In 1999, when Pathway Associates founders Phyllis Hockett and Dave Jones decided to form a new kind of fundraising consulting firm, it was in response to a mutual concern. Too many fundraising consultants were working with strategies from the same playbook; a playbook that had been developed nearly forty years earlier. The problem was, those strategies weren’t always delivering the kind of results their clients needed and deserved.

Hockett and Jones believed that a new approach was needed, one that adhered to certain timeless principles of effective fundraising, but wasn’t wedded to a “one approach fits all” set of outdated strategies. Drawing on their distinct career backgrounds (Dave from the world of marketing, management, and politics, and Phyllis from a lifelong career in development and public relations) they conceptualized an approach to fundraising consulting that took into account evolving techniques in the fields of communications, leadership development, information management, and volunteer motivation. The result was Pathway Associates, today a very successful, yet still highly personal, capacity building consulting firm.

In the years since its inception, Pathway Associates evolved from a two-person firm focused primarily on capital campaigns to a broader team of professionals, each offering distinct yet complementary services. It is this multi-disciplinary collaborative approach that today sets Pathway Associates apart from other firms serving the non-profit industry.

When you engage Pathway Associates, regardless of the service or lead consultant, you benefit from the talent, experience, and knowledge of a diverse team of professionals who constantly challenge each other to think outside the box. This philosophy ensures that you, as our valued client, have the benefit of personalized strategies, best practices, and a path to sustainability that breaks free of business as usual. This is the foundation of the “Pathway Approach” whose goal it is to transform non-profits into more sustainable organizations able to effectively achieve their missions and benefit their communities.