SparkNonprofit Consulting & Coaching

Empowering Nonprofits to Achieve
Greater Impact

At SparkNonprofit Consulting + Coaching, we specialize in helping nonprofit organizations like yours thrive. Whether you're seeking to elevate your fundraising strategy, strengthen your leadership team, or develop a clear roadmap for success, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

With over 30 years of experience, our founder, Allison Bough, brings a wealth of expertise in fundraising, executive coaching, and strategic planning. As a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Facilitator, Allison has helped nonprofits like Vanguard Landing raise $4M and Ohef Sholom Temple raise $1.75M.

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Here’s How I Can Help

I guide organizations like yours to create the fundraising strategies you need to thrive for years to come.

I’m here to empower leaders like you to be the very best version of yourself and improve your team’s performance.

Together, we create a vision for your future and the action plan you need to reach your goals and reach your full potential.

We’ll examine your current fundraising effectiveness and develop strategies to achieve your goals using annual, capital, and planned giving. Create meaningful relationships with your donors & connect to their passions while you raise more money for your cause.
Mindset is everything. Gain awareness of your leadership and examine how you think. Come away with more insight and higher emotional intelligence you can apply right away to boost your skills as a leader. Clear any roadblocks in your way and be the best version of your authentic self while you guide your team to produce their best work.
You and your board may be facing a strategic challenge and considering how to plan for the next 3-5 years. Together we’ll assess where you are and where you want to be, and develop the next steps to get there. By harnessing the knowledge and commitment of your board and your team, we can develop a vision and way forward built on insight, understanding, and shared passion for the cause.

Why Choose Me?

I am in the business of equipping leaders for success.

83% of companies say developing leaders at all levels is crucial.

97% of employees and employers believe that lack of team alignment influences the success of a project.

70% of donors who make a first gift never come back and make a second.

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Here’s What My Clients Say

"Every time we talk, I learn so much about myself and my motivations. In a few short months, Allison has helped me to think differently about things I didn’t even realize I needed to think about to grow my business and my confidence."

Sonja Barisic, Entrepreneur and Founder, Sunflower Communications LLC
“Allison provided a great working session that made fundraising 'approachable' for our board members. Our board chair was thrilled and it was the best board discussion we’ve ever had. I highly recommend SparkNonprofit for board training.”

Christine Wilson, President, Chartway Promise Foundation
“I’m truly surprised at how much my life has changed since coaching. I’m more positive, confident, and assertive in my work and personal life. I have a greater sense of happiness and feel more driven towards my purpose.”

Joseph Jones, Program Director, Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads
"Working with Allison Bough is simply wonderful for several reasons! She takes the time to learn and understand the needs of our organization. She fully engages her mind, heart and actions into assisting with what the current needs are. She has earned the title of family member to us at Vanguard Landing where we are honored to have her with us on our fundraising journey.

Debbie Dear, Founder and Executive Director, Vanguard Landing
"Executive coaching gave me the opportunity to talk about challenges, insecurities, inefficiencies, and barriers that prevented me and our organization from reaching our full potential. Allison ... stirs your mind toward solution-oriented approaches and strategies to address organizational issues or challenges that may be hindering your optimal success.

Malcolm Jones, Program Director, Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads
"We really enjoyed working with Allison. Her pleasant and professional demeanor helped ease any anxiety we had about undertaking a comprehensive development plan and fundraising campaign. She fully immersed herself in our organization to gain a firsthand understanding of our culture, vision and goals. Our investment with her was invaluable and exceeded our expectations."

Karen Fine, President, Ohef Sholom Temple Board of Directors and 175th Anniversary Campaign Co-Chair
"It has been refreshing to have someone that genuinely cares about helping their clients become a better version of themselves with intentional strategies and techniques. Prepare to unlock and address your suppressed thoughts and feelings that shape you."

Adena Conwell, Operations Director, Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads
“It’s been really freeing to be able to take charge of my thoughts and to shift to putting my energy into what I can do and control."

Kari Vincent, Annual Fund & Membership Manager, The Chrysler Museum of Art
“My goal with executive coaching was to inspire our team to higher levels of success, by building their leadership skills, overcoming obstacles, and helping them learn how to coach and guide the site coordinators they manage. ... What would I tell someone who’s considering working with Allison? DO IT!!! You will definitely get your money’s worth and the ROI is much greater than the financial investment.

Dr. Hope Sinclair, Executive Director, Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads
"Before executive coaching, my biggest challenge was letting my viewpoint and feelings about a person get in the way. I allowed my thoughts and biases to get in the way of my leadership. It made me feel inadequate at times, defeated, and stressed. I really wanted to do a good job, but interactions with certain staff were stressful. After coaching, I have a new approach. I feel confident and excited about it."

Jamaal Ellison, Program Director of Operations, Communities in Schools of Petersburg

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Blog

Enhance Employee Performance with a Positive Leadership Mindset

What you focus on grows. Helping our employees and teammates be the absolute best version of themselves is one of the single most important roles we have as leaders. How can we help employees be the best version of themselves? How we see them affects how they show up.

Effective Time Management Starts with Mindset

If your goal is effective time management and higher productivity, here are some questions to start your day and to avoid thinking pitfalls that may slow you down.

Live a Life of Meaning and Purpose

It’s easy to lose sight of our life’s purpose. We end up chasing bigger positions and bigger salaries without much thought as to why we’re doing that. Instead, I challenge you to reflect on how you can live a life of meaning and purpose.

Five Things I’ve Never Said to a Client

My consulting work offers a new challenge every week. In addition to leading my clients through capital, endowment, and planned giving campaigns, I conduct board education sessions about fundraising. I also coach CEOs and high-performing leaders so they can achieve even greater success for themselves and their team.

Here are a few things I’ve never said to a client.

How Would it Feel to Know Someone’s Got Your Back?

You can achieve more than you ever thought possible, inspire your employees, and help your team reach higher levels of success. You can translate your strengths into new, larger opportunities. You can create the kind of team where people value high performance.

How to Foster a Culture of Philanthropy

Philanthropy links staff, board members, donors, clients, volunteers, and people in need. Through their gifts of time and money, donors and volunteers join with you in helping solve community problems and make a positive impact. Nonprofits who successfully build and nurture these relationships and this “culture of philanthropy” are more likely to succeed in fundraising, program goals, and community impact. It’s not enough to have great programs.

Check out more blog posts