Nellie’s
In fundraising, success is all about relationships.
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For over a decade, Wishart by Banko has worked with Nellie’s — a women’s shelter and support organization in Toronto — to deliver powerful, high-performing annual mail appeals.
Fourteen years is a looooong time, and a lot can change. But, a lot can be accomplished, too!
As Nellie’s expanded its impact, our role expanded with it. When Nellie’s moved into a larger shelter, we were there to help raise money for renovations. When Nellie’s expanded programming outside of the shelter, we were there to support their food and child healing programs.
When you work with a client for 30 successful appeals, you tend to figure out what works, and what doesn’t. New appeals are now a streamlined process, with additional bells and whistles developed with Nellie’s to appeal to their specific donors. We focus on end-of-year giving, prioritize major donors with personal touches, and reach out via email to save money while still raising lots.
That partnership proved especially valuable during periods of change. When Nellie’s hired a new Director of Development, we provided continuity, strategic guidance, and the institutional knowledge needed to make sure that the appeals got into mailboxes and inboxes on time.
In 2026, looking for opportunities to grow, and with key personnel departures, Nellie’s was searching for creative and strategic ways to come at fundraising — approaches that they hadn’t done before.
That’s where we came in, again! Our long working relationship with Nellie’s made us the obvious choice to collaborate with. Working closely with the Executive Director, we built out a Major Giving strategy that is currently being implemented, as well as helped Nellie’s rewrite their Fundraising Policies across the organization.
Once those two little (ha!) pieces were done, it was time to start working on a grand Case for Support, rethinking how Nellie’s would approach fundraising for the coming years.
Overall, our work with Nellie’s is proof that relationships are the most important factor in fundraising. By building a strong, lasting relationship with Nellie’s, we are best able to help them reach the people they need to reach, so that they can focus more on the women and children who need them most.