Case Studies

Cristo Rey Brooklyn

IMPACT

Thanks in large part to the critical funds raised from foundations, Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School students and alumni continue to thrive. The Class of 2023 boasts 100% high school graduation and college acceptance.  Upon graduation, Cristo Rey Brooklyn students persist and graduate college at a rate that is 5X that of their socioeconomic peers. 

BACKGROUND

Cristo Rey Brooklyn is a Catholic high school partnering with families of all creeds to educate deserving young people from underserved communities to become men and women of faith, purpose and service. By integrating a rigorous curriculum, a unique work-study experience and the support of an inclusive school community, we enable students to succeed in college and beyond with the values essential to a fulfilling life.

Strong personal connections are critical to successful fundraising. Danielle DiCerbo, DMD Consulting Principal, previously served as CRB’s Development Director from 2014 - 2017. Building upon the trusted relationships she established with CRB staff, board members, and donors, DMD Consulting seamlessly stepped into the grant writing role in 2020. The original three month partnership has extended over three years. 

SCOPE

With Cristo Rey Brooklyn (CRB) families paying an average annual tuition of $1,300, CRB relies on the generosity of individual donors and foundations to fundraise 30% of its $5.3M operating budget.  Additional funds accounting for 40% of the budget are generated through the innovative Corporate Work Study program.   DMD Consulting has executed the complete grant application process including creating and maintaining a detailed annual timeline of application tasks, researching and vetting existing and new foundations, crafting letters of intent, grant applications, interim and final reports, collecting supplemental documents including budgets, board lists, and 501c3 documentation, submitting all required documentation, maintaining relationships with foundations on behalf of Cristo Rey Brooklyn, and facilitating the critical work of leveraging the network of Board members and school supporters to advocate on behalf of CRB. 

Success

Working on behalf of Cristo Rey Brooklyn, during the 2022-2023 school year (’23 FY), DMD Consulting has written grant proposals to a prestigious list of foundations, including The Hearst Foundation, the Black and Indian Foundation, the Gerstner Foundation, the Sisters of Mercy, the Pinkerton Foundation, and the Countess Moira Foundation. These proposals have collectively generated $835,500 of income to support CRB’s operating expenses.
This is more than half of their annual fundraising budget.

As a result of this foundation support, the following is just some of what has been made possible at CRB: employment of a full-time social worker dedicated to student mental health in the wake of the pandemic, supplemental programming geared towards preparing students as young as freshman to be successful in corporate internships, scholarships for students to enroll in prestigious on-campus summer programs around the country, and an academic program dedicated to unlocking the passion and potential of every student.

America SCORES

IMPACT

America SCORES has served more NYC youth every year, thanks to the revenue diversification and growth achieved through strategies developed with DMD Consulting. Their development plan serves as a blueprint for predictable revenue streams and fundraising expansion year after year.

BACKGROUND

ASNY is a social justice youth development organization that offers soccer, poetry and civic engagement after-school programming for public school students across New York City. The organization was well-positioned for growth when Danielle met them, having established a strong program and partnerships with the schools and families they’d been supporting for 15+ years.

Danielle came highly recommended through ASNY’s partnership with Youth INC, a venture philanthropy organization whose mission is to transform the lives of NYC youth by empowering the nonprofits that serve them.

SCOPE

Working with a very small development team and unable to hire new full-time staff, they were looking for external support in building out their development strategy so they could find new sources of revenue for sustainability moving forward.

Once they started working together, Danielle was also asked to provide coaching for ASNY’s development staff and Board of Directors. She ran a workshop for the Board and work through the Development Plan and related topics with the rest of the team. At the time, ASNY was planning a large fundraiser, which Danielle incorporated into her sessions with the staff and Board.

The Development Plan included information about where all the funding for ASNY is expected to come from for the upcoming fiscal year, by category, funder, and event, as well as the organization’s annual communications plan.

Success

The development plan serves as a tool for ASNY leadership to better predict expected revenue and to make more informed programming decisions. It serves as a motivator for the Board of Directors in their fundraising roles, setting clearer expectations for their contributions to development.

Following the engagement with Danielle, ASNY continued to utilize the plan with its staff and Board in the years following the engagement to prepare for each fiscal year. The organization has continued to grow each year, serving more NYC youth, thanks to its revenue diversification and growth. 

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