The ambition is clear. The funding is not.
A capital project or a new strategy needs philanthropic support at a scale you have not raised before, and the board wants evidence before it commits.
Campaign planning€39 million raised against a €30 million goal.
Cōnsilium plans and runs major gift campaigns for Irish nonprofits. We test the case, the goal, and the leadership before anyone is asked for money, and we build your team as we go.
- €39m
- raised and pledged for Focus Ireland, against a €30m goal
- €25m
- five-year campaign designed with FoodCloud
- €8.5m
- raised for Glenstal Abbey and SchoolCHECK
Campaign of the Year, Charity Excellence Awards 2023
When organisations bring us in
Major gifts have stalled, or never started.
Good relationships, no pipeline, no system. Asks happen when someone remembers, not because a plan says so.
Major gift programmesA campaign is under way and has lost momentum.
Lead gifts are slower than the plan assumed, volunteers have gone quiet, and the launch date is getting closer.
Campaign counselFundraising has to grow up fast.
A new strategy, a new CEO, or a function being built from scratch, and the board needs a credible plan and someone senior beside the team.
Strategy and counselHow a campaign comes together
Plan
We hold 30 to 40 confidential conversations with the people most likely to lead and fund the campaign. They test the case, the goal, and the leadership. The board gets a clear answer: what is achievable, from whom, and in what order.
Build
One proposition, three fundable strands, and named projects a donor can picture. A Philanthropy Council of senior advocates who open doors. A table of gifts, a rated prospect list, and a team trained to use them.
Ask
Lead gifts first, quietly, before any public launch. Your people make the asks. We sit beside them until they no longer need us.
Featured case study
Image to come: Focus Ireland photograph
Focus Ireland
A Place Called HomeCHECK
- Goal
- €30 million
- Result
- €39 million raised and pledged
- Recognition
- Campaign of the Year, Charity Excellence Awards 2023
€39 million raised and pledged against a €30 million goal, for homes and services for families, children, and young people leaving homelessness.
Read the case studyJames worked with us to train and upskill our Partnership & Philanthropy team, working side-by-side with us throughout.
Who you will work with
Image to come: James Ó Murthuile, portrait
James Ó MurthuileCHECK
Founder and Managing Director
James Ó Murthuile founded Cōnsilium after twenty years in consulting, more than fifteen of them advising Irish nonprofits on major gifts and campaigns. He leads every engagement himself.
Image to come: Aisling Nolan, portrait
Aisling NolanCHECK
Consulting Director
Aisling Nolan, Consulting Director, led Focus Ireland's in-house team through A Place Called Home before joining Cōnsilium.
Latest
Campaigns · 9 October 2026 · 1 min read
Why Irish campaigns stall in the quiet phaseDRAFTCHECK
After the first leadership gifts the pipeline thins, and most campaigns lose momentum because nobody owns the next ask.
Live session · Online · 45 minutes
Sample session (template entry)DRAFT
Thursday 12 November 2026, 13:00 Irish time
Fundraising leads and CEOs considering a campaign
Image to come: James Ó Murthuile, portrait
Talk to James
Thirty minutes, no preparation, no obligation. Tell me where things stand and I will give you an honest view of what it would take.
Book a time