Philanthropic & Institutional Strategy
Cadencia Advisory works across science and arts philanthropy. We advise philanthropists who give to both worlds, and institutions whose work sits at the boundary of scientific discovery and human meaning. We bring the rigour, the peer-level relationships and the donor perspective that allow both to flourish.
What We Do
For individuals, families and aligned communities of donors. We work with those who want to drive innovation but proceed with discernment and purpose, who understand that bold giving and careful thinking are not mutually exclusive. Every philanthropic journey begins with a conversation, and each client arrives with a different vision: a desire to shift policy, to honour a life, or to galvanise a scientific discovery. In understanding those motivations, we 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.
For arts, science and education institutions serious about building major donor programmes that perform. Cadencia works as a catalyst, not a consultant, bringing the commercial literacy, donor intelligence and peer-level perspective that shifts how a development team thinks about its donors and what it is capable of raising. Exceptional fundraising demands a shift in both strategy and behaviour, and we build that capability from within. We also work with development teams on the responsible integration of AI tools into prospecting, cultivation and stewardship.
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. For founders of early-stage life sciences companies, we advise on accessing the philanthropic and institutional relationships that sit alongside venture funding.
Founder
Michelle Crowe Hernandez is a philanthropy advisor, practitioner and donor with over two decades at the intersection of private capital and institutional giving. A Certified Public Accountant by formation, she has advised donors on the intelligent deployment of philanthropic wealth and worked alongside institutional leaders building development programmes that perform. Her career spans Big Four tax, senior fundraising at London Business School, and fourteen years of advisory practice across human rights, the performing arts and the sciences.
She serves as Non-Executive Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and as a co-opted member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of the Royal Academy of Dance, and has been a member of the London Committee of Human Rights Watch since 2015. She spent four years studying developmental neuroscience at King's College London, including a funded summer studentship at the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology. She supports the Francis Crick Institute and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and writes about science, philanthropy and the institutions that connect them at On Capital and Cause.
New Clients
Cadencia Advisory works with a small number of clients at any one time.
michelle@cadenciaadvisory.com