Thanksgiving week is the prime time for gratitude – and crunch time for nonprofits. 

Seasoned fundraising and development strategy expert, Pradnya Haldipur, has been in the nonprofit world for a long time, working with large organizations like Doctors Without Borders. 

But now, she’s a newly minted fractional expert already gaining success in just six months. 

In this interview, she gives us a peak on what happens on this side of business: meeting year-end goals and keeping organizations funded. 

Let’s dive in. 

(While we have you here, check out her newsletter: The Chad Chronicles) 

You’ve had a long career leading development for major nonprofits. What made you decide to step out and go fractional? 

Pradnya: I’ve been a nonprofit lifer since university. I’ve worked in the sector or adjacent to it. And I still love the work. But after decades inside organizations, I realized I could do more good from the outside. 

When you’re embedded in one organization, even as a senior leader, your perspective narrows. You’re focused on your team, donors, and goals. But when you step out, you see the patterns. 

You see how many organizations are stuck in the same traditional models that don’t account for things like revenue diversification, earned income, or even mergers that might make entities stronger. 

Everyone knows they need to raise money, but only a few stop to ask whether their structure actually supports that. I’ve found that openness to new thinking, that willingness to question the model, almost always has to come from the outside. 

That’s what pulled me into fractional consulting. 

I can bring the context of decades of experience to many organizations instead of being one player within one institution. My goal now is to help them look beyond the lamppost — to see the spaces the light isn’t yet shining on. 

What happens in those first few conversations with a client? What are you doing differently? 

Pradnya: The first conversation is always the same. I say, “You don’t want me raising money for you.” 

If an organization can afford a fundraising consultant, they’re better off investing that money in a full-time fundraiser who can build relationships day to day.  

My value is different. It comes from helping them understand why fundraising might not be working — and how to fix it at the root. 

So, the second conversation is: “Let’s talk about what you do need.” 

Having someone come in, whether a consultant or a new hire, doesn’t mean money will start falling from the sky. There are planning, assessment, and processes to implement. 

Not every organization is ready for that, but the ones who are will be open to the conversation. 

Readiness looks like a lot of unglamorous but essential work — figuring out if your financial systems talk to your CRM, if your data is clean, or if your fundraising goals are realistic based on your staffing.

It’s all about structural solidity, making sure every part of the organization supports revenue generation. 

Most of this work is about listening. It means taking notes and finding ideas that everyone’s been sitting on, and turning them into an actionable framework. 

That’s how trust is built. People see their ideas reflected in a plan that finally moves forward. 

You mentioned a “scarcity mindset” as one of the biggest barriers to change in nonprofits. What do you mean by that, and how does it affect fundraising? 

Pradnya: Scarcity mindset is the deep, ingrained belief that you can’t afford to make mistakes—that every dollar must be justified before it’s even spent. 

Organizations keep doing what’s familiar, even when they know it’s outdated, because they’re afraid to risk the resources for something new. 

In that mindset, you don’t experiment, pivot, or test new structures. 

You keep the CRM that doesn’t work because switching feels too painful. You delay hiring expertise or modernizing your systems because you’re not sure the ROI will show soon. 

I’ve seen leaders who’ve been in place for 25-30 years, surrounded by people who’ve also been there forever. They care deeply, but the culture calcifies. The board becomes entrenched.

And when you finally bring in new energy or fresh ideas, the system rejects it like a bad transplant. 

That’s where fractional leadership can make a difference. 

We’re not tied to legacy. We can name the thing everyone sees, but no one wants to say out loud. We can be the bad cop, so the CEO doesn’t have to be. And we can create momentum by showing that structure and creativity aren’t opposites. 

Ultimately, what I hope to bring to these organizations is not just strategy but courage. The courage to take a clear-eyed look at what’s holding them back, to make the case for investment, and to rebuild fundraising as an integrated, strategic function. 

When nonprofits start treating fundraising as a structural discipline, not a seasonal scramble, everything changes. Revenue stabilizes. Teams align. And missions expand their reach. 

That’s the work I want to do, and it’s the work the sector needs. 

What We Can Learn from Pradnya Haldipur: 

Eighty slides won’t get your simple points across. You can do it with just one. 

And the Minto Pyramid is how you get there. 

Barbara Minto, the first female consultant at McKinsey, came up with the first idea for this in The Feathers, a cozy pub in Westminster.

During the miner’s strike of 1972, Barbara and her male colleagues often found themselves in the pub discussing business scenarios and honing their problem solving methods. 

The debates eventually led to a pyramid sketch on the back of a napkin. 

With the Minto Pyramid, you start with the answer – then layer in the arguments and data beneath it. 

Executives see the so what first, then the receipts if they want them.

Picture a SaaS company bringing in a consultant to fix renewal declines.   

Instead of drowning execs in data, she used the Minto Pyramid: start with the answer, stack the arguments, and then show the evidence. 

In her case, mid-tier customers were neglected – yet cheaper to win and reachable through scalable channel partners. 

The execs in the room got clarity in minutes instead of understanding the problem for hours. 

One meeting, one decision – that's all it took. 

Six months later, they have a new program that stabilized renewals and reversed churn. 

That’s the power of structured storytelling, which you can also have when you download our framework here.

Remember, the path to success is paved with continuous learning and embracing fresh perspectives.

Let's stay connected, share ideas, and elevate your consulting business.

Stay curious, friends.

The 2×2 is brought to you by Keenan Reid Strategies

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