Consulting Services
Working with ESCH shows that you care about your organization’s future. Good leaders constantly learn, seek improved ways of doing things, and take the time to build capacity.
Our consulting projects are individualized to your specific needs and are offered to nonprofits with 501C-3, 4, or 6 status and educational and governmental organizations.
Our consulting projects are partially underwritten by our own donors and are offered on a sliding fee scale so that there is a low charge to you. |
Our highly-experienced and professional consultants help nonprofits:
• re-energize and, when necessary, reform their boards;
• identify their desired futures and take strategic steps towards those futures;
• develop funding and marketing planning to move them towards fiscal sustainability;
• deal with human resource issues that limit efficiency and/or create financial risks;
• develop systems of financial accountability and transparency;
• use information technology to streamline operations;
• assess for appropriate insurance coverage; and
• fully assess the organization and much more.
Upon receiving a Request for Assistance form, a project coordinator will contact you to get further information.
Typical projects include:
Board Development/Governance
We can help you re-energize and when necessary, reform, your board. Board members need to understand their roles and responsibilities. Our consultants can attend a board meeting and discuss these responsibilities, lead a board retreat, or work with the board over time to deal with a particular issue affecting the organization, staff or the board.
Strategic Planning
The strategic planning process involves a series of meetings between an ESCH consultant and the client’s planning committee. The committee ideally includes the Executive Director, Chair of the Board, selected Directors, selected staff and perhaps selected volunteers. During these meetings the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and the mission of the organization are evaluated. Several goals for the future emerge from these discussions as well as objectives and specific, measurable actions for achieving the goals. The goals and objectives create a vision of where the organization will be in three to five years. At the end of the project a report is prepared documenting the goals, objectives and vision. The report includes an action calendar with which the client can monitor the implementation of the plan.
Fundraising/Grant writing
Development is a critical aspect of any nonprofit's existence. ESCH consultants neither write grant proposals nor conduct fundraising activities for nonprofits. Rather, consultants will help an organization craft a development plan, educate staff about the basics of fundraising and review drafts of grant proposals. Due to a limited number of consultants with the required expertise, consulting services in this area may not be readily available at the time that an organization submits a request for assistance. Organizations are encouraged to attend the many seminars and webinars on fundraising that ESCH offers.
Marketing
Do you wish you had more visibility in the community? Do you want to attract more clients to your services? ESCH consultants can help you develope a marketing plan to achieve your marketing goals.
Human Resources
Is your staff operating at peak efficiency? Do you have the right people for each job function? ESCH can help you with human resources issues. Our consultants can analyze current job functions, work with you to write job descriptions, assist with a plan for hiring new personnel, and aid in the development of a personnel manual that includes basic policies and procedures.
Financial Systems
The success or demise of a nonprofit can depend on the strength of its finances. Funds are needed to run your nonprofit, but the systems put in place to keep track of all of your funding are also important. Reports to the IRS are required to remain a nonprofit. Reports to funders on how you have used their donation help to receive additional funds. ESCH can help you put into place financial systems that have accountability and transparency.
Management Information Systems
Keeping track of all of the information needed to effectively run your nonprofit can be a headache. Let ESCH assist you in developing an information technology plan to streamline your work and back up all of your valuable data
Insurance/Risk Assessment
Are your noprofit's assets protected? Do you know the different kinds of insurance are and the need for each? Are you hesitant to even find an insurance agent? ESCH can help you distinguish between the various types of insurance and assess your organization to determine the most appropriate insurance coverage. ESCH consultants can assist you to determine what qualities to look for in an insurance agent.
Organizational Assessment - sponsored by Shell Oil Company
Organizational Assessment is the first step for a powerful change strategy. Using a well- tested assessment framework and assessment tool, a consultant will help you determine where your organization currently stands and what the organization’s future infrastructure could look like. The assessment covers 10 domains critical for management excellence and strong organizational capacity, efficiency and sustainability. Decisions are then made about the priority of desired changes. Following the assessment, if the organization would like further consultation to develop and implement a change strategy, a consultant with the appropriate expertise is assigned to assist.
Strategic Cooperation/Alliances
Nonprofit organizations are among the first to feel the impacts of a weakening economy. Client demand for services increases while donor support declines. Hard decisions may be necessary to assure survival and success of your mission. One option you may be considering is more extensive “cooperation” with other nonprofits. More extensive cooperation may range from sharing support activities (such as office space, bookkeeping, or marketing) to broad alliances or mergers. More extensive cooperation may have positive and negative impacts on your mission. It may affect your organization’s vision, leadership, culture, internal administration, staffing, client retention and funding. In these times, charting the path for “mission survival & success” requires careful consideration and planning. ESCH stands ready to help you. We have a long history of assisting organizations with developing and implementing efficient and effective management decisions to assure mission survival and success. Discuss your situation and possible cooperation actions with ESCH. We have experienced consultants and tools to make your hard decisions easier. Our intent is to help you better understand your risks and benefits. We will help you determine whether more extensive cooperation is right for you.
If you would like help with one of these problems or one that isn’t listed, complete a Request for Assistance form and tell us what it is. Our Project Coordinator will contact you about your request. |
|
