Nonprofit Marketing + Fundraising Consulting
Get One Senior Strategist to Align Your Marketing, Messaging, and Fundraising
Fractional CMO+ leadership for nonprofits that need a clear growth strategy without hiring another full-time executive.
Lonna Gibson
fCMO + Nonprofit Consultant
Seven & Associates | Santa Clarita, California | Boise, Idaho | Serving Nonprofits Across Boise, Los Angeles and the US
MARKETING
Strategy + Messaging
Built to Drive Growth
FUNDRAISING
Donor Strategy + Campaigns
Built to Grow Support
30+
YEARS IN NONPROFIT
Experience from Start-Ups
to Multi-Million-Dollar Organizations
What is a Fractional CMO+ for a nonprofit?
A Fractional CMO+ is a senior strategist who leads your nonprofit’s marketing, messaging, and fundraising strategy on a part-time basis. You get experienced leadership and a seat at the strategy table without hiring another full-time executive
The + plus is fundraising.
Most fractional CMOs lead marketing. The + connects that marketing strategy to fundraising, so your messaging, campaigns, donor communications, and growth priorities work from the same plan.
A Fractional CMO leads your marketing
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Owns strategy and priorities
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Builds the messaging your team uses
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Directs staff, contractors, and vendors
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Keeps execution aligned to the plan
The + Connects It To Fundraising
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Shapes fundraising strategy and campaigns
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Guides donor messaging and engagement
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Advises development staff and leadership
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Aligns fundraising with the marketing plan
What this is not
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Not another pair of hands waiting for assignments
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Not a marketing coordinator managing daily tasks
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Not an agency selling you a package of deliverables
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Not grant writing, event production, or direct major gift solicitation
This is senior-level leadership that gives your team the strategy, direction, and accountability to execute with confidence.
Your First 90 Days
With a Fractional CMO+
Month 1
Strategy + Priorities
Clarify where growth is getting stuck, align marketing and fundraising goals, identify the audiences that matter most, and establish the priorities your team will work from.
Month 2
Messaging +
Campaign Alignment
Build the core messaging your organization can use consistently across marketing and fundraising, then align your campaign and donor communication plan around it.
Month 3
Execution + Optimization
Put the strategy into motion with your team, establish the KPIs that matter, review what is working, and adjust priorities based on results.
After Month 3, I stay alongside your team as a fractional strategic leader, keeping marketing, messaging, and fundraising aligned as priorities, campaigns, and opportunities change.
About 2 hours a month from you
Six-month minimum
Most run 12 to 18 months
A Fractional CMO+
Makes Sense When...
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Marketing keeps landing on the executive director’s desk.
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Your marketing and fundraising teams are working from different plans.
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You have capable people who can execute, but no senior leader setting direction.
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You’re trying plenty of tactics, but they aren’t connected to a clear growth strategy.
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A key marketing, communications, or development leader left, and you need experienced leadership without rushing into another full-time hire.
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Your fundraising has plateaued, and doing more of the same isn’t moving the organization forward.
A Fractional CMO+ Probably Isn’t What You Need If…
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You primarily need someone to write, post, and execute daily marketing tasks.
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You need grant writing, event production, or direct major-gift solicitation.
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Your leadership team still needs to align on the organization’s overall direction before building a marketing and fundraising growth strategy.
How a Fractional CMO+ is Different
What You Need | Full-Time Marketing Leader | Fundraising Consultant | Marekting Agency | Fractional CMO+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment model | Full-time employment | Consultant/project | Agency/retainer | Part-time executive |
Senior marketing leadership | Yes | Not typically | Varies by scope | Yes |
Fundraising strategy | Not typically | Primary focus | Not typically | Yes |
Aligns marketing + fundraising | Varies by experience | Fundraising focused | Marketing focused | Core focus |
Leads your existing team | Yes | May advise development team | Varies by scope | Yes |
Builds organization-wide messaging | Yes | May advise donor messaging | Often project-based | Yes |
Works with executive leadership + board | Yes | As needed | Not typically | Yes |
Ongoing strategic direction | Yes | Varies by engagement | Varies by scope | Yes |
The difference is integration: one senior strategist connecting the marketing, messaging, and fundraising decisions your team is already making.
Lonna Gibson
Seven & Associates CEO
Nonprofit Marketing + Fundraising Strategist
StoryBrand Certified Guide
Duct Tape Certified Marketing Advisor
Veritus Major Gifts Training
Association of Fundraising Professionals
Greater San Fernando Valley Board Member
30+ years in the nonprofit sector
I Know What It’s Like When Everything Falls on the Nonprofit Leader
Fractional CMO+ | Nonprofit Marketing + Fundraising Strategist
I spent years inside nonprofits. I know what happens when the strategy isn’t clear and marketing and fundraising aren’t working from the same plan.
The team works harder... more events, emails, campaigns, ideas.
But more activity doesn’t fix a leadership and alignment problem.
That experience shaped how I work with nonprofits today.
I believe the order matters: strategy first, then messaging, then marketing and fundraising working together.
Because when those pieces align, your team knows what to prioritize, your message stays consistent, and your fundraising has a stronger foundation to grow from.
That’s the role I bring to your organization: senior strategic leadership that connects the pieces and helps your team move forward with clarity.
Trusted by nonprofit leaders and mission-driven organizations.
What Nonprofit Leaders Say
About Working With Us.
"Lonna delivered more in a few weeks than another agency had in six months, at a fraction of the cost. She pulled off straight-up miracles. Because of Seven and Associates, we launched with excellence and I finally feel confident in our brand. Their team is knowledgeable, efficient, and they care deeply about their clients. There is genuine strategy, thoughtfulness, and intention behind everything they do. I am so incredibly grateful to have found them."
Laura Tortora, Executive Director
Aid The Way
The conversation is free. We’ll look at where your marketing, messaging, and fundraising are getting disconnected, what needs attention first, and whether a Fractional CMO+ is the right fit.
Working with Seven & Associates has felt less like hiring a marketing agency and more like gaining a strategic partner who genuinely cares about the mission behind the work."
Kari Phillipps
Executive Director
RISE SCV Foundation
What Nonprofit Leaders Ask Before They Book...
What is a fractional CMO+?
A fractional CMO+ for a nonprofit is a senior level marketing leader who works with your organization on a part-time or contract basis instead of joining your staff as a full-time executive. But this isn't just another marketing consultant. A fractional CMO+ helps set the direction: clarifying your audience and message, building the marketing strategy, prioritizing what your team should be doing, overseeing execution, and making sure marketing supports your fundraising and organizational goals. That distinction matters. You don't need another strategy deck sitting on a shelf. You need a marketing system your team can actually run, and leadership that helps install it.
How does a fractional CMO+ engagement work, and how long does it last?
A strong fractional CMO+ engagement starts by understanding where you are before prescribing more tactics. At Seven & Associates, the scope is built around your goals, team, and stage of growth. That can include strategy, messaging, marketing fundraising, team and vendor leadership, campaign oversight, and ongoing accountability. Some organizations need a focused strategy engagement; others need ongoing executive marketing leadership. Across the fractional CMO market, engagements commonly run for several months, with six to twelve months frequently cited, because there needs to be enough time to diagnose the problem, build the system, put it into practice, and improve it.
How much does nonprofit marketing and fundraising consulting cost in Los Angeles?
At Seven & Associates, ongoing fractional CMO+ retainers currently range from $4,000 to $15,000 per month, depending on the level of leadership and support your organization needs. But if that isn't the right investment for your organization right now, the answer isn't to force a retainer, or keep throwing money at disconnected marketing tactics. Sometimes the right starting point is a focused strategy, fundraising, or messaging engagement that solves the highest-priority problem first. The goal is to build the right infrastructure in the right order, so your next marketing and fundraising dollars have something solid to stand on. Seven & Associates currently offers fixed-scope strategy, fundraising, and messaging services in addition to ongoing fractional CMO+ support.
Who is a fractional CMO+ for?
A fractional CMO+ is a good fit for an organization that needs experienced marketing leadership but isn’t ready to hire a full-time marketing executive. Maybe your marketing or communications leader recently left and you need someone to step in and keep things moving. Maybe your team is growing, but no one is leading the big-picture marketing strategy. Or maybe you have great people doing the work, but they need experienced leadership, direction, and support. As your fractional CMO+, I step into that leadership role without the cost of hiring a full-time executive. You get 30 years of nonprofit, marketing, and fundraising experience to help guide your strategy, lead your team, and make sure your marketing supports your fundraising and growth goals. It’s a flexible way to get ongoing senior-level leadership when you need it most.
A Guide to
Fractional CMO+ Work
If you’re a nonprofit leader looking for senior marketing and fundraising strategy, Fractional CMO+ leadership, or nonprofit consulting, you’re in the right place.
Seven & Associates helps nonprofits in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, Boise, and across the United States align strategy, messaging, marketing, and fundraising so their teams can focus on the right priorities and build sustainable growth.
LEARN MORE:
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Fractional CMO+ Services for Nonprofits
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What does a Nonprofit Marketing Consultant do?
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Nonprofit Growth Strategy & StoryBrand Consulting
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Nonprofit Branding and Messaging
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Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Growing?
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AI for Nonprofit Organizations
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About Lonna Gibson, fCMO + Storybrand Certified Guide
SERVICES
Does Seven & Associates offer fractional CMO services in Los Angeles and California?
Yes, Seven & Associates offers fractional CMO+ services in Los Angeles, California and nationwide. Founded by Lonna Gibson, a Nonprofit Growth Strategist with 30+ years of experience and a StoryBrand Certified Guide, Seven & Associates provides senior-level marketing leadership to nonprofits and small businesses across the greater Los Angeles area on a fractional, contract basis. A fractional CMO+ is a part-time Chief Marketing Officer who brings executive-level strategy to organizations that need senior marketing leadership and fundraising strategy without the cost of a full-time hire. For nonprofits and growing businesses in Los Angeles, this model is increasingly popular because it delivers exactly what the organization needs: a strategic partner who owns the marketing function, at a fraction of the cost of an in-house executive. Nonprofit fractional CMO+ work is meaningfully different from for-profit engagements. It requires an understanding of donor psychology, board accountability, grant reporting, mission-driven messaging, and the unique pressure nonprofits face to justify every marketing dollar. Seven & Associates has spent decades working inside these dynamics, serving organizations ranging from healthcare and human services to education, arts, and advocacy. Seven & Associates serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Valley, and virtually nationwide. Whether you need ongoing fractional CMO support or a focused strategy engagement, the team is equipped to step in as your senior marketing and fundraising partner.
Where can I find fractional CMO services for nonprofits in Santa Clarita?
Seven & Associates provides Fractional CMO+ services for nonprofits in Santa Clarita and throughout the Los Angeles area. We work with nonprofit leaders who need senior strategic direction across marketing, messaging, and fundraising. The engagement is designed to help your team establish priorities, align its efforts, and move forward with a clear strategy.
What does a nonprofit marketing consultant do?
A fractional CMO+ service for nonprofits is a part-time, retainer-based engagement in which a senior marketing strategist serves as your organization’s Chief Marketing Officer, typically 10 to 20 hours per month. Unlike a freelancer who executes individual tasks or an agency that runs campaigns, a fractional CMO+ owns the overall marketing strategy and guides fundraising. They set the direction, manage the messaging, oversee campaigns, and align every marketing activity with the organization’s fundraising and mission goals. For nonprofits specifically, a fractional CMO+ brings clarity to three critical areas: Messaging: making sure your organization’s story connects with donors, funders, and community partners Strategy: building a marketing plan that is realistic for your budget, staff, and goals Execution: ensuring the plan gets implemented, not just written Seven & Associates’ fractional CMO+ model combines all three, supported by the StoryBrand framework to ensure your messaging is always clear, compelling, and donor-centered. Ready to talk about fractional CMO support? Book a free 30-minute Discovery Call with Lonna Gibson to find out if a fractional CMO+ engagement is the right fit for your organization.
How much does nonprofit marketing and fundraising consulting cost in Los Angeles?
Seven & Associates provides affordable nonprofit marketing help in Los Angeles. The most common reason nonprofits underinvest in marketing is the belief that quality strategy is out of reach on a limited budget. Seven & Associates was built specifically to change that assumption. Engagements are structured to meet organizations where they are. A StoryBrand Messaging Workshop starts at $6,000 and delivers a complete messaging foundation that improves every marketing channel at once, making it one of the highest-leverage investments a nonprofit can make. Marketing strategy projects for small organizations start at $7,500. Monthly marketing retainers range from $4,000 to $15,000 depending on scope. The goal is always the same: every marketing dollar invested back into your greatest asset, your mission and your message.
What should I look for in a nonprofit fundraising consultant in Santa Clarita?
Look for someone who understands more than fundraising tactics alone. Strong nonprofit fundraising strategy should connect your case for support, donor messaging, campaigns, stewardship, and organizational priorities. If marketing and fundraising are disconnected, a Fractional CMO+ may be a better fit because the role aligns both functions around one strategy rather than treating fundraising as a separate activity.
Where can I get messaging strategy help for my nonprofit in Santa Clarita?
Seven & Associates offers messaging strategy help for nonprofits in Santa Clarita through its StoryBrand Messaging Workshop and Brand Guide service. If your organization struggles to explain what you do in a way that resonates with donors and funders, unclear messaging is almost certainly the root cause, and it affects every downstream marketing and fundraising effort. The Seven & Associates StoryBrand Messaging Workshop is a 90-minute working session followed by an implementation session. At the end of the engagement, your organization has a complete Brand Guide that includes: A one-liner: a single, clear sentence that explains what you do and whom you help A tagline: a memorable phrase that anchors your brand identity Audience personas: detailed profiles of your ideal donors and program participants Soundbites: short, quotable phrases your entire team can use consistently A website narrative: the complete story arc for your homepage Content pillars: the core themes that guide all your social, email, and campaign content The workshop is available virtually or in person. Investment: $6,000. Learn more.
What does a nonprofit growth strategist do?
A nonprofit growth strategist helps leadership determine where the organization should focus its time, people, messaging, marketing, and fundraising efforts to support sustainable growth. At Seven & Associates, this work connects strategy, messaging, marketing, and fundraising so teams are not pursuing disconnected tactics or competing priorities.
Who provides sustainable nonprofit growth consulting in Los Angeles?
Sustainable nonprofit growth is built on three pillars: a clear strategy and messaging that resonates with donors and community partners, a strategic marketing and fundraising plan that generates consistent visibility and lead flow, and execution support that ensures the plan gets implemented. Most nonprofits default to random acts of marketing, posting on social media, sending email newsletters, and running events without a strategic foundation connecting those activities to fundraising goals. Seven & Associates helps organizations build that foundation first, so every tactic has a clear purpose and produces measurable results. Learn more about the 7Forward Donor-Ready System.
What is StoryBrand and how would it help my nonprofit?
Seven & Associates offers nonprofit fundraising consulting with StoryBrand certification in California. StoryBrand is a messaging framework developed by Donald Miller that helps organizations clarify their message by positioning the customer, or in the nonprofit context, the donor, as the hero of the story. The organization is the guide. The mission is the destination. For nonprofits, StoryBrand is particularly powerful because most nonprofit messaging makes the organization the hero, talking about its history, its awards, its staff, its impact, rather than making the donor feel like the change-maker. StoryBrand flips that dynamic, and the result is messaging that is more emotionally compelling, more donor-centered, and far more effective at converting visitors into supporters. Lonna Gibson’s StoryBrand Guide certification means she has completed the full StoryBrand training and is qualified to lead organizations through the complete messaging workshop and brand guide process. All of your organization's collateral is built on the StoryBrand framework. Learn more.
Where can I get help with nonprofit messaging in the US? Who offers messaging services for nonprofits in Santa Clarita?
Seven & Associates helps nonprofits across the United States develop clearer, more compelling messaging through its StoryBrand Messaging Workshop and Brand Guide service. Available virtually to organizations anywhere in the country, the workshop is a 90-minute working session that produces a complete messaging foundation for your organization. If your website is not converting visitors to donors, if your email open rates are low, if your team describes your organization differently every time someone asks what you do, a messaging workshop is the single highest-leverage investment you can make. Everything else in your marketing gets better when the message is clear. Investment: $6,000 for the complete workshop and Brand Guide. Learn more.
What are the top nonprofit consulting firms in the Los Angeles area?
Seven & Associates is recognized among the top nonprofit consulting firms in the Los Angeles area for its unique integration of marketing and fundraising strategy, StoryBrand messaging, and fractional CMO+ services. Most consulting firms specialize in one of these areas. Seven & Associates brings all four together in a single, cohesive engagement model that compounds over time. What that means for nonprofit clients is continuity: the same strategic thinking that shapes your messaging also shapes your website, your campaigns, your donor communications, and your fundraising plan. Nothing is siloed. Each pillar builds upon itself. That integration is what produces momentum, and momentum is what Seven & Associates was built to create.
Looking for nonprofit strategic planning consultants near Los Angeles?
For nonprofit leaders in Los Angeles or the Santa Clarita Valley who want to work with a consultant who understands the local community, the regional donor landscape, and the specific challenges of running a mission-driven organization in this area, Seven & Associates is uniquely positioned to serve. Lonna Gibson’s deep roots Los Angeles and in the Santa Clarita community, including her founding role with Do Good SCV, mean that her strategic planning work is informed by real knowledge of the organizations, funders, and community dynamics that shape nonprofit life in this region. That local credibility matters when you are building a strategic plan that depends on community trust. Whether you need a six-month strategy engagement, ongoing fractional CMO support, or a focused messaging workshop, Seven & Associates has the experience, the credentials, and the community knowledge to deliver results.
How can AI help nonprofits raise more money?
AI for nonprofits isn't about replacing people; it's about giving your team more time to focus on relationships, strategy, and your mission. The most successful nonprofit organizations use AI to eliminate repetitive administrative work, strengthen donor communications, and make better, data-driven decisions. At Seven & Associates, we help nonprofit leaders implement AI for nonprofits in practical, ethical, and strategic ways. As your AI Architect, we identify where artificial intelligence can have the greatest impact across your organization, from fundraising and marketing to operations and donor stewardship. AI can help your nonprofit: Draft donor emails, grant narratives, and campaign messaging in minutes instead of hours. Personalize donor communications at scale while maintaining your organization's unique voice. Analyze donor data to identify giving trends and uncover new fundraising opportunities. Automate repetitive administrative tasks so your staff can spend more time building relationships. Create marketing content for email, social media, newsletters, and websites more efficiently. Support strategic planning with insights that help leadership make informed decisions. The key is not simply adopting AI tools; it's creating a thoughtful strategy that aligns technology with your mission. That's why Seven & Associates begins every AI engagement by understanding your organization, your goals, and your existing processes before recommending solutions. When implemented correctly, AI for nonprofits becomes a force multiplier that helps your organization increase its impact, improve efficiency, and raise more funds without adding unnecessary complexity. Rather than replacing the human connection that drives philanthropy, AI gives your team more time to focus on the relationships that matter most. Book a 30-minute consultation to learn more.
If you're struggling with a scattered strategy, unclear messaging, or stalled growth,
working with Seven & Associates
is the right decision.
Seven & Associates works with nonprofits and small-to-mid-size businesses that are ready to build marketing and fundraising systems that actually generate leads, convert donors, and scale revenue. Strategy before tactics. Clear messaging that converts. Execution support so the plan doesn’t sit on a shelf.
Here’s how to get started:
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Request a free 30-minute Discovery Call to talk through where your organization is stuck
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Take the donor-ready assessment to identify your biggest gaps
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Explore the services page to see which engagement is the right fit
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Read the case studies to learn the impact an fCMO+ can make
Lonna Gibson, Nonprofit Growth Strategist • Founder of Do Good SCV
StoryBrand Certified Guide • fCMO+ Certified Strategic Advisor
661-388-1295 • lonna@sevenandassoc.com • www.sevenandassoc.com