About Us

CCS is a strategic fundraising consulting firm that partners with nonprofits to raise funds and strengthen organizations.

CCS maintains the largest and most experienced permanent staff in the field. Our professional team includes executive consultants and resident campaign directors, as well as research, communication, planned giving, and campaign support personnel.

CCS campaigns generally cost institutions between three and eight cents per dollar raised including professional fees and operational expenses.Ninety percent of CCS work represents repeat institutions or direct referrals. We take this as the highest compliment.

CCS’s record of success is unmatched. Our clients are among the most recognizable brands in the non-profit world. We are dedicated to achieving financial goals, but define success as something more: exponential growth and exceptional and measurable ROI.

CCS campaigns consistently outperform, exceeding goals and building a platform for success. Further, CCS designs, directs and manages development initiatives in partnership with existing development staff, working closely together to strengthen development capacity and ongoing professional development and training of staff.

CCS offers a flexible service model, specifically designed to meet the needs and culture of the organizations we serve. The level of service provided can range from executive consultation to full-time, onsite counsel with fee structures that match the recommended model.

CCS designs successful campaigns and development initiatives that build a foundation for future efforts, implementing systems and best practices that result in long-term sustainable growth.

Established in 1947, CCS has developed and implemented successful development initiatives for leading non-profits across all sectors and throughout the world. The geographic and sector breadth of experience allows us a unique perspective unparalleled in the industry. As a well established firm, we instill confidence in non-profits positioned for transformational growth.

A partnership with CCS provides the intense service of our professional team, along with the value added benefit of our marketing, prospect research, and customized learning services.

The CCS Leadership Team brings a wealth of experience to every partner engagement. Every project CCS accepts is the full responsibility of a partner in the firm. Our leaders bring decades of direct experience and choose among our people to develop the right team for each project. Your success is a matter of personal and professional pride.

Our professionals bring energy, flexibility, intelligence, a strong work ethic, and a desire to succeed and make a difference. These traits are developed through extensive learning experiences and resource-sharing. Our people share their expertise and skills, creating a ripple effect throughout the organizations we serve. CCS’ deep sense of corporate commitment to diversity in our industry ensures that our people come from a variety of both cultural and professional backgrounds.

The words of the exceptional people with whom we collaborate are the most meaningful measure of our achievement. More than 90 percent of our business comes from repeat engagement and direct referrals.

Impacting the World Through
Philanthropy for Over 70 Years

As leading consulting experts in campaign and development strategy, we plan and implement fundraising initiatives to help nonprofit organizations make a bigger impact—locally, nationally, and globally.

For over 70 years, CCS has empowered many of the world’s greatest organizations to advance some of the most important causes in history. Members of the CCS team are highly experienced and knowledgeable across sectors, disciplines, and regions.

Our unique, customized approach provides each organization with an embedded professional to provide real-time solutions. While the results of our work are immediate, the impact of the strategies, tools, and tactics we develop with our clients are enduring.

Who We Serve Our Services

INTERACTIVE TIMELINE
Select a year below to learn more about our global work across the decades.

1947

Brooklyn

CCS is founded in 1947 as Community Counselling Service in Brooklyn conducting business with parishes in the northeastern United States.

1959

Brooklyn

The Diocese of Brooklyn becomes one of CCS’s first major clients in 1959 and becomes the foundation for what would be the chief focus of CCS’s work throughout the Catholic Church. This project raises over $30 million.

1960

New York

CCS establishes itself as a major fundraiser in the Catholic sector. A campaign at the Archdiocese of New York raises a historic $44 million to fund construction of a number of high schools around NY, and is the largest amount raised for any AD in the U.S. at the time. This engagement leads to major campaigns for the Archdioceses of Boston and Chicago in the 1960s.

1963

New York

CCS works on the campaign for Fordham University in 1963 to build its Lincoln Center campus. This engagement leads to work with significant Jesuit universities and preparatory schools in the U.S. and Great Britain.

1973

Minneapolis, MN.

A campaign for the American Lutheran Church in 1973 signifies the start of a series of major denomination and synod campaigns within the Lutheran, Episcopal, Congregational, and Methodist churches.

1978

San Francisco

The 1978 Committee to Save the Cable Cars campaign in San Francisco becomes one of the first public-private partnership campaigns in the country. CCS helps the campaign raise $10 million, which marks CCS’s exploration into more secular projects.

1980

Toronto, Ontario

CCS begins working with the Anglican Church of Canada in 1980. The engagement represents CCS’s first major national campaign in Canada which leads to an additional national church campaign and campaigns for major Canadian universities and hospitals (McMaster University, United World Colleges, Trent University, Vancouver General Hospital, and Hamilton Civic Hospital).

1985

Manchester, England

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology becomes the first major public British university campaign. This leads to development projects for major British universities, including: Imperial College, University of Liverpool, Salford University, University of Surrey, the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

1986

Evanston, IL.

In 1986, CCS joins Rotary International in the PolioPlus initiative to eradicate polio worldwide. This was CCS’s first major voluntary service organization campaign, raising $257 million on $120 million goal in just two years. This engagement leads to global campaigns for Lions Clubs International and Kiwanis International, as well as efforts for the UN Foundation, GAVI, MSF, CARE, Oxfam America, American Red Cross, and many others.

1988

New York

Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center becomes CCS’s first leading academic medical center campaign and paves the way for engagements with the Lahey Clinic, White Plains Hospital Center, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

1990

New York

The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation sets a goal in 1990 of $100 million and goes over goal, raising $200 million. This would be CCS’s first major disease-focused voluntary health organization campaign.

1991

Philadelphia

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia raises $100 million in 1991, which is one of the largest campaigns undertaken by CCS at the time.

1993

Brunswick, Maine

In 1993, CCS engages in its first major successful environmental project, working with the Nature Conservancy of Maine. This begins a series of chapter campaigns for the Nature Conservancy.

1994

Oak Brook, IL.

Lions Club International raises over $146 million for its SightFirst campaign to eradicate preventable forms of blindness.

1997

New York

In 1997, Human Rights Watch becomes CCS’s first major advocacy group campaign and begins a years-long relationship.

2001

New York

CCS partners with Weill Cornell Medical College to raise $750 million for the 2001 Advancing the Clinical Mission campaign.

2003

Atlanta HQ / Worldwide

Habitat for Humanity enlists CCS to work on the More than Houses campaign that raises nearly $594 million to build 100,000 new Habitat homes across the world.

2005

Moscow, Russia

CCS begins work with the New Economic School in Russia. This is CCS’s first major campaign in Russia and leads to work with other leading higher education institutions overseas.

2006

Nashville

In 2006, the Nashville Symphony hires CCS to surpass a $120 million goal to restore the performance hall and fund future artistic initiatives. This becomes CCS’s first hundred-million dollar campaign for an arts center outside of a major U.S. city, leading to comparable projects in Denver, Utah, Dallas, Indianapolis, and Cleveland.

2006

New York

The Chapin School in New York becomes CCS’s first major private school project, raising $80 million and paving the way for a number of subsequent successful independent school engagements.

2006

San Francisco

UCSF Medical Center hires CCS to assist on a $600 million campaign to embark upon an unprecedented opportunity to construct three new hospitals on the UCSF Mission Bay campus. The campaign attracts two gifts of $100 million+, a first in the history of the entire University of California system.

2007

New York

Another partnership in 2007 with Weill Cornell Medical College raises $1.3 billion for the Discoveries that Make a Difference campaign to fund a variety of initiatives that will further enhance the school’s research enterprise. Since 2001, the Weill Cornell projects combined raise over $2 billion. This was the first Ivy League elite medical center CCS worked with, which paved the way for others.

2008

Sacramento

In 2008 the Crocker Art Museum in the Sacramento Valley engages CCS on the Masterpiece in the Making campaign, which raises $100 million to expand the museum to almost triple its size.

2010

Indianapolis, IN.

Kiwanis International/ UNICEF partner with CCS in 2010 on The Eliminate Project to eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide.

2012

Beijing, China

CCS works with Schwarzman Scholars, Tsinghua University on a $450 million campaign to build and endow an elite Master's degree scholarship program in China. Completed in 2015, this endeavor was the largest charitable effort in China’s history coming from predominantly international donors. It leads to work with the Asia Society, the China Institute, and Singapore Health.

TODAY

Chicago, IL.

CCS is hired by the Archdiocese of Chicago to achieve a $350 million fundraising goal, the largest diocesan campaign in history.

TODAY

Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian Institution conducts a $300 million campaign to build the historic National Museum of African American History and Culture.