Debra Burke

Nurturing Sustainable Growth

I specialize in helping mission-driven leaders turn fundraising ambition into reality — whether that means building the strategy, rolling up my sleeves to execute it, or both.

Areas of Expertise

Fundraising Strategy & Program Design

Assess current fundraising capacity, identify opportunities, and create actionable plans with clear goals, timelines, and accountability measures.

Major Gifts & Institutional Funding

Build and manage relationships with individual major donors, foundations, and corporate partners — from prospect identification and cultivation through proposal development and ongoing stewardship.

Board Development & Governance

Strengthen board engagement, effectiveness, and fundraising capacity through recruitment strategy, orientation, training, and governance structure design.

Executive Leadership & Strategic Planning

Partner with leadership to develop organizational strategy, strengthen executive effectiveness, and align teams around shared priorities and goals.

Capacity Building & Team Coaching

Train and mentor development and leadership teams to strengthen skills in donor relations, storytelling, strategic thinking, and organizational management.

Consulting Services

  • Fundraising assessment & strategy

  • Major gifts program design & management

  • Donor cultivation & stewardship planning

  • Board recruitment, training & governance

  • Strategic planning & organizational alignment

  • Development team coaching & mentoring

About Me

I help organizations raise money and get stronger while doing it. Fundraising is my home base  - I'm good at connecting what an organization does to why someone should fund it, and I do that through honest storytelling and real relationships. But I've learned over the years that fundraising doesn't happen in a vacuum, so I also work with leaders on board development, coaching, and strategic planning when those are the things getting in the way of growth.

I've been doing this work for nearly 30 years, across multiple continents and causes, and the through line is pretty simple: lasting success takes more than a good idea. It takes leadership, an engaged board, a clear plan, and the resources to actually pull it off. I don't just hand you a strategy and walk away; I coach your team, build capacity, and work alongside you until you can carry the momentum forward on your own.

I spent my youth on Cape Cod, two decades in London, and now I'm happily somewhere in between. I came back with two passports, strong opinions about design, and a knack for finding the unexpected — the local market off the beaten path, the swimming hole that requires a minor hike, or the sleepy village that makes you forget big cities exist (for about a week, or maybe two).