IvyPartners

What IvyPartners does

IvyPartners is a privately held, founder-owned non-profit fundraising consulting firm based in the greater Rochester, NY area, founded in 1999 by Ann Noble Shephard and Bill Wickham after their record-setting volunteer-led fraternity capital campaign at Cornell University. The firm operates as a small boutique practice with approximately 5 employees and is structured around its two co-founder principals, who collectively bring public relations, advertising, and news media backgrounds. Its core service is end-to-end coordination of capital fundraising campaigns typically in the $500,000 to $5 million goal range for non-profit clients, executed across three phases — Precampaign, Leadership Gift Phase, and General Campaign — and supported by feasibility studies, volunteer and staff training, marketing and communications, event management, and ongoing membership program support.

The firm has built a track record of exceeding client campaign goals across multiple verticals, with documented outcomes including the Deane Center for the Performing Arts (over 100% of goal, $4.5M raised), Swan Library (148% of goal), and several fraternity chapters at North Dakota State University and Kansas State University. Its primary vertical is Greek organizations at colleges and universities, followed by public libraries, performing arts centers, and agricultural societies and trade associations. Distribution is direct and referral-led: prospective clients access the firm through its website, a free initial phone consultation, and direct outreach within the non-profit and Greek networks. Pricing is quote-based monthly billing plus expenses, with engagements typically running 1 to 3 years and structured around campaign phases.

Geographically, IvyPartners serves clients across the US Northeast and Midwest, with documented engagements in New York, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and Kansas. There is no evidence of external investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no documented acquisitions or partnerships; the firm remains a simple, concentrated founder-led professional services business. Technology plays no differentiated role in its offering — the practice is built on the founders' expertise rather than productized IP — and there are no AI/ML, API, or platform-based capabilities disclosed.

Name

IvyPartners

Legal name

Ivy Partners

Website

https://ivypartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IvyPartners is a privately held, founder-owned non-profit fundraising consulting firm based in the Rochester, NY area, specializing in capital campaign coordination ($500K-$5M) and related services for Greek organizations, public libraries, performing arts centers, and agricultural associations across the US Northeast and Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit fundraising consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAE

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

Keywords

• Non-profit fundraising consulting
• Capital campaign management
• Volunteer training programs
• Donor cultivation consulting
• Feasibility study services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester Area

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Monthly billing plus expenses for consulting services. Contracts structured by campaign phases (Precampaign, Leadership Gift Phase, General Campaign). Client relationships typically range from 1 to 3 years.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IvyPartners is a boutique consulting firm that provides non-profit fundraising and capital campaign consulting services. It coordinates end-to-end capital campaigns in the $500,000 to $5 million range for non-profits such as fraternities, sororities, public libraries, and performing arts centers. Offerings include volunteer and staff training, marketing and communications support, event management, and pre-campaign feasibility studies.

Product overview

IvyPartners is a non-profit fundraising consulting firm offering a unified suite of advisory and execution services. The core offering is Fundraising Consulting Services, supported by specialized sub-products including Volunteer and Staff Training (with programs like Fundraising 101, Non-Cash Giving, and Volunteer Development), Capital Campaign Coordination (covering the $500K-$5M range with a 3-phase approach: Precampaign, Leadership Gift Phase, and General Campaign), Marketing & Membership Programs, Event Management, and Feasibility Studies. These services work together as an integrated consulting engagement rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fundraising Consulting Services Comprehensive consulting and training services for non-profit organizations to achieve their fundraising goals, including capital campaigns, volunteer coordination, and organizational development.
• Volunteer and Staff Training Programs to help organizations identify, recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers, and to optimize staff efficiency through coaching and accountability measures. Includes modules such as Fundraising 101, Non-Cash Giving, and Volunteer Development.
• Capital Campaign Coordination End-to-end coordination of capital fundraising campaigns in the $500,000 to $5 million range, structured as a three-phase engagement: Precampaign, Leadership Gift Phase, and General Campaign.
• Marketing and Communications Brand building, public relations, advertising, market research, and implementation of annual membership programs for non-profit organizations.
• Event Management Event orchestration services including prospect targeting, invitations, press materials, social media, program content development, speaker sourcing, and post-event evaluation.
• Feasibility Studies Pre-campaign assessment services evaluating six benchmarks: positive public connection, internal readiness, project relevancy and urgency, engagement of constituency, giving potential, and campaign timing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deane Center exceeded fundraising goal by over 100% ($4,504,000 raised)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pursuant: Nonprofit fundraising and donor engagement firm combining campaign consulting with digital fundraising tools. Comparable fundraising strategy and campaign execution services targeting similar nonprofit verticals.
• Campbell & Company: Established nonprofit fundraising consulting firm serving healthcare, higher education, and social service organizations. Comparable in capital campaign planning and feasibility study work, with a similar professional services model.
• Changing Our World: National nonprofit fundraising and philanthropic consulting firm offering strategic campaign and fundraising services. Comparable advisory and execution services to nonprofits seeking capital and operational support.
• Marts & Lundy: Long-established nonprofit fundraising and capital campaign consultancy serving higher education, healthcare, and cultural institutions. Closely comparable to IvyPartners in core campaign management services, but at much larger scale.
• Alexander Haas: Fundraising and advancement consulting firm serving higher education, healthcare, and arts nonprofits. Directly comparable in capital campaign and development counsel offerings for small-to-mid-sized nonprofits.
• Grenzebach, Glier and Associates: One of the largest fundraising and advancement consulting firms serving higher education, healthcare, and nonprofits. Directly comparable in capital campaign and development strategy services that IvyPartners delivers.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group: Large consulting firm with a dedicated higher education and nonprofit practice offering campaign management, advancement services, and strategic consulting. Overlaps in service offerings but operates at much broader scale with diversified industry coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IvyPartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ivypartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 IvyPartners