Fundraising for Social Change, 7th Edition

chapter 35 Using a Consultant, Coach, Mentor, or Trainer

There are times in the life of almost every person or organization when hiring an outside person to help you think through or get through a certain time or situation can be very helpful. For a nonprofit organization’s fundraising program, these times are characterized by one or more of the following situations:

• Your organization needs advice on how to improve its overall fundraising or some particular aspect of fundraising. You need someone with skill and knowledge who cares about the issues your organization is concerned with but is far enough removed to be able to “see the forest.”
• You need help deciding on a course of action: Can you really launch a capital campaign now? Would a legacy giving program be a good strategy to explore? Should you create a separate 501(c)(4) organization so you can do more direct lobbying?
• You need someone to do a time-limited piece of work: run a special event, train the board in fundraising, plan a major gifts campaign, redesign your website, research funding sources, or write a proposal.
• You need someone to provide guidance and answer questions in designing the fundraising staff’s work plan, especially when a bright and energetic but inexperienced staff person needs help getting up to speed.
• You need someone to run the development function of your organization temporarily until staff can be replaced.
• You need help with fundraising as you make a transition from a founder to a new executive ...