Fundraising works better when you understand what actually drives people to give.

The good grows

through meaningful connection.

Donors don't give because they were asked the right number of times. They give because something in the experience of giving — the relationship, the story, the sense of identity and meaning — actually worked.

When that interaction improves, everything improves. Retention goes up. Major gifts deepen. Fundraisers stop burning out. The work starts to feel like what it's supposed to feel like.

Clarus exists to improve the quality of that interaction — using research into human behavior to understand what's actually shaping your donor relationships, and translating that into practical action your team can use.

Deanna Nelson, PhD

Founder & CEO, Clarus Fundraising Consulting

"There's a whole body of science on why people give. Almost none of it makes it into how nonprofits actually fundraise. That gap is what Clarus exists to close."

Deanna Nelson has spent her career at the intersection of research and practice — working directly with donors and development teams before earning a PhD in philanthropic psychology, the study of how psychology shapes generosity.

That combination is rare. Most fundraising consultants bring experience without the research foundation. Most researchers bring the theory without the frontline reality. Deanna brings both — and it changes what's possible in an engagement.

Her approach isn't about adding more tactics. It's about understanding why donors respond the way they do — and using that understanding to create fundraising that works better, and feels better, for everyone involved.

Clarus is built on the same principle as the lab approach it uses: inquiry over assumption, testing over declaring, and a genuine belief that better thinking leads to better outcomes — not more pressure.

• PhD, Philanthropic Psychology — one of a few consultants in the world with this credential

• 16 years of frontline fundraising experience — working directly with donors, development teams, and nonprofit leadership

• Founder of the Donor Psychology Audit — a research-to-action methodology built on six peer-reviewed frameworks