Specialized Expertise.
Lived Experience.
Real Partnership.

We're nonprofit consultants who understand the work from the inside. We built the firm we wish we'd had.

Let's Get to Work

We believe…

Nonprofits need an actual support system.

In 2012, Melanie Palmer became the first Grant Professional Certified (GPC) in Arkansas. Two years later, she founded M. Palmer Consulting with a simple vision: create the support system she wished she'd had as an executive director.

So that's what she built.

Our goal is to help nonprofits that work with us build sustainable organizations. Melanie built a sustainable team the same way—by investing in people first, credentials second.

She assembled a team based on character: ambitious, enthusiastic, community-oriented, and kind. People who'd worked inside nonprofits and understood the mission from the inside. People who genuinely cared about empowerment and equity.

Organizations built on heroic effort instead of sustainable systems are set up to fail.

Without sustainable systems, even the most important missions struggle to survive.

That's where we come in.

M. Palmer Consulting was founded by people who've been in the trenches. Our team has worked inside nonprofits—as executive directors, development directors, board members, and support staff—so we understand what it's like to juggle impossible expectations with scarce resources. We know the guilt, the overwhelm, the isolation.

That's why we founded M. Palmer Consulting—to be the partners we needed when we were leading organizations ourselves.

Today, the M. Palmer team includes…

GPC and CFRE certified professionals, grant reviewers, and national association leaders.

We practice what we preach: build people up, and they'll build great things.

Our Impact Since 2014

Numbers don't tell the whole story—but they do tell part of it.
Here's what we've helped our clients accomplish:

$20.6M

Raised for client organizations
through grants and fundraising strategies

242

Proposals funded as
of 2024

65%

Grant approval percentage
across all submissions

$68.85

For every $1 clients invested
in grant proposal development
in 2024, they raised $68.85

Meet Our Founder

Melanie Palmer, GPC, CFRE
Founder & Principal
melanie@melaniepalmerconsulting.com

Credentials & Leadership:
- First Grant Professional Certified (GPC) in Arkansas (2012)
- Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE)
- One of only two GPC/CFRE dual-certified fundraisers in Arkansas
- GPA certified trainer and one of only 2 national trainers for GPA's Next Level Federal Grants Training
- Current: Catalysts for Community Chair, Grant Professionals Association, Arkansas Chapter
- Past President: GPA Arkansas Chapter and AFP Northwest Arkansas Chapter

Over nearly two decades as a fundraising professional, Melanie has helped raise millions of dollars through grants, annual funds, special events, and major gifts programs.

Clifton Strengths: Maximizer | Strategic | Ideation | Relator | Responsibility

When she's not pondering evaluation objectives or chasing after her two daughters, Melanie enjoys digging in her garden, doing genealogical research, reading, y aprender español.

our team

Alexander Battaglia, MPP
Associate

Leilani Ocasio, GPC
Project Manager

Addison Mahaffey, CFRE
Project Manager

Hannah Lastra
Project Manager

Our Values

  • We build your team's capability, not dependence on consultants. Our goal is to leave your organization stronger and more self-sufficient—able to sustain the work long after our engagement ends.

  • We're honest about what's hard and what's realistic. We don't overpromise or oversimplify. We acknowledge when something will take time, require hard work, or push you outside your comfort zone.

  • We believe in fundraising that uplifts communities and centers justice. We help you build donor relationships and funding strategies that align with your values and serve your community authentically.

  • We bring deep expertise to every engagement. Our team includes specialized credentials (GPC, CFRE), national training experience, and years of nonprofit work. We take our craft seriously.

  • We tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Sometimes that means challenging assumptions, naming difficult realities, or recommending paths that feel uncomfortable but necessary.

Where We're Going

Over the past decade, we've learned that sustainable change requires more than completing projects—it requires investing in the people and systems that will carry the work forward.
That's why we:

  • Provide pro bono services annually to one organization that needs support

  • Train the next generation of fundraising professionals

  • Prioritize equity in our hiring and our partnerships

  • Keep learning (80+ combined hours of professional development each year)

  • Partner for the long haul (many clients work with us for 8+ years)

We're building the nonprofit sector we want to see—one where organizations thrive for generations, not just grant cycles.

Ready to Build Something Sustainable?

Whether you're preventing crisis or navigating it, we're here to help.

Schedule a Consultation