01
Executive development partnership
Senior partners bringing direction, continuity and hands-on support—without adding a full-time development executive.
STRATEGY · RELATIONSHIPS · MOMENTUM
Senior counsel. Practical capacity. Hands-onexecution.
RDA works alongside nonprofit leaders to strengthen fundraising and move important priorities forward—bringing strategy, relationships, writing, systems and hands-on execution where they are needed most.
The pressure point
When the work is bigger than the team.
The grant deadline is approaching. Donor relationships need attention. The board wants a plan. The event is already on the calendar. And hiring–or replacing–a full-time development leader may be neither practical nor timely.
RDA steps in with experienced leadership and real working capacity. We help decide what matters most, build a clear plan and then help do the work—so priorities keep moving and fewer good opportunities fall through the cracks.
Not another report to admire from a distance.
Another experienced partner in the work.
Another experienced partner in the work.
What we do
The leadership–and the hands‐on execution–to move development forward.
RDA can fill a leadership gap, take ownership of a defined portfolio or add experienced capacity around a critical priority. Every engagement is shaped to the organization, not pulled from a shelf.
02
Grants & institutional giving
Prospect strategy, research, calendars, grant writing, case development, budgets, submissions and follow-up.
Instrumentl included with grant support03
Major gifts & donor engagement
Cultivation plans, meaningful outreach, major and planned giving, corporate and community partnerships, stewardship, asks and relationship-building that lasts.
04
Board & executive partnership
A seasoned sounding board and another senior voice in the room—helping executive directors and boards navigate decisions, prepare for donor conversations and keep important follow-through moving.
05
Fundraising communications & creative production
Cases for support, appeals, sponsorships and campaign collateral—from concept and copy through visual storytelling, design and finished production.
06
Campaigns, events & systems
Focused support for campaigns, galas, benefits and other major initiatives—and the systems and follow-through that keep them moving.
Our working model
Strategy that
gets to work.
Some consultants tell you what to do.
We help do it.
RDA works as a player-coach: senior enough to help set direction, practical enough to get on the field. One moment we may be helping an executive director frame the strategy; the next we are drafting the proposal, preparing the donor brief, organizing the pipeline or making the next conversation possible.
That’s what strategy that gets to work looks like: perspective and support, counsel and capacity, thinking and doing. We stay with the work beyond the recommendation—taking responsibility for execution and being candid about where effort is most likely to make a difference, and where it probably won’t.
Set direction
Clarify priorities
Make choices, strengthen the plan and help leadership see the road ahead.
Do the work
Execute and follow through
Research, write, prepare, organize and carry real responsibility for moving the work.
Build capacity
Leave the organization stronger
Build stronger systems, sharper language, healthier pipelines and greater confidence.
Who we are
Complementary strengths. One working team.
Chris builds trust, opens doors and advances the relationships that make philanthropy possible. David brings structure, story, creative direction and execution—turning opportunities into clear plans, persuasive language, compelling materials and completed work. Together, they lead RDA’s work, supported by trusted senior advisors whose experience, perspective and relationships deepen the work and broaden RDA’s reach. The result is senior-level counsel, practical execution and the right expertise around the table when it matters.
Chris brings more than 30 years of experience across fundraising, finance, banking and commercial real estate. Before founding RDA, he spent more than a decade as Chief Development Officer for Habitat for Humanity in New Jersey, where he led multimillion-dollar campaigns, advanced major and planned gifts, built corporate partnerships, and helped strengthen the development function behind one of the country’s most recognized nonprofit brands.
Chris specializes in major gifts, planned giving, campaigns, board and executive engagement, corporate partnerships and fractional development leadership. He is known for building trust, opening doors, coaching leaders through important donor conversations, and moving relationships from introduction to commitment. His style is direct, practical and deeply personal, with a strong instinct for where relationships, strategy and follow-through can create momentum.
David brings more than 30 years of experience in publishing, marketing and communications, nonprofit advancement and philanthropy. A former publishing executive and national nonprofit advancement leader, he combines strategic storytelling, editorial judgment, creative direction and hands-on production with disciplined execution. His creative and communications work spans brand and content strategy, case development, donor communications, art direction, graphic and web design, presentations, annual reports and campaign materials.
David specializes in institutional giving and full-cycle grant development, managing the work from prospect research and pipeline strategy through proposal development, submission, tracking, reporting and renewal. He has a particular gift for finding the clearest story inside complex work that matters deeply—and carrying it from positioning and concept through copy, visual storytelling, design, digital execution and finished production.
Advisors
Small by design. Broad by reach.
RDA’s leadership remains closely involved in every engagement, working with a small group of trusted senior advisors who extend the firm’s expertise, relationships and reach.
Paul brings more than four decades of experience at the intersection of business, government and community leadership. A former Maine state legislator, he spent 25 years with Honeywell, ultimately serving as Vice President of State & Corporate Relations, with responsibility for state and local government relations across North America. He also served as Executive Director of the Honeywell Foundation, giving him firsthand experience on the grantmaking side of philanthropy and a national perspective on how corporate foundations evaluate and support nonprofit work.
Paul later spent a decade as president of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, working closely with corporate leaders, public officials and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey. At RDA, he advises on government and community relations, corporate partnerships, public affairs and economic development, while bringing longstanding relationships across business, government and civic leadership—broadening RDA’s reach and opening new avenues for our clients.
Sal brings more than four decades of experience helping individuals and families navigate financial, estate and charitable planning. He helped found Summit Financial Resources in 1982 and has built his work around coordinated planning that brings together income tax strategy, estate planning, investments and philanthropy.
At RDA, Sal advises on planned and legacy giving strategy, helping nonprofit leaders understand the financial and family considerations that shape significant charitable decisions and prepare for thoughtful conversations with donors and their advisors.
Brittany is a Certified Financial Planner® professional whose work spans retirement, estate and financial planning for individuals and families. She has worked alongside Sal Salvo and Michael MacDougal since 2013 and brings particular experience helping families think across generations, including inheritance and long-term planning.
She also works at the intersection of nonprofits and donors, bringing a clear, client-centered perspective to financial education and charitable planning. At RDA, Brittany advises on planned giving strategy and helps organizations approach legacy conversations with greater confidence, clarity and sensitivity.
What progress looks like
More clarity. More capacity. More forward motion.
The point is not more activity.
It is the right work, carried through.
01
Clearer priorities
Leadership knows what matters now, what can wait and where RDA is carrying responsibility.
02
Stronger pipelines
Prospects, deadlines, relationships and next steps are visible, organized and actively moving.
03
Better donor conversations
Outreach is more thoughtful, messaging is sharper and stewardship receives the attention it deserves.
04
More support for the mission
Major gifts, grants, corporate partnerships and public funding are pursued with greater focus, stronger materials and consistent follow-through.
Start a conversation
What could
more capacity
make possible?
Tell us where the work is getting stuck. We’ll listen, ask a few good questions and tell you plainly whether RDA can help.
Get in touch