Fundraising University
Formerly known as Matters
Bottom line
- Total investment $80K – $84K including a $60K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Fundraising University unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
109%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Fundraising University franchisees provide fundraising consulting, training, and coaching services to nonprofits, educational institutions, and community organizations. Day-to-day operations typically involve client relationship management, delivery of fundraising workshops or one-on-one coaching, donor strategy development, and grant-writing support. Franchisees may work solo or with a small team, operating from a home office or local workspace.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit count, undisclosed financials, franchisor litigation history, and going concern status create significant uncertainty around franchisee profitability and franchisor stability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 13.6% YoY (58 units) — indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue/net income not provided) — impossible to validate ROI claims or compare against $79,550–$84,027 investment and 8% royalty burden
- 03HIGHLitigation history with settlement requiring franchisee to pay $37,000 in future royalties — suggests franchisor enforces contracts aggressively and disputes are not rare
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status — red flag for franchisor financial stability; raises questions about ongoing support, marketing, and system viability
- 05MINORHigh franchise fee ($60,000) + startup costs (~$79,550–$84,027) with no transparent earnings claims — investors cannot assess payback period
- 06MINOR8% royalty on gross (not net) sales is above-average burden; combined with declining unit count, suggests existing franchisees may struggle to profitability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
38 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Fundraising University · FDD (2025) PDF