About Sage Advancement Group
Sage Advancement Group, co-founded in 2013 by Laura Ewing-Mahoney and Ann Riley, is a woman-owned and operated nonprofit fundraising and executive search firm located in Greater Boston. Our mission is to deliver the highest quality consulting services at a fraction of the cost of large firms. Our clients always work directly with one of Sage’s two Principals, not junior staff.
Our approach is collaborative, solutions-focused, and results-oriented. We believe that we can only be successful when we are working in close partnership with our clients, whose expertise, institutional knowledge, and perspective help inform our strategies.
It is through partnership that we understand the priorities, values, and goals of the nonprofits we serve. We care deeply about our clients’ success and it shows in our results.
Our Core Values
At Sage Advancement Group, our core values drive everything we do - and how we do it.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
We strongly believe in social justice. We are allies of all oppressed peoples and are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our personal and professional lives.
EXCELLENCE
We approach each engagement with a commitment to excellence. Nothing is worth doing if it's not done really well, and we continually strive to deliver the best results possible to each and every client.
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY
The Sage team operates with honesty and integrity in all of our dealings. We believe that having a strong moral compass strengthens our ability to effectively serve worthy causes.
COLLABORATION
We are natural collaborators and believe that team work makes the dream work. Our clients are experts in their own right and our services are only as good as they are because of partnership with clients.
Meet the Sage Team
LAURA EWING-MAHONEY
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
laura@sageadvancement.com
ANN RILEY
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
ann@sageadvancement.com
Ann Riley is a seasoned and knowledgeable market research professional with over 22 years of experience helping organizations make educated strategic decisions. Her knowledge of both primary and secondary information sources coupled with her keen understanding of development best practices allows us to provide evidence-based solutions to our clients interested in a high ROI. Among significant previous positions, Ann was director of market research for AXA Financial in NYC and spent many years in market research for Fidelity Investments and Manulife Financial in Boston. She brings this expertise to our prospect research and campaign feasibility and planning work. Before co-founding Sage Advancement Group, Ann was focused on helping nonprofits in her community enhance their fundraising efforts. She is a cum laude graduate of Colby College, in Waterville, Maine with a double major in History and French.
CAT REGAN
MARKETING MANAGER
cat@sageadvancement.com
Catherine Regan, Sage’s Marketing Manager, joined the team after consulting with local Fine and Performing Artists on marketing and events for nearly a decade. Cat most recently worked for three years with a local farm animal sanctuary on marketing and development. Cat is passionate about animals, animal rights, social justice, and arts and culture. She loves vegan food and exploring the best places in New England to find a vegan donut. Cat received her B.F.A in Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
Laura Ewing-Mahoney has been a mission-driven nonprofit leader for over 20 years and is passionate about assessing organizational landscapes and guiding transformational change. In addition to leading major and planned giving programs for the National Alzheimer's Association, Laura secured six and seven figure gifts for capital campaigns for Phillips Academy and the Addison Gallery of American Art. She also managed leadership and annual giving programs at Concord Academy and Emmanuel College. Laura has worked with major donors across the country and advanced organizations focused on higher and secondary education, arts and culture, disease research, public policy, women’s issues, youth, the environment, literacy, community development, and social services. She recently presented at NEMA, and Institute for Trustees at the Essex County Community Foundation. Laura received a B.A. in History from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
“Through their guidance and direction, Sage Advancement Group set our nonprofit and development team on a path to success. They helped us design a fundraising plan that leveraged our organization's unique structure and provided us with actionable steps to meet our goals. Laura and Ann were just as passionate about our mission as we are -- and it came through in their careful attention to our needs and insightful approach to helping us secure support to advance our mission.”
– Adriana Mendoza, Chief Advancement Officer
Scholars Strategy Network
"We worked with Sage on implementing our organization's first major campaign for endowment. Laura and Ann were invaluable in helping to shape our thinking about the project and our case statement and provided us with structural resources to move us forward. Sage also provided us with valuable training that helped us successfully guide our interactions with our prospects, resulting in several significant lead gifts. They are knowledgeable and patient."
– Tina Raimo, Executive Director
Gloucester Education Foundation
Partnerships and Affiliations
