Services Offered

Fund Development

I will help your organization or community group plan and implement all fundraising plans including: 

• Annual and strategic planning 
• Direct Response Campaigns
• Social including Facebook and crowdfunding
• Project-Specific Multi-channel Campaigns
• Planned Giving for Small Shops
• Major Gifts
• Grant proposal development and management 
• Sponsorships

I work at any level of planning and implementation, including:

• Strategic Thinking: What do we want to do?
• Work Plan: How do we do it?
• Implementation: Please help us do it!
• Training: Teach us how to do it!

Strategic Planning and Thinking

Bringing Clarity to Mission, Vision and Values. My approach to strategic planning is based on an organization’s need to bring focus and clarity to its work. The process can be long and the outcome detailed, or it can be fairly simple and high level. It starts with the question, “Why do you want to do strategic planning?” and then “How much time and money to do you want to invest to get the results you want?” I have seen this work be transformational, enabling organizations to secure more resources, increase partnerships, and improve staff and volunteer relationships.

• Strategic Plans
• Strategic Visioning
• Branding and Identify

Operational Effectiveness

Bringing clarity to operations. I lead decision makers on a process to decide what is needed to be most effective in achieving organizational results. This includes policy and procedures, roles and responsibilities, the use of communications technology, and organizational structure. The outcome is agreement on systems embodied in a document, and sometimes a new tool – like a CRM or email marketing program.

Policy and Procedure Examples Include:

• Board Manuals
• Gift Policies
• Brand Book
• Investment Policies
• Personnel Policies
• Workflow Documentation
• Job Descriptions

Tool Choices Include:

• Customer Relations Management systems (CRMs) and Donor Databases
• Email marketing systems
• Cloud based Digital File Cabinets
• To do apps
• Websites

I am a licensed consultant with the Standards of Excellence Institute. The Institute offers nonprofit organizations education and accreditation to meet the Standards of Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. I am licensed to help nonprofits establish competency in the 67 standards, which are organized by topic:

1. Mission, Strategy and Evaluation;
2. Leadership: Board, Staff and Volunteers;
3. Legal Compliance and Ethics;
4. Finance and Operations;
5. Resource Development; and
6. Public Awareness, Engagement and Advocacy.

Once an organization has established that it meets standards in all 6 areas, it may submit an application to the Institute for accreditation. The standards are excellent guides, they help organizations think through all the key elements of a heathy nonprofit. The Standards for Excellence Institute is continuously updating their materials. So you know you are getting the best advice, and most thoughtful templets for policies, procedures and processes.
In Northern California, non-profit organizations can learn about this approach in a two-day training at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

Community Cultural Planning

Cultural planning is the process by which government and cultural service agencies understand and fulfill the publics’ need for arts and cultural services. It involves working with these agencies, artists, and the public to develop a shared community vision and articulating the steps to achieve it. Services Include:

• Community focus group facilitation and needs assessments for arts and culture.
• Stakeholder analysis and needs assessments.
• Recommendations to grants processes and other cultural services.
• Cultural and Public Art Plans.

Costs

I generally charge for a service with deliverables. I will give you a price based on estimated hours using the hourly rate of $95 per hour. This rate is discounted for smaller organizations, and longer contracts. Please contact me for a price. I am happy to give a quick estimate for your job, with a more detailed proposal if it looks like it would be good to work together.