group: Nonprofit management consulting firm offering fundraising strategy, board development, and executive search. Overlaps with Hudson Ferris on fundraising strategy and board-level engagement services for nonprofits.
• M. Gale & Associates: Boutique fundraising consulting firm providing campaign counsel, major gifts strategy, and prospect research. Closely comparable in size, service mix, and SMB-to-mid-market nonprofit client base to Hudson Ferris.

Emerging players

• DonorAtlas: Prospect research and donor intelligence platform described as a Margaret partner. Comparable on the prospect research axis but as a software-first tool rather than human-delivered consulting; potential disruptor to Hudson Ferris's research services.

Broad incumbents

• iWave: Established prospect research and wealth screening platform serving nonprofits and higher education. Competes with Hudson Ferris's research methodology but as a broader, software-focused incumbent with institutional client penetration.
• WealthEngine: Wealth screening and prospect research platform used by nonprofits for donor identification and segmentation. Adjacent competitor to Hudson Ferris's prospect research services with broader enterprise software positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hudsonferrisinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hudson-ferris/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Hudson Ferris