About Us
Get to know our company!
Meet Growth & Co.
Take the guesswork out of hiring a fundraising consulting firm.
Set your team up for success with proven systems and processes that will continually grow the revenue of your organization!
After spending over ten years serving on boards of directors and witnessing her favourite charities and talented entrepreneurs struggle to raise capital for their missions, Founder Larissa Stoddart was determined to find a solution for organizations with meaningful missions that were barely raising operating costs.
By taking what she learned while working on a $750M university campaign and applying best practice fundraising systems and processes to social enterprises to achieve results that could scale, Growth & Co. was created.
Today, Growth & Co. is a fundraising consulting firm that has helped organizations raise over 100 million dollars. We break down the concepts, systems, and processes that work in large institutions into simple parts that early stage entrepreneurs and small to medium sized charities and nonprofits can apply.
Growth & Co. offers a fresh perspective that is informed by being part of a shifting demographic of donors and investors as generational wealth moves into younger hands.
As the company continues to grow, they work with organizations that need to build and enhance their fundraising operations through training, coaching, and custom consulting.
Do you want a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) to help to establish your fundraising plan, train your team how to use it, create a pitch or case for support aligned with your strategic plan, and finally mark “figure out fundraising” off your to-do list?
Meet Larissa Stoddart
Not everyone dreams about creating a fundraising consulting firm, but Larissa did.
Discover how she can help you transform your fundraising forever!
Larissa Stoddart grew up in extraordinary circumstances that caused her to leave home at the early age of fourteen. Thankfully she had the opportunity to meet folks with different world views and life experiences than her own– one of them a retired teacher. Through his gentle but persistent guidance, she gained the courage to apply to university. Through the investment of his time, he changed her life because he cared enough to help.
Another person’s time wasn’t the only investment that changed Larissa’s life. Without money to pay for university, financial assistance made it possible for her to graduate. She will always clearly remember standing in the middle of campus opening an envelope—tears and laughter burst out of her along with the feeling of pure glee when she realized it was a cheque for a $7,000 scholarship from a donor that would enable her to complete her final year on campus!
As she looked around at the other smiling students who passed her on their way to class, Larissa realized that donor funding had transformed her life—and that generous strangers could also transform the lives of countless others.
Since university, she has worked with many people who take risks and put trust in others through their investments into charities and businesses (including her own). Today, she works tirelessly to teach organizations how to raise money to ensure that people who might have a different story without access to these opportunities can live out their dreams just like she did.
Meet Hayley Winters
From client to coach.
Learn how Hayley's work with Growth & Co. grew her university's fundraising revenue!
A strong believer in the power of professional development, intentional training, and coaching guidance, Hayley is a current client and also coaches Growth & Co. clients in 1:1 settings and actively promotes our training programs to ensure other future fundraisers have the ability to grow their careers like she has.
As a goal-oriented person who always accomplishes what she sets out to do, Hayley found her place in the fundraising world at University of Waterloo's St. Jerome's campus. Starting her career in private sector sales and events, she was given an opportunity to apply her knowledge to the higher education space. Apply it she did!
When working as the Advancement Coordinator, the development department underwent staffing changes and Hayley was offered the chance to advance her skills with the goal of leading the university's fundraising efforts. Her President enrolled Hayley in Growth & Co.'s Fundraising Intelligence training and coaching program to provide Hayley with more in-depth fundraising knowledge and best practices, as well as coaching from Larissa to guide her in applying that knowledge to make transformational change to the department. This resulted in increased giving from individuals, corporations, and foundations with the financial capacity to support the campus.
Gift sizes quickly increased under Hayley's leadership, moving from $5,000, to $10,000, to $40,000 within the first year. The organization's revenue continues to grow, and they are now receiving ten-figure gifts and increasing revenue by millions.
Meet Nabila Kara-Haji
Fundraising talent can be hard to find. That's when 'fractional fundraising' can help!
Learn how Nabila can add capacity to your team to complete critical projects, along with the strategic thinking and fundraising experience required to get those projects done correctly!
Nabila is a visionary leader who is dedicated to sharing her skills and knowledge to help organizations create positive change in the world. She has successfully engaged thousands of donors, fundraisers, and volunteers in raising millions of dollars for nonprofit organizations!
With over two decades working with local and international development organizations like Aga Khan Foundation Canada and United Way, Nabila has a strong understanding of the essential elements required for effective and sustainable fundraising.
Nabila is skilled in strategic planning, program development, project management, campaign management, and improving business processes. Her management experience enables her to lead diverse teams of staff and volunteers on complex projects in ways that bring visions into reality and matches an organization's capacity and requirements.
Growth & Co. clients work with Nabila on custom consulting projects that review and improve internal fundraising processes and workflows to streamline operations, reduce costs, improve program delivery, and allocate resources more effectively to support their fundraising goals. If your organization needs insight into your fundraising operations, a fundraising plan to guide improvements, a case for support to encourage donors to give, or other custom solutions, Nabila is here to help.
Outside of the fundraising world, Nabila spends most of her time supporting her two daughters in competitive dance, as well as volunteering and baking!
Land Acknowledgement
CEO and Founder Larissa Stoddart acknowledges the traditional territory of the Anishinabek Nation: The People of the Three Fires known as Ojibway, Odawa, and Pottawatomie Nations. The Chippewas of Saugeen, and the Chippewas of Nawash, now known as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, are the keepers of this land whose ancestors were the first to live here where Growth & Co. exists today. Each day she looks out her window at the great red maple by the shore of Odauwah Gummauh (Lake Huron), she remembers the contributions they have made in caring for and shaping this land and community. Larissa has responsibilities towards reconciliation to unlearn fundraising practices that perpetuate colonialism and learn new fundraising practices that will help renew respectful relationships with Indigenous people via the charities, nonprofits, and other organizations Growth & Co. works with.