VISION
moss+ross provides experienced and innovative consulting to strengthen central North Carolina nonprofits. Our partners and associates take great pride in the firm’s vision: impact that matters, in a place we love. More than 240 area nonprofit and educational organizations have worked with us to achieve their goals.
LEADERSHIP
Mary Moss and Susan Ross each had over 30 years of professional experience when they founded moss+ross in 2009. Clients are matched with a hand-picked team of professionals who have strong track records in fundraising and related fields. Our team is committed to helping clients achieve growth and sustainability.
SERVICES
We offer fundraising counsel, campaign counsel, strategic planning, executive search, interim staffing, and more. We serve sectors such as higher education and independent schools, social services, environment, healthcare, museums and arts organizations, and faith communities. Services are tailored to each client.
“The leadership at Beth Meyer Synagogue cannot thank moss + ross enough! moss + ross team members provided expert and continuous counsel to facilitate the launch and management of Securing Tomorrow, a special campaign to grow Beth Meyer Synagogue’s endowment. They became our trusted partners and steered us with thoughtful care to help generate campaign momentum.”
“There are not enough words to express how much working with you and Susan has meant to me as a volunteer with MOW. I am really excited for the platform moss+ross created for us to move forward strategically. It is a milestone for this organization and something you should be proud of as consultants.”
“moss+ross has delivered true value for both the capital campaign and our Executive Director search. We ended up with our number 1 candidate and kept to our goal deadline! It certainly helps to have a team with experience and the macro view of our agency. And it’s always a joy to work with you.”
“I wanted to tell you how thankful we were to have moss+ross and Fred and Emily, in particular, as the team working on our search for a new ED. The team was outstanding in their responsiveness and professionalism. They were skilled and worked with speed. My highest compliment is that they made it look like a team working with us and not two entities. Truly co-creation.”
“moss+ross worked to make the Executive Director search inclusive of many candidates and specific to our organization. They kept us informed at every step and offered valuable insight during the process. We hired a terrific ED, who also felt well informed during the hiring process thanks to moss+ross.”
“If you stay focused on your mission and vision, you become stronger.”
as quoted recently in Chronicle of Philanthropy
“An incredibly special thanks to our search firm,moss+ross, who provided exceptional, uncommon concierge service during this thoughtful process that was specific to the unique needs of InterAct.”
“Your fine team has been an incredible resource to Local Start. Thank you so much for your wise counsel. We couldn’t have done it without you!”
“Calling moss+ross was one of the first best steps I took in my new position. The m+r interim staff are experienced and talented, and fit into our culture. The m+r fundraising plan got us through an important transition and gave us a roadmap.The Director of Development that we hired after an extensive m+r executive search has hit the ground running. In each case, moss+ross delivered more than I asked.”
“Newly hired, I was greeted by an energetic volunteer committee (including Mary Moss) dedicated to raising funds for CMS in honor of longtime community leader Tom McGuire. We produced a focused and powerful virtual event with expert help from moss+ross, and exceeded our fundraising goal! m+r had helped CMS develop strategic and fundraising plans, and also placed the interim ED who preceded me, putting us on a path for success.”
“I’ve done a lot of campaigns, and this is the best planned campaign I have ever seen. And our success shows it is working.”
“You’ve gone above and beyond with this rapid response campaign in the midst of a global pandemic! We have said on many occasions how much we’ve learned from you. We’ve gained new relationships that will further our mission for years to come, and most importantly, together we built a campaign that allowed our community to truly show up for our students and teachers in this moment AND beyond. We’re so grateful for you and proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
“We are so grateful for your expert counsel, constructive feedback, insightful suggestions, and…. above all, making us feel like we are your only clients. I have so enjoyed working with you and take comfort and confidence in the fact that you are a mere phone call/email/Zoom away.”
“Our development team retreat was designed perfectly for our needs – it elevated our sights, infused new energy to our planning, helped us problem-solve, and provided us with tangible and actionable next steps. Mary and Kim’s coaching during the planning and debrief sessions were an added bonus, and I am grateful to include them among my tribe of mentors.”
“We are beyond grateful for our work with moss+ross. We were faced with some unpredicted and extraordinary challenges this year but LisaCaitlin truly helped us build a stronger database from start to finish. We received comprehensive updates, which have helped us with our current work and we feel that the changes and information provided to us will set us up for success in the future.”
“moss+ross raised our sights and challenged our fundraisers to think differently and embrace ambitious goals. This is exactly what our organization needed in order to be successful and achieve our goals in the campaign.”
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done together. moss+ross helped us build a ten year financial forecast and a campaign strategy to support a significant expansion. They are my dream team!”
“It has been a pleasure working with moss+ross and we so appreciate your willingness to be flexible around the needs of the collaborative. I know that we’re not your biggest client but you definitely make us feel like we are. You have been a huge help as we have worked to cultivate further funding for our work.”
“Our campaign celebration was a beautiful milestone of achievement, effort, determination, kindness, hope, professionalism, and grit. I have personally learned so much during this campaign and couldn’t have imagined it without moss+ross to guide us along the way. Thank you for going above and beyond to help Compass Center meet this challenge. I hope we have harnessed some of your development skills for the years ahead.”
“We enjoyed working with Fred and the team! It has been a positive experience all around. Their thorough search process resulted in a wonderful hire.”
“Thank you for the excellent leadership, facilitation and professionalism while guiding us to a very successful landing.”
“Just want you guys to know how much I appreciate working with y’all on our campaign! This is continually new territory for me but the guidance, help and advice along the way has been worth more than I can even express! The willingness and cooperation you guys provide is just more than I could even imagine when we first started down this path!”
“I am not sure how to properly express my gratitude for your team’s work in facilitating the Board retreat Friday. I couldn’t have imagined its going better than it did. I think you are just pretty much amazing – and am enjoying this time with you.”
“We are so appreciative of all the contributions you have made to helping us over the past three years. Our growth is directly attributable to moss+ross.”
“I want to thank Mary Moss and Kim Glenn from moss+ross for their professional guidance and assistance. The expertise and experience they brought to the process were invaluable and helped guide us to success.”
“You do not know how it lifted my heart to see you at the Cathedral Dedication, Mary. What a wonderful journey this has been and it was providential and so fitting that I was able to connect with you during the campaign and for us to work so well with you and your team.”
“We deeply appreciate our partnership with moss+ross. Their support has made Forge Great Futures – our first major gifts campaign in over a quarter-century – a smashing success!”
“moss+ross has grown like gangbusters over the last ten years, and there are few folks who know the fundraising landscape here in the Triangle better than they. Plus, they are just stellar people whom I’ve really enjoyed working with.”
“The moss+ross team worked right alongside our staff to get at the heart of our work, identify our needs and produce an ambitious, but achievable, development path that would help guide us to defined success. Mary Moss’s willingness to advocate with our stakeholder groups was so helpful in getting across-the-board buy in to accomplish our goals.”
“We thank you for all the hours you spent in getting us off to a terrific start for our HT campaign! Your complete knowledge of how to develop a successful campaign, your specific strategies for nonprofits like ours, your strong training for our staff, and your continuing encouragement of our efforts have been invaluable. Thank you so much!”
“If your non-profit needs strategic fundraising guidance, count on this amazing organization to illuminate the next steps on your journey. Our communities are stronger because of moss+ross.”
“To Mary and Susan – I can’t thank you both enough for all of the guidance, input and connections over the years, from RMH (Ronald McDonald House) to Duke Law to just talking with friends of mine looking for non-profit opportunities. Of course, Fred and others have been significant in that regard as well, so congrats to the whole team.”
“Mary and Susan know how to make things happen. Their passion and tenacity help nonprofits succeed which in turn makes a tremendous difference in our community.”
“I have just finished listening to a group of colleagues share war stories of struggling or highly dysfunctional Capital Campaigns. I already knew that we were lucky to have you working with us side by side on this campaign but hearing these stories only further cements that feeling. We are so lucky to have you and I am so appreciative of all of your hard work and dedication to the Campaign and our amazing community.”
“Over the course of many years and several projects, moss+ross has become a true partner in our success. Each partner, consultant and interim staff position has been of the highest talent, offering years of experience and knowledge. I honestly can say we would not be the strong organization we are today without moss+ross.”
“moss+ross has delivered on its promise to provide tailored strategic counsel to many of our schools and units. Their deep bench of talented associates has helped us with campaign strategy and fundraising plans, strategic planning, and interim staffing. Mary and Susan have a deep understanding of our university and minds that are helping us achieve our vision.”
Impact that matters, in a place we love (Q1 2023)
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About the Firm
Mary Moss and Susan Ross have built the largest firm of its kind in the state over the past 14 years, large enough to handle major campaigns but with the hands-on, locally based knowledge and experience a diverse client base needs for success. For a concise summary of the firm’s strategic direction and core beliefs, please download the moss+ross overview.

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