WHAT OUR PARTNERS SAY
Cleo and I worked together for six and half years, when she joined iMentor as our first development professional. In that short period of time, Cleo raised $50M, grew annual revenue from $1M to $7M, designed two successful growth capital campaigns, and built a team that allowed iMentor to continue to thrive after her tenure. She was an enormous part of iMentor’s journey from a NYC startup to a truly national organization and her contributions to that evolution can’t be overstated. She is brilliant, reflective, a great teammate, and a trusted partner in this work. Cleo built powerful and authentic relationships with funders, board members, leaders throughout the organization, and her peers in the space. Her commitment to excellence, to relationships, and to constant learning and growth make her a rare talent in our sector!
–MIKE O’BRIEN, CEO, IMENTOR
Having worked with dozens of development professionals in my 15-year nonprofit management career, Cleo is in a class by herself. She has the unique and highly sought out attributes of being an expert fundraiser in quick-growing, entrepreneurial organizations, a detailed and organized planner, a strategic thinker and an excellent manager of people. This has made her an incredible and highly valued partner to me in the short 4 month period we’ve worked together, in which she is producing a multi-year fundraising plan for us as we also search for a full-time head of development. Related, it was one of my board members who recommended I pursue Cleo for that role as soon as he became aware of the opportunity and I have been trying to convert her into a full-time staff member ever since!
–JEMINA R. BERNARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDENT LEADERSHIP NETWORK
Cleo and I have worked together for many years, starting when she led Development at New Classrooms, where I currently serve as Board Chair. In that capacity, Cleo was a powerful force for attracting new support while also stewarding board members and other donors with great care. Soon after co-founding Transcend, I hired Cleo to help us launch our fundraising work. Over the 9 months that she partnered with us, she not only created a Major Gift strategy, but she also helped us to build collateral and grant materials that secured meaningful contributions. Most importantly, however, she served as a coach and mentor to me as I grew my own knowledge and skills at fundraising. Her experience and wisdom was invaluable.
–Jeff Wetzler, Co-Founder, Transcend Education
From our first conversation, I was so impressed with Cleo's unique ability to quickly take in information, build context, and drive work forward in an organized, strategic way. Cleo worked directly with me and our entire development team for 7 months, serving as an Interim Vice President of Development while we underwent a search, and then helping to onboard our new VP to set her up for success. Some of the projects Cleo helped lead on include: partnering on the revenue planning side of our 5-year strategic planning process, creating the template for our annual development plans, providing support and coaching to development team members and Executive Directors across our national team and six chapters, and serving as a thought partner on fundraising strategy and overall organizational growth. Cleo truly embedded herself in our organization. She is a do-er, a thought partner, a sophisticated strategist, and a true joy to work with!
–Sydney Morris, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Educators for Excellence
Working with Cleo Cavolo was transformative. Through her coaching and support, I gained the confidence and language to make bold asks from foundations. During our work together, not only did she push my thinking, she also provided me with the skills needed to move my organization to its next iteration. I strongly recommend Cleo given her knowledge, collaborative nature, and vision.
–Thaly Germain, -Founder and CEO, Onward
I have had the pleasure of knowing Cleo professionally for 11 years. Over the course of our relationship I have always been impressed with Cleo’s dedication to the non-profit sector, her high level of professionalism and superior fundraising skills.
Cleo and I worked closely together at a youth mentoring organization in New York City that was undergoing rapid growth and had set ambitious fundraising goals. Cleo led the development department which was comprised of a large team of which I was a member. Through Cleo’s strategic guidance and leadership, the team was able to raise the funds needed to serve more students and expand its footprint nationally. Being at the helm of the development department required Cleo to demonstrate excellence in all areas of fundraising – individual giving and major gifts, institutional giving, corporate engagement and donor relations. Cleo managed high profile events and campaigns and worked directly with a seasoned Board of Directors to increase the organization's visibility and meet revenue goals.
–Sadie Slootsky, Chief Development Officer, GO Project
Cleo leverages her wealth of first hand experience as a former senior development leader as well as her advisory work with other organizations to provide uniquely valuable, thoughtful and impact focused advice to her clients. Cleo is quick to grasp the challenges a client is facing that the client may not always fully see. Cleo then utilizes this knowledge and her experience to provide an objective perspective and develop strategies to assist clients in meeting their goals. I highly recommend Cleo to organizations interested in working with an advisor who is smart, hard-working, easy to work with and able to pivot her thinking to solve any situation.
–Erica Hamilton, Principal, Arbor Brothers
Cleo brought me onto her team despite my complete lack of development experience and organized and mentored me in a role where I had the opportunity to learn about each of the verticals of work. She is an expert strategist and taught me how to build out successful strategies to hit ambitious goals that I have carried with me. Cleo has been a trusted friend for the past 8 years and we rely on each other for advice as we navigate our careers.
–Mary Ellen Miller, VP of Development, Girls Who Code
Cleo is a fundraising leader with deep hands-on experience in strategic planning, capital campaigns, staff management, foundations and individual donors, having served several high performance organizations including: Blue Ridge Foundation, iMentor and New Classrooms.
Aside from her fundraising and strategy chops, what also sets Cleo apart as a fundraising consultant is the way she helps you think through overwhelming goals or problems by breaking them down to reasonable chunks of work and actionable steps. She is smart, realistic, action oriented and helps you see paths and possibilities you could not see on your own. Cleo is tactful and a pleasure to work with. But in service of the work, she will not hesitate to tell you what you need to hear. Cleo has been a valuable resource for me as I support my clients think through various fundraising challenges.