Keystone Consultancy South Africa brings together international experience in database-driven fundraising and a strong understanding of the South African fundraising landscape. By helping organisations make sense of their donor data, Keystone supports better fundraising decisions and more effective investment in growth.
A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds the structure together and allows the other elements to do their work.
Keystone Consultancy plays a similar role in fundraising. By bringing together strategy, data analysis, donor communications and campaign management, Keystone helps organisations build stronger and more sustainable fundraising programmes.
The South African office extends this approach by combining international fundraising expertise with local knowledge and experience.
Melanie Jackson is a journalist by training with more than 20 years of experience in the South African non-profit sector, spanning both grant-making and fund development across a wide range of causes. As founder of Words that Count, she has guided organisations through fundraising strategy, impact measurement and communications, and has developed particular expertise in individual giving channels including direct mail and face-to-face fundraising. A trainer and mentor, she has worked with organisations as diverse as a mission hospital and the University of Cape Town, and most recently co-founded Keystone South Africa with John van der Vlies to bring world-class fundraising capability to the continent.
John van der Vlies is the founder of Keystone Consultancy in Amsterdam, with more than 30 years of international fundraising experience spanning the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK and the USA. A specialist in individual giving, he has designed and managed acquisition and retention programmes across F2F, direct mail, telemarketing, digital and legacy channels, and spent 13 years as co-founder of Delphi Fundraising before establishing Keystone. His connection to South Africa spans more than 20 years, and he recently co-founded Keystone South Africa to bring world-class fundraising expertise to the African continent.
