Your ‘fractional’ partner in messaging, marketing and growth across your individual giving fundraising.

  • Fractional communication and fundraising leadership

    Helping you grow with strategic and practical direction.

    Your current team might be maxed out or you can’t afford to hire a full time employee but you need some help to make sure you are growing your fundraising program thoughtfully, strategically and practically. It’s like having me just down the hall!

  • Donor engagement and individual giving strategy

    Helping you build and grow stronger relationships across your donor base.

    You know you need to get out that next appeal or e-appeal but it all feels like it’s all being done while on autopilot. Donors aren’t making second gifts and there is no real energy in your program. Let’s work on all the ways to make that better!

  • Marketing and storytelling

    Helping you develop compelling, donor thoughtful and empathetic messaging.

    Your competitive advantage is what your donors think when they see your name, how they feel when the open your next appeal and the way you create space for conversations with them across your communications, marketing and fundraising. Let’s raise that bar!

  • Fundraising campaign execution

    Helping you with your individual giving and annual fund programs.

    You know ‘good enough’ isn’t going to cut it. You want you and your donors to feel more connected to your mission. But fundraising sometimes can seem like a whole different language that you don’t speak or understand. Let’s fix that!

Helping small and medium sized charities like yours, across the U.S., Canada and around the world build sustainable donor programs for over 25 years!

John Lepp (sometimes called the ‘Ted Lasso’ of fundraising) is a Canadian direct marketer and strategist, designer, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience in direct response fundraising. He is a partner at Agents of Good, a fundraising and communications collaboration he co-founded in 2009 with Jen Love, focusing on donor-centric strategies.

In 2022, John authored "Creative Deviations," a book aimed at helping fundraisers infuse creativity into their storytelling and donor communications. The book offers insights into crafting compelling narratives that resonate with donors and has sold thousands of copies around the world.

As a speaker, John has presented at various national and international conferences, sharing his expertise on creativity in fundraising and the importance of storytelling. His approach emphasizes the human aspect of donor relationships, encouraging fundraisers to connect authentically with their supporters.

Through his work, John Lepp continues to inspire fundraisers to embrace creativity, empathy, authenticity, decision science and fostering deeper connections with donors to enhance their fundraising effectiveness.

  • I wanted to share that by using many of the ideas John shared, we successfully raised 253% over 2023, even in a time when many Canadian charities were significantly affected by the postal strike.

    Christine Thompson (she/her), Gifts Manager

  • The appeal we did with you was universally unliked internally and performed better (223% more) than anything we’ve done before. Donors loved it!

    Karen Mercier, CFRE, Capital Campaign Director

  • Working with John has lit a fire of creativity and productivity that just keeps burning! Thanks to our training with John, we have seen a remarkable increase in donor funding and retention.

    Shannon Donnelly, Fund Development Coordinator

  • First, John is an enthusiast; he has a seemingly endless appetite for what he does. Second, he’s knowledgeable; he knows what he’s doing and what he talks about and isn’t afraid to challenge accepted wisdom. Third, he’s creative; he ‘gets it’ quickly and comes up with clever, practical solutions that work.

    Ken Burnett, Managing Trustee, SOFII Foundation

CONTACT

FAQs

  • The cost depends on how much help you need, how large of an organization you are and how many people are involved. But typically, it is $4,000 - $6,000 a month for 12 months.

  • Process for Fractional Marketing & Individual Giving Program Support in 10 steps: The plan is to develop a plan as soon as possible.

    Phase 1: Lay of the land

    • High level review of donor data*

    • High level review of donor principle marketing material (online and offline)

    • High level review of fundraising and comms plans

    • Conversations with key staff stake holders

    Phase 2: Develop the plan

    • Set key objectives (3 - 5) for growth

    • Develop high level plan and timelines for key objectives

    Phase 3: Implementation

    • Work with ED/teams to teach, build and implement the plan to move towards the key objectives

    • Help execute month to month marketing and fundraising to donors*

    Phase 4: Review and reform

    • Ongoing review of objectives, initiatives and goals

    • Re-prioritization of objectives, initiatives and goals as needed

    *some parts of these steps have costing that is not included in the contract due to the level of speciality that is required

  • Often with new clients, I like to do a high level data and donor review. It makes everything we do, run way smoother. Also, with day to day and month to month projects, I have a fantastic team of creatives that I call on for help. Costs for these are not included in the fractional costs.

  • Unlikely. All meetings are managed through zoom.

  • Absolutely.