Testimonials
“Tori helped MFB expand our work addressing the root causes of hunger by building a new grant channel to support organizations already doing that work in their communities. She then helped us grow that channel into something broader — an approach to philanthropy that is human-centered, focused on systems change, and grounded in deep partnership with human services practitioners. Her guidance, insight, and ability to translate ambition into practice have been invaluable. MFB’s Neighbor Impact Grants are stronger, more responsive, and more impactful because of our partnership.”
— Meg Kimmel, President & CEO, Maryland Food Bank“Tori is a consummate non-profit resource development professional. Having worked with Tori in her role as director of corporate and foundation relations, I observed her lead her team to raise millions of dollars to support CCBC’s mission and goals. She is strategic, thorough, data- and project-driven, and has exceptional communication skills.”
— Ken Westary, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, CCBC
Tori K. Burns, CFRE
Principal, Mission & Means
Claudia McDonough, Annual Giving and Operations Consultant
Meet the Team
Through my work as a grant writer and volunteer leader, I started noticing a pattern. Strong missions. Committed leaders. Meaningful programs. Yet teams struggled to secure the resources needed to grow.
At first, the challenge appeared to be fundraising-related. Over time, I realized the issue ran deeper. Organizations were pursing funding before underlying structures were fully in place to support those efforts.
Mission & Means was created to help organizations address that upstream challenge.
We help nonprofits strengthen organizational readiness, align development strategies with organizational capacity, and make thoughtful decisions about where to invest limited resources.
Our goal is not simply to help organizations raise money. It is to help them build the conditions for sustainable growth and long-term impact.
Claudia has more than 20 years of experience helping nonprofit organizations strengthen annual giving programs, enhance donor stewardship, and improve development operations.
Her expertise includes annual giving, donor stewardship, donor communications, direct mail and digital fundraising, membership programs, development operations, fundraising assessments, and advancement data management.
Claudia's experience spans higher education, arts and culture, and human services organizations. She brings a collaborative, data-informed approach to helping organizations build stronger fundraising practices and create sustainable programs that support meaningful donor relationships.