Services Overview
I have been consulting to philanthropists and nonprofit boards and CEOs for 30 years. In short, I advise philanthropists so they can give better; coach social impact leaders so they can execute better; and bring them together in interesting ways.
I help philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofit CEOs and Boards to navigate new opportunities, complicated challenges and big decisions. These might include launching and managing philanthropic activities; developing and providing advisory services and capacity building to grantees; forging a new strategy; supporting a shift in business plan or organization structure; mapping a big growth plan or turnaround plan; navigating the transition of a founder or long-term CEO; or launching a new collaboration or merger. I also provide coaching services to CEOs and Board members. I enjoy supporting donor circles, funder and nonprofit collaboratives, and collective impact initiatives that provide higher leverage toward outcomes.
These are some of my most in-demand services. I can also customize the work to a specific project or budget to meet your needs. Please contact me for a free exploratory conversation.
Cohort Capacity Building
Customized, cost effective support for foundation portfolios and national nonprofits with affiliates/chapters
Advisor in Residence: Foundations
High-impact support for community, corporate, and family foundations and funder collaboratives/collective impact
Advisor in Residence: Nonprofits
On-demand strategic counsel for organizations over a one-year horizon
Succession Planning & Founder/Long-Term CEO Transitions
Don’t let your blind spots around a Founder or CEO transition jeopardize your mission
Strategy and Business Model Development
Clarify the impact you want to have and how to accomplish it
Coaching for High Impact Leaders
High-impact support for leaders and effective board/staff partnerships
My clients are:
Passionate about advancing humanity and building a “vibrant and just society”
Exceptionally curious and eager to challenge themselves
Driven to expand their current perspectives of what is possible
Clear that real change and paradigm shifts happen through informed risk and pushing conventional wisdom
Excited about the power of leveraging diverse perspectives and working in collaboration to amplify great ideas
I work with:
Foundations
Donor circles
Individual and family philanthropists
Nonprofit founders, CEOs, board members, and executive teams
Social-benefit entrepreneurs
Business owners who want to give back
Services:
I work across every mission area, organization size, and stage of development. Generally, I provide value where the client is confronted with a complex situation and doesn’t know how best to approach it. The most common “buckets” or names for my work include:
Philanthropic Counsel
The earliest stages of thinking about “giving back”
Strategic giving
Grantee capacity building
Donor circles and funder collaboratives
Navigating Major Change for Organizations
Navigating critical inflection points and change management
Organizational capacity building, especially for scaling or rapid growth scenarios
Founder / CEO transitions and succession planning
Improved governance and governance redesign
Business model and org structure design and refinements
Retreats, convenings, and team sessions
Collaborations, collective impact, and strategic alliances
Advisory Services for Board Members, Founders and CEOs
One-on-one and paired coaching for CEOs and Board Chairs
Leadership and skills development and capacity building for leaders
Keynote Speaking, Presentations, Education Sessions and Workshops
For all of my projects there are process pieces and deliverables – coaching and advisory sessions, strategy frameworks and pragmatic work plans, retreats, workshops and trainings, facilitated conversations, recommendations, org charts, etc. Those are outputs. But the real outcomes are things such as a shift in perspective, higher engagement and buying, increased clarity and alignment, better critical thinking, a shared narrative about the legacy and the future, higher mission impact, and increased personal and organizational enthusiasm and resilience.
Guiding Principles and Values:
Courage
I am driven to – and work with people who are willing to – question longstanding norms and underlying assumptions, challenge our beliefs and behaviors, and dare to pursue social change
Collaboration
Complex problems require multiple skills, perspectives, ideas, and thinking styles. This may come from a collaboration of individuals, or of organizations, or of governments. I don’t believe any lasting change can come without it
Integrity
Sometimes an idea just can’t stand up to “the gut test.” Progress is not really progress if you lose your center or compromise your values. There is no success without integrity
Thirst for Learning
I will never stop learning and challenging myself. There is a real danger to proclaiming to be “the expert.” I work best with people who are curious, open, self-reflective, and thrive in a “culture of inquiry”
Zest for Life
I work hard and I love it. And I could not do any good work without a sense of possibility and joy. I do my best work with people who bring energy, enthusiasm, and the ability to laugh our ourselves
Consultant Roles
Generally, I serve three core roles:
Experienced Thought Partner
I bring 30 years of consulting to nonprofits and philanthropists in nearly every mission area, working with thousands of leaders on vision, strategy, change management, reorganizations, growth plans, turnarounds, mergers and collaborations, founder and CEO transitions, leadership coaching, personal and organizational resilience, and many other points of significant inflection. While none of these will provide THE answer, experiences and case studies help to illuminate options and tradeoffs and spur creative thinking to tough questions. In order to come to principled decisions, it is important to engage in solid critical thinking and to leverage the lessons learned of others toward a unique answer that is best for this particular organization. In addition, I can provide a range of presentations, workshops, and educational conversations for board, staff, community stakeholders, partners, funders, and others in your sphere.
Navigate Complex Challenges with Expert Process Design
In the nonprofit sector, impactful solutions often emerge from addressing "adaptive challenges" – complex issues where there's no single "right" answer. Here's where my process design expertise comes in. I guide you through considering all stakeholders, their motivations, and how to leverage their insights. We'll design a collaborative process that aligns everyone and ensures your organization's core values are reflected in the solution. This approach strengthens your mission impact and fosters a culture that supports long-term success.
Facilitator
Most of my projects have a good deal of complexity – otherwise organizational leaders would have no issues tackling them on their own. There are generally numerous stakeholders, perspectives, and variables to consider throughout the process. Decision making usually involves layers of exploration, vetting, and narrowing – and leveraging both data and intuition. I leverage my experience facilitating groups to bring clarity out of complexity.