Our Services

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a creative, deliberate, and exciting process—an essential organizational ritual. A vibrant planning process offers a unique opportunity for a nonprofit to engage with and listen to its staff and board, community partners, funders, and other constituents. Through this engagement, the organization gains a deeper understanding of itself and the environment in which it operates. The resulting plan is a roadmap for leadership to achieve its envisioned future.

Our experience shows that successful implementation is directly tied to a nonprofit’s commitment to and participation in a robust planning process. We make the strategic planning process as meaningful as the resulting plan by working flexibly and responsively with our clients, serving as a collaborator, facilitator, process designer, and guide.

Sample client list in Strategic Planning

• 3Arts
• American Classical League
• Chinese American Service League
• Connections for the Homeless
• Trilogy, Inc.

Executive Leadership Transition and Search Advising

Leading an executive transition and hiring a new chief executive is one of the most consequential and transformative actions a nonprofit board of directors undertakes. Whether the transition is planned or unplanned, it often marks uncharted territory and a defining moment for the board. As trusted transition advisors, we collaborate with clients to navigate this critical process, tailoring the engagement to their unique organizational needs and budget.

Our leadership transition services encompass search preparation, search process design and management, interview training, and onboarding planning—all focused on ensuring a smooth transition and the successful hiring of a leader prepared to guide the organization to its next level of success.

Sample client list in Executive Leadership Transition / Search Advising

• 3Arts
• Chinese American Service League
• Center of Concern
• MetroSquash
• National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder

Advising and Coaching

Executive advising and coaching is a kind of leadership development that offers opportunities at any point in a nonprofit leader’s career. Coaching clients don’t need ‘fixing.’ They need and benefit from sanctioned time to focus on themselves as leaders, which, in turn, benefits their organizations. This key aspect, time for oneself, often eludes nonprofit leaders and seems daunting to the leader of a high-tempo organization. In reality, nonprofit leaders often benefit the most from coaching during these times. With time to reflect, bounce ideas off an unbiased outsider (the coach), and puzzle through a situation, it is no wonder that not only do leaders continue to thrive, but so do their organizations.

We know that successful advising relationships are based on trust and candor. We lead with curiosity and meet our clients where they are, ensuring that meetings focus on the themes we identify together and allow for addressing in-the-moment needs.

Sample client list in Advising/Coaching

• Anonymous executive directors, CEOs, and board chairs

Board Development and Governance

At different times in a nonprofit’s lifecycle, board directors benefit from stepping back to reflect on their principles and practices, refresh their understanding of their role, or determine how best to adapt as the nonprofit grows and matures. Taking a bespoke approach, we work with clients in different ways to support, improve, or transform their board and/or governance model so the organization and volunteer leaders thrive.

Services include working with volunteer and staff leadership to enhance the board’s leadership capacity through board training and retreat facilitation, document review and update, and other activities to meet client needs.

Sample client list in Board Development and Governance

• American Classical League
• CHARGE Syndrome Foundation
• Community Renewal Society
• Garfield Park Community Council

Assessments

Any kind of assessment – organizational, infrastructure, staffing, board – offers a meaningful opportunity to uncover opportunities and identify challenges. We collaborate closely with our clients to understand what they want to know and design mission- and vision-aligned tools to uncover essential information. Assessments may be stand-alone, or part of another engagement, such as strategic planning, executive transition, or board development.

Our goal is to provide clients with clear, actionable insights and recommendations that benefit their organizations at all levels and enhance capacity.

Sample client list in Assessments

• Center for Elder and Disability Law
• Chicago Jobs Council
• Connections for the Homeless
• Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute