A widely shared post on LinkedIn recently declared that when an organization tries to raise ambitious amounts of money, from a cold audience, on a tight timeline, it’s not a fundraising problem—it’s a leadership problem. While that might earn applause from frustrated fundraisers, here’s the truth: it’s not that simple.

If you’ve been in nonprofit fundraising circles long enough, you’ve likely heard this argument: “Expecting 20% year-over-year growth is unrealistic.” At PhoenixFire Strategic Consulting, we respectfully—and confidently—disagree. Not only is 20% annual growth possible, we’ve helped clients achieve it consistently, and in many cases, far exceed it. That’s not bravado. It’s strategic reality.

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, the word “realistic” gets thrown around a lot—often as a synonym for “safe.” But what does realistic growth actually mean? Is it aligning your goals to industry benchmarks? Doubling down on what you did last year? Or is it something more dynamic? At PhoenixFire Strategic Consulting, we believe that realistic growth is not about being cautious—it’s about being calibrated.