About Us
Lauren Budding, Principal and Founder, serves as lead consultant and assembles teams and top talent as appropriate to fit the individual needs of our clients.
With more than 25 years of experience in senior roles across non-profits, Lauren has led and helped institutions and organizations large and small define, align and implement their strategic goals and bold ideas.
Lauren specializes in strategic planning and organizational change, fundraising and philanthropy, and external engagement, building broad support for organizations and civic causes. With experience in arts and culture, higher education, community development, affordable housing, and the environment, she brings an integrative perspective across many sectors.
Most recently, Lauren served as Chief External Engagement Officer of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston) during a decade of transformative institutional change, leading the fundraising, board relations, marketing, communications, membership and special events departments.
Lauren helped lead the Museum’s most recent strategic planning effort and two fundraising campaigns of the Gardner over her 9-year tenure, including helping close a $180M campaign that was the largest in the institution’s history. She also supported a major leadership transition between two Museum Directors.
In addition to her institutional leadership roles, Lauren has extensive experience working with individual, major donors around their philanthropic giving, board service, volunteer engagement, and private events, as well as with national foundations and corporations around significant philanthropic partnerships and sponsorships.
Lauren graduated from Smith College with a BA in history and economics and earned a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Lauren’s volunteer activities include serving on boards and providing counsel to a range of community nonprofits, and political fundraising.
