Philanthropic & Institutional Strategy
Cadencia Advisory brings private sector discipline to philanthropy advisory and private capital placement. We work on both sides of the relationship between capital and cause: advising those who give, and the institutions whose work makes giving matter.
What We Do
For individuals, families and aligned communities of donors. Every philanthropic journey begins with a conversation. Each client arrives with a different story: a desire to shift policy, to leave something permanent, to honour a life. In understanding those motivations, we can begin to structure giving portfolios and build relationships with appropriate institutions. Our role is to ensure that when a donor gives, they give with clarity, confidence, and conviction. That is the work that precedes every introduction.
For arts, science and education institutions serious about building major donor programmes that perform. Cadencia works as a catalyst, not a consultant. We bring the commercial literacy, the donor intelligence and the peer-level perspective that shifts how a development team thinks about its donors, its narrative, and what it is capable of raising. We bring to every engagement a perspective shaped by relationships across private equity, venture capital, family offices and the philanthropic leadership of major institutions. Exceptional fundraising demands a shift in both strategy and behaviour. The best fundraisers are students of human nature who understand that giving goes far beyond a donor's means. We build that instinct into the team, and leave the institution permanently stronger for it.
For institutional leaders who hold the most significant donor relationships but lack the time to manage them strategically. We unlock the potential of the Chief Executive: the rainmaker, and often the most powerful force in any major donor relationship. We build the structure around that authority: aligning the development team, activating the board, and ensuring that every community moment feeds back into the cultivation strategy. The result is an institution whose leadership is unified, whose board is fundraising, and whose most important donor relationships are deepening.
Founder
Cadencia Advisory was founded by Michelle Crowe Hernandez, a Certified Public Accountant whose credentials are rare in philanthropic advisory: a financial formation shaped by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hines Real Estate Investments and McKesson, combined with experience cultivating and advising philanthropists from private equity, technology and venture capital.
Her development career spans human rights, the performing arts and life sciences. A member of the London Committee of Human Rights Watch, she has chaired two £1M+ Voices for Justice gala dinners, and serves as Non-Executive Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a co-opted member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of the Royal Academy of Dance.
After establishing herself as an advisor and board director, she invested four years studying developmental neuroscience at King's College London, an experience that adds to her fluency with philanthropists, investors and researchers in the scientific community. She invests in finding the intersection of arts and science in her own philanthropy, and brings this love and curiosity to her work with institutions and prospective donors.
Cadencia Advisory is shaped by deep relationships across the worlds of capital, culture and science. Introductions are made thoughtfully, and only where genuine alignment exists.
New Clients
Cadencia Advisory engages in a bespoke manner with a small number of clients at any one time. We welcome those who seek intelligent, thoughtful advisory at the most professional level.
Currently accepting a small number of new client introductions.
michelle@cadenciaadvisory.com