Our Mission
We focus on meaningful, sustainable change, ensuring your organization thrives long after our partnership.
Our Philosophy
Every nonprofit’s journey is unique, and so is our approach. We meet you where you are, working side by side to create custom solutions that move your mission forward.
Founder & CEO
Meet Courtney Forkum
Courtney has spent over a decade in the nonprofit world, championing organizations and leaders to unlock their full potential and create lasting change in their communities. Her passion for empowering nonprofits runs deep, and it’s this dedication that fuels her work every day.
From building dynamic teams to crafting winning fundraising strategies, Courtney is your go-to for practical solutions that drive real results. She’s here to roll up her sleeves, dig into the heart of your challenges, and help you take your impact to the next level.
Client Partners from Previous Consulting
Trusted Partners
We believe that no one consulting firm can (or should) do it all. That’s why we proudly collaborate with and recommend a network of trusted professionals who specialize in areas that complement our core services.
From strategic planning and development operations to grant writing and event execution, these experts share our values, high standards, and deep commitment to helping nonprofits grow with intention. When your organization needs support beyond our scope, we’re happy to connect you with the right people to keep the momentum going.
Kelly Braunegg
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Kelly Braunegg has spent the past two decades working with nonprofits to establish their development operations and create a foundation for their fundraising program to holistically grow. Whether it’s optimizing a donor database, streamlining financial reconciliation, conducting CRM trainings or developing SOPs, development operations is the bedrock by which an organization can build upon to achieve their goals. With a solid starting point, clean data, communicative systems & teams, and some technical savvy, nonprofits are set up for success.
Kelly is an expert at creating structure, building relationships between teams, organizing, and untangling messes. She has led many partnerships with organizations such as: National Book Foundation, NYC Anti-Violence Project, Kidango, Environmental Action Committee, Braden’s Hope, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Pacific Institute, and RestoreOKC. She works with Development Operations leaders at organizations to coach and elevate their teams, as well as directly with staff to hone their skills and create the comfort needed to effectively leverage their databases to drive their fundraising.
Kelly led the creation of the Development Operations program at Water.org, creating stability and operational structure for the organization to grow from $16 to $38 million. She was the interim Director of Development Operations at Feeding South Florida in 2021, and during that time she built out their DevOps team during a time when staff were struggling to keep up with the outpouring of immense donor support during COVID. Kelly has served as the lead of many database implementations and optimizations for organizations across country.
Kelly has lived all over the United States and has settled in Kansas City, Missouri with her partner and their two dogs. She loves volunteering at the local adoption agency, walking her dog across the city exploring the neighborhoods, and hosting interactive dinner parties (let’s make fresh ravioli together!)
Julie Klima
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With more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of customer experience, marketing, and technology, Julie is a versatile, mission-driven leader, passionate about people and process management who excels at mentoring lean, high-performing teams and building cross-functional relationships. She thrives using her breadth of nonprofit and private sector experience to add value to the community and love learning with and from other strong female leaders.
Core Competencies
• Altitude shifting, combining systems thinking and tactical management to translate business strategy into operational excellence
• Agility, adaptability, and identifying creative and resourceful solutions to complex problems
• Building and maintaining a strong performance-focused culture
• Budgeting, planning, and financial oversight
• Board, donor, partner, and vendor relationships
• Non-profit management and board leadership
Katie Lord
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Katie is passionate about creating transformational donor experiences and inspiring authentic relationships between donors and nonprofits. Her mission is simple: She wants to help nonprofits become the “Disney of donor experience” by moving beyond transactions to create meaningful, purpose-driven partnerships.
Currently, Katie is helping Big Brothers Big Sisters innovate how they engage donors and volunteers. One of her proudest achievements is launching the EmpowHER Women’s Giving Circle, a first-of-its-kind donor affinity group that empowers women to unite their giving for greater impact. She is also leading efforts to create magical donor moments that build trust, joy, and authentic partnerships.
Katie’s experience spans over a decade of nonprofit leadership, highlighted by the growth and development of industry-changing initiatives. While at Make-A-Wish, she led the Walk for Wishes to become the third largest fundraising walk for Make- A-Wish in the country, earning national recognition for growth. Katie has worked with many nonprofits as a consultant and helped them achieve their goals raising millions for new mission driven spaces through the creation of meaningful donor gift experiences that create impact. She has also spoken at industry conferences, guested on nonprofit-focused podcasts, and is proud to serve as a Kansas City Business Journal Mentoring Monday Mentor.
Here’s what Katie brings to the table:Donor Experience Design – From flower deliveries for single moms to thoughtful donor touchpoints, I craft transformational donor moments that inspire joy and generosity.
Donor Affinity Groups – I love bringing women together to harness the power of collective giving.
Fundraising Strategy & Growth – From capital campaigns to signature events, I’ve helped grow nonprofit revenue through intentional donor experience strategy.
Beyond her career, Katie is a mom to a 7-year-old Disney enthusiast, a certified scuba diver, and a lover of all things Italy, France, and Latin America. When she is not creating donor experiences, you’ll find her cooking, reading (50+ books a year!), and sharing conversations over coffee or wine.
MARY MOONEY BURNS
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Mary Mooney Burns is a mission-driven leader and consultant with over 30 years of cross-sector experience in the nonprofit field. As the CEO and Founder of OnBoard KC, she leads efforts to connect engaged volunteers with purpose-driven nonprofit boards and offers strategic board consulting services that enhance board diversity, engagement, and effectiveness. Through her consulting company, MMB Connect, Mary also works closely with nonprofits to elevate their philanthropic impact by implementing a tailored donor-investor approach.
Before founding her own ventures, Mary served as Vice President of Advancement at Rockhurst University. Over her ten-year tenure, she led transformative initiatives, strengthened alumni and stakeholder relations, and successfully raised over $100 million to further the university's mission. Her extensive experience also includes leadership roles with the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Park Hill School District.
Mary holds a BS in Communications and Nonprofit Leadership, as well as an Executive MBA certification in Advancement Leadership from Rockhurst University. She is a Certified Nonprofit Professional through the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and a BoardSource-certified consultant. Mary and her husband Brian have three adult daughters and live in Kansas City, MO.
Learn more at mmbconnect.net and onboardkc.org.
Chris Stibbs
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Like many kids, Chris grew up wanting to change the world. From a young age, he learned about the power of advocacy and impact, which led him to a career in the philanthropic community. From the moment Chris entered the sector, he knew that he had found his home. In his current role as the Vice President of Development for Newhouse Shelter, the oldest domestic violence agency in Kansas City, he brings passion, energy, and creativity to his work, using the power of storytelling to connect donors, volunteers, and community members to the mission of Newhouse.
Chris centers his work around his favorite Maya Angelou's quote: "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” And even though he may not end up changing the world, Chris knows that he has a role to play in making it a better place for all people. In the words of Elsie de Wolfe, “I am going to make everything around me beautiful - that will be my life.”
THOMAS SCHUMACHER
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Thomas Schumacher serves in a consulting role as the Director of Operations at The Philanthropy Place, where he brings a strategic, systems-focused lens to operational efficiency, infrastructure development, and sustainable growth. With over a decade of experience spanning operations, project delivery, and technology consulting, Thomas plays a key role in strengthening the foundation that allows The Philanthropy Place to deliver high-impact, hands-on support to nonprofits.
His career includes operations and consulting roles at NYDIG and Oracle, where he directly supported executive leadership and helped implement enterprise-wide technology projects across the finance and healthcare sectors. Thomas brings this same precision and foresight to his work at The Philanthropy Place—ensuring internal operations are not just functional, but aligned with mission and purpose.
Based in Kansas City, Thomas holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. His thoughtful, behind-the-scenes leadership helps drive the firm’s vision forward—creating systems that work so nonprofits can, too.
ERIN WALDRON
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Erin Waldron is the founder of Data Dozen, an analytics firm in Kansas City that specializes in data visualization and data communication. Erin's goal is to help her clients connect the right people with the right data, whether that's through a data dashboard, a presentation, or the perfect chart. Erin leads professional development training for teams looking to amplify their data communication skills or to learn Tableau. She also provides project consulting, helping organizations elevate their next data project so that the results are truly understood by their stakeholders.
