Issue 11
February 20, 2003

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by Nonprofit Enterprise at Work. It includes items of interest to the nonprofit community in Washtenaw County and the surrounding areas, as well as resources available at NEW. Encourage your friends and colleagues to join over 210 other NEWSNOTES subscribers!

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its partners:

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY

Using Consultants: A Quick Guide to the Basics

Is that strategic plan from five years ago collecting dust on the shelf? Would the fresh perspective of an outsider be helpful in getting your organization “un-stuck” from old routines? Does your board or staff need some additional training in order to succeed at a new task or goal?

An affordable consultant who is sensitive to the needs of nonprofits can be a great asset to your organization. But what exactly is a consultant, and what’s involved in working with one?

A Consultant’s Role

Consultants can serve in a variety of helpful roles:

• Facilitators (as in a staff or board retreat)
• Educators or trainers to fill gaps in organizational knowledge (such as how to solicit major gifts or start a membership program)
• Hired guns to quickly handle timely issues requiring specific expertise (such as assessment of fiscal accountability or assistance coping with a major staff transition)
• Coordinators to lead staff or board through a finite project (as in strategic planning)

Consultants are always hired on a temporary basis to accomplish a specific goal or task. Consulting relationships are based on a foundation of trust and reciprocity—there should be honesty, effective communication, and an equal balance of power.

Before Hiring a Consultant

It’s important to be sure that your organization is internally prepared before deciding to engage a consultant. Designate an individual to be the consultant’s liaison, and call upon members of your staff or board to take on specific tasks and attend meetings. You will not achieve your project goals unless your organization holds up its end of the bargain.

Selecting and Hiring a Consultant

Have an initial phone conversation with at least two potential consultants, exchange written information and meet in-person to give the consultant a better understanding of your organization and project goals. Ask for written proposals from consultants you’re seriously considering. Always ask for and check references.

Generally, your board chair should be involved in the selection process, and both the executive director/CEO and board chair should sign an agreement with your chosen consultant. NEW offers a template Agreement and Work Plan for Consulting Services to get you started.

A Successful Project

Carol Lukas of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation suggests six stages for a typical consulting project:

1. Contracting -- choosing a consultant, outlining the work plan, and signing a contract.
2. Gathering and Analyzing Data -- helping the consultant assess your situation.
3. Planning the Work -- using the gathered data to clarify or define goals.
4. Implementing and Monitoring the Work -- doing the work, adjusting the plan as necessary.
5. Sustaining Change and Evaluating Impact -- determining whether the work met your intended goals, and ensuring your organization can continue progress into the future.
6. Terminating the Consulting Project -- ending the consulting relationship formally and deliberately, agreeing that all of the terms of the contract have been met, or that you will terminate without the consultant completing the work.

Encourage potential consultants to refer to these stages in their initial proposals, so that you get a clear outline of the suggested work and time frame involved. The stages can also be useful as a troubleshooting guide, as you may find you’ve left out a crucial step or need to repeat one.

Allow flexibility in these stages, but never rush the contracting stage—the extra time you spend up front clarifying expectations will prevent later problems. Don’t neglect the termination stage either—if the work isn’t getting done, whether it’s your fault or the consultant’s, it may be time to achieve closure and move on. In a truly successful project, by the time you terminate the relationship, you should have accomplished your specified goal and increased your organization’s capacity to deal with similar situations in the future.

Learn More About Working with Consultants

A wealth of information is available on how to work successfully with consultants. Please visit our newly constructed Consulting Tools and Links page at the Online Consultant Directory web site. Also, NEW’s Nonprofit Reference Library Bookstore lists nonprofit consulting titles available in the library or for purchase on Amazon.com. Please contact Daran Smith dsmith@new.org (734-998-0160) for help connecting you to a consulting resource.

If you are a consultant interested in joining NEW’s Online Consultant Directory, visit our Information for Consultants page.

Bibliography

• Brinkerhoff, P.C. “How to Choose and Work With a Consultant.” Nonprofit World, March-April, 1992, p. 8-10.
• Lukas, Carol. "Consulting With Nonprofits: A Practitioner’s Guide". Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul, MN, 1998.
• Michigannonprofit.com, “Working With a Consultant”
• Nonprofit Genie.com, Frequently Asked Questions on Consultants

FEATURED ITEMS

Workshop Series: Spring 2003 Managing for Nonprofit Excellence

Visit www.new.org for sixty all-new workshops in the Spring 2003 Managing for Nonprofit Excellence series. Affordable workshops are offered for nonprofit staff, community volunteers, and board members on board governance, fundraising, marketing, leadership, finance, human resources, and technology. Twelve free sessions are available this spring! Classes are held weekdays at NEW Center, 1100 North Main Street in Ann Arbor, and other Ann Arbor locations. Advanced registration is required; online registration is available. To see the whole schedule of workshops, visit our Web site. For more information call NEW at 734-998-0160.

The following workshops are offered FREE of charge in March:

• 3/7 Excellence Awards Alumni Reunion
• 3/14 Best Practices for Community-Wide Change
• 3/18 Funding Focus: Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan
• 3/21 Charity Software Licensing
• 3/28 Why Women Make Great Donors

Nonprofit Excellence Awards: Application Forms Now Available

Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW) invites applications from Washtenaw County nonprofit organizations for the 8th Annual Nonprofit Excellence Awards. The application deadline is March 21, 2003. Download an application from the NEW web site or call 734-998-0160 for complete eligibility guidelines and instructions.

The Excellence Awards recognize management excellence, interagency collaboration, technology innovation, and community outreach. This year, NEW introduces a new award, Excellence in Management—New Organizations, to recognize the unique strengths of young nonprofits. Excellence Awards recipients and all nominees will be acknowledged at a public reception on Wednesday, May 7, 2003, at Towsley Auditorium in the Morris Lawrence Building of Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor.

NEW will host a free panel session, Conversations on Excellence: Award Alumni Reunion, on March 7, 2003, from 9-11 am at the NEW Center. Past honorees will share the accomplishments that led to their awards and discuss what selection panels look for in nonprofit excellence. Register online or call 734-998-0160.

The 8th Annual Nonprofit Excellence Awards are made possible with support from CapTrust Financial Advisors, Dobson-McOmber Agency, Dykema Gossett PLLC, and KeyBank.

Board Resources: New Titles Available

The Nonprofit Reference Library at NEW recently acquired several new titles on board directorship. From succession planning to committee work, financial responsibility and beyond, these new booklets tackle the frequently asked questions of board leadership. Also check the library shelves for an updated set of materials from BoardSource, illuminating fundraising, planning, evaluation and more. Call NEW at 734-998-0160 for more ideas about getting your board in shape this spring.

Leadership²Go: Celebrating One Year of Programming

Leadership²Go is a year old! It seems like yesterday when NEW hosted its first Leadership²Go event, when executives came together to discuss "Creative Strategies for a Sound Future." The program continues this year with four panel events and a brand-new online discussion forum, due out this spring.

This month's Leadership²Go Executive Director event, Happy Staff Who Stay, earned rave reviews from participants. Join us at the next session to refine your CEO skills and learn from your peers about board relations:

The Trustee Connection -- Enhance your relationship with your board. Panel, Q&A and Networking, Friday, May 2, 2003, 8:30 -10:30am, NEW Center, $10. Panelists include Gary Bell of SOS Community Services, Joan Chesler of the Corner Health Center, Mary Steffek Blaske of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Dave McDowell of Ronald McDonald House of Ann Arbor.

The 2003 Leadership²Go Executive Director Series is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Sarns Ann Arbor Fund and the Bill and Molly Dobson Fund of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Planned Giving Class Offered

The Michigan Nonprofit Association is sponsoring Planned Giving: Getting the Proper Start provided by the Indiana University Fundraising School. The three-day session will be held at Laurel Manor in Livonia, Michigan, March 3rd to 5th. The cost is $625 for MNA members; $675 for non-members. (IUFRS charges $725 for this class.) Visit MNA’s web site for more information. Planned giving is the No. 1 strategy for large-gift contributions. This class is a requirement for the Certificate in Fund Raising Management.

Other IUFS courses to be held in Livonia:

• June 4-5, 2003: Preparing for Successful Grant Proposals
• September 23-25, 2003: Developing Leadership for Major Gifts
• November 3-7, 2003: Principles and Techniques of Fundraising.

Technology: Application Deadline for Virtually Free Web Development

Did you know that your nonprofit could receive three months of custom Web development for only a $50 flat fee? Learn more about NEW's Nonprofit WebConnect program, which offers low cost Web development and training to area nonprofits. Applications for our April development phase are due by February 28, 2003, and can be downloaded from the WebConnect Web site. Please contact Neel Hajra (734-998-0160) if you have any questions about the program.

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