Testimonials

Carla Javits

President & CEO, REDF

“I was thinking of Nate yesterday when I met with a long time donor who could potentially do more. The framework you offered, and your clarity about the dynamics of these visits and how to manage probing questions, etc. left me feeling so well prepared for the discussion and positive about it in a way that never would have been possible before I had the chance to learn from you. On a positive note, we ended the discussion in a good place. But bigger picture, I just wanted to thank you for providing me and REDF with just what we needed to start down the individual donor cultivation path. THANK YOU.”

Kathie Lowry

Chief Development Officer, Larkin Street Youth Services

“I want to extend my own personal thank you to Nancy and Mark. I am in awe of Nancy’s fabulous organization skills and her calm and efficient demeanor. And Mark always provided such good context and perspective, especially for some of the thornier questions we addressed.”

Jeff Kositsky

Executive Director, Hamilton Families

“We have all heard the joke about the consultant who borrows your watch and then charges for telling you what time it is. While there may be some truth in that humor, it does NOT apply BuildingBlox. The BuildingBlox team brought superlative expertise to the development of our major giving program and coupled it to a “can-do” attitude that ensured our project got across the finish line. Thanks to our work with BuildingBlox we are on-target to double and perhaps triple our major giving next year and I am even more optimistic about the next three years.”

John Wood

Founder & CEO, Room to Read

“The team at BuildingBlox were able to quickly pinpoint our Fundraising Department’s greatest strengths and weaknesses, and subsequently craft an all-day major-gifts training session that was perfectly tailored to fit our needs. Nate and his colleagues make a powerful team and we look forward to working with them again around future strategic fundraising needs.”

Christopher Leupold

Board Member, New Door Ventures

“I want to express my sincere appreciation for the exceptional effort and insights of Nate Levine from BuildingBlox…If I was to sum up what I gained from my three hours with Nate, I would describe it as “fundraising demystified.” In short, thanks to Nate, I learned a process that I can now bring to my fundraising efforts for New Door Ventures that will make it both a safer experience and also a more effective one.”

Anil Godhwani

Co-Founder, India Community Center

“BuildingBlox helped ICC put together its entire fundraising strategy and especially the capital campaign. Besides the strategic help, the thing that we most liked about Nate & the team is that they managed to simplify the fundraising process and help us focus on the key things like face-time with donors and how to cultivate donors to become lifelong givers to our organization. The results speak for themselves: Just over 5 years old, ICC has raised over $15M, which is fantastic.”

Jan Reicher

President, Board of Directors, Brandeis Hillel Day School

“Amy Lit and BuildingBlox Consulting were lifesavers for us in a year we were without an Advancement Director in the worst economy since The Great Depression. Nate and Amy helped us assess our campaign viability in a straight forward and realistic way. Amy worked as our Interim Advancement Director extraordinaire for a year. She was a complete joy to work with and had exactly the experience, personality and intelligence to steer us forward and keep us positive. We will miss Amy and BuildingBlox, but will continue to enjoy the effect they had on furthering our institution.”

Abby Falik

Founder & CEO, Global Citizen Year

“BuildingBlox emboldened and accelerated our fund development strategy. Their deep experience and skills as trainers made our engagement – quite literally – an invaluable learning experience. We’ve radically changed our approach to raising money, and BuildingBlox was the catalyst!”

Sister Cynthia Canning

Co-Director, Next Step Learning Center

“We asked the Directors for feedback about Saturday’s retreat. Your ears should have been burning! They were unanimously positive about the experience — the excellent preparation, the clarity, the good examples from other organizations, the process! Several said it was the best of such events that they have ever participated in. One newer Director said he learned a lot about Next Step and its history and thinks he will be a better Director because of it.”

Margaret Jenkins

Artistic Director, The Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

“Nate Levine and BuildingBlox elevate the thinking around fundraising; they make it an art in the deepest sense of that concept. They are fundamentally humanists who are committed to making the world a better place and they believe that the arts are one way to engage and awaken people toward a more meaningful life. Their art is helping organizations like mine, The Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, to more fully realize our work, our mission. I feel privileged, after 35 years of sustaining my Company to be learning such profound lessons from the masters and to be able to share what I do and what I care about surrounded by such humor and warmth and expertise. I feel confident about the results of this exchange!”

Lauren Hall

Development & Communications Director

“Blox U was perfect! It was the single most helpful training of my professional development as a fundraiser. Nate and his team’s body of work is a robust and comprehensive curriculum — a framework that encompasses both the systems and the spirit of a highly functioning fundraising shop. The course serves as an antidote to fundraising overwhelm. The trainings are packed with incredibly useful tools to hone your craft, but beyond this, the guidance and coaching Nate provides during the sessions will move everyone to a higher level of prowess. The content is rich and engaging. Blox U is more than a class or a training. It’s like therapy for development directors. He’s got recipes for building a compelling case for support, ROIs for the data wonks, and everything in between. You’ll leave feeling inspired, optimistic, and prepared to roll up your sleeves to research, analyze, plan, cheerlead, inspire, organize, celebrate, and raise a ton of money.”