National Executive Service Corps Advisors to the Nonprofit Community Since 1977 New Canaan Community Foundation Executive Directors Group September 25, 2014

Profit from our experience. Agenda Introductions NESC Mission & Background Why Engage Consultants? Consulting Process & Panel Discussion – Business Operations – Strategic Plan – Board / Staff Relationships – Confronting Change Discussion Summary

Profit from our experience. NESC Mission To make a meaningful contribution to our communities by strengthening the management of nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies through high-quality, affordable consulting services

Profit from our experience. NESC Background NESC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit consulting organization that serves the nonprofit community Founded in 1977; HQ in NYC with regional offices in Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island Sectors served: Social Services, Education, Healthcare, Religion, Arts & Culture Part of nationwide Executive Service Corps network

Profit from our experience. NESC Background Over 225 volunteer consultants – 35,000 hours of professional time given annually Consultants are senior executives from companies such as: – IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Aetna, Time Warner, AT&T, ExxonMobil, MasterCard, General Foods Since 1977, over 2,000 projects for 1,200 clients – 150 projects for close to 100 clients in SW CT region Clients range from large to small – Over 50% of clients annually are repeat clients

Profit from our experience. Capacity Building Practice Areas Strategic Planning Marketing & Branding Board Development & Governance Organizational Assessment Social Enterprise/ Earned Income Operations/Process Analysis Financial Management Executive Search

Profit from our experience. The NESC Approach Experienced Consultants – senior executives and professionals who volunteer and are commited Project teams – provide a diversity of relevant for-profit skills and non-profit experience A participatory, facilitated approach – the client is engaged in the process and owns the solution Actionable results – timelines, accountability, and follow-up Affordable rates – mission-driven services at a fraction of the cost of for-profit firms

Profit from our experience. Nonprofits face significant challenges Government funding has been reduced on the national, state and local levels Competition has increased among nonprofits for private funding from foundations and individuals Increasingly, more people are needing services from the nonprofit community Regulations and reporting requirements are increasing. 8

Profit from our experience. How are Nonprofits Responding? Revisiting mission, vision and goals Assessing competition and environment Evaluating programs, staff and delivery systems; cutting non-essential ones Adopting systems to evaluate output and outcomes Evaluating opportunities to partner or collaborate Looking for new sources of revenue Replacing paid staff with volunteers 9

Profit from our experience. How Consultants Can Help Resources Expertise Time Objectivity Best Practices Advice & Counsel Facilitation & Project Management 10

Profit from our experience. The Consulting Process Discovery VisitsDevelop ProposalSign Agreement Research, Interviews and Analysis Preliminary Findings and Recommendations Action Plan Write/Present Final Report Follow-Up on Implementation -- 3 Months Later

Profit from our experience. Case Studies Panel Consulting Process Considerations What challenge(s) was the organization facing? Why did they seek a consultant? Who drove the decision to engage a consultant? How was the project funded? How was the project defined (requirements)? How was the consultant / organization interface managed? How did the project progress? (challenges, opportunities, intended / unintended consequences, mid-course corrections) How was ongoing status communicated to stakeholders? How were final recommendations communicated / received? How were action plans developed and committed to? What happened after the consultants left?