Kari offers consultation and customized training in the following areas:

 

 

Board Development

It’s no secret: Nonprofit boards play an extremely important role in the success of an organization. An effective board can steer their nonprofit to victory, while an ineffective board can lead to an organization’s demise. A strong board is made up of diverse members who are passionate about your nonprofit’s mission, understand and fulfill their collective and individual roles as board members, and have the knowledge and skills required to manage the challenges faced by your nonprofit.

Building a nonprofit board that meets your needs is a continual process of recruitment, engagement, and development. Kari can work with your organization to develop and implement tools and strategies to help you in this process.

 

Executive Mentoring

Successfully leading a nonprofit organization is no easy feat. Each day nonprofit leaders must weigh the urgency of daily demands against the importance of achieving their nonprofit’s mission and serving its community. Your nonprofit director can rise to meet these challenges by developing strong leadership skills, learning new strategies, and building connections with a coach who can bring a fresh new perspective to their work.

Executive mentoring is one of the most efficient ways to grow and strengthen your organization.  Kari can work with your executive director to help them better manage juggling multiple responsibilities, relationships, and resources while keeping both eyes fixed on your nonprofit’s mission and bottom line.

 

Capital campaign counsel

If your nonprofit is at the point of embarking on a capital (or endowment campaign), consider talking to Kari PRIOR to beginning the campaign. Whether you are raising money to fund unique capital purchases such as equipment or vehicles, or raising funds for a new building or the expansion of your current space, consideration should always be given to adding an endowment portion to the overall campaign goal.

Kari can assist as campaign counsel to ensure you have a plan in place to raise the money to fund a one-time need for the organization, and strengthening the organization’s fundraising infrastructure.  She will also work with you to secure volunteer involvement and increase the public’s awareness of your nonprofit pre, during and post campaign.

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SERVICES

If you are making a change at the helm of your nonprofit, consider working with Kari through this transition and using Incite’s Interim Executive Director services.  Interim executive directors arrive at difficult or transitional times and help nonprofits make difficult choices. The goal of any interim executive director is to leave an organization in a better place than when they began.

A founder may be leaving, the Executive Director retiring; perhaps your organization has had to part ways with the CEO.  With 20+ years of nonprofit executive experience, Kari has a track record of being able to understand both staff and board roles during times of transition.  She will work with your nonprofit to liaise between staff and board and navigate the change management experience for all parties – internal and external.

Staff Coaching

Everyone can agree that nonprofit staff coaching is important, as it helps build an effective service team where staff and volunteers fully understand the organization’s vision and goals. To create the greatest mission impact, nonprofits must provide opportunities to foster leadership and management talent in their people. Yet the commitment to training can sometimes waiver, especially when grant dollars or fees for services come up short at the end of the month.

There are many ways that nonprofits can provide on-the-job opportunities for their staff to develop and grow. Kari can help your organization establish its current staff training priorities, and then identify ways to best leverage your assets and resources to create a rich learning environment.

 

Leadership Transitions

Every nonprofit organization will experience a leadership transition at some point in their existence. And while a smooth succession is the ideal scenario, executive leadership changes are often unplanned and involve high-risk. Risks may include a loss of organizational momentum, a decrease in staff morale or even turnover, and a loss of support from stakeholders.

A nonprofit’s ability to successfully navigate the challenges and uncertainties that stem from executive transitions is key to its survival.  Whether a leadership change is planned or unplanned, Kari can assist your organization with planning for the next nonprofit leader, onboarding, training, and mentorship.

 

Fund Development Planning

The long-term success of a nonprofit organization largely depends on fund development and sustainability planning. To survive, you must implement multiple, diverse streams of funding sources—in the form of grants, corporate sponsorships, and individual contributions—to protect your organization and its mission against economic uncertainties and the vagaries of time. Each of these fundraising vehicles has its time and place, and nonprofit staff and board members must work together to establish a fundraising plan that is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis.  Kari can work with your nonprofit to design a robust fund development strategy that meets your current and future needs.

 

Donor Relations

Building relationships with donors and prospects is one of the single most important actions nonprofits can take to ensure fundraising success. Donor relations, both before and after a gift is made, is an often-overlooked segment of the fundraising cycle. Best practices suggest you should communicate with a donor six to 10 times when asking for a first-time gift or recurring contribution. But deciding when and how to make those connections is just as important as what you communicate.

Producing a donor relations plan can help remove the guesswork when unexpected situations arise with a particular donation. Part art and part science, great donor cultivation relies on consistent activity, personalized communications, and a compelling strategy, and Kari can help you develop a donor relations program.

 

Special Events

Creating special events, and doing them well, can accomplish many different goals for a nonprofit organization. The obvious reason, of course, is to raise money that can be used towards operating costs, program expenses, an endowment campaign, or capital improvements. But more importantly, events allow nonprofits to showcase their cause and engage with existing and potential supporters. This in turn may help your nonprofit increase financial support from new sources, which is crucial to successful and sustainable fundraising.

To properly stage a special event with profitable results requires a common vision, commitment, and understanding of the simple steps necessary for success. Kari can coach your staff and volunteers on how to plan and execute just about any type of event.

 

 

Work With Kari

Kari works with nonprofit groups on a myriad of topics including nonprofit leadership, volunteer engagement and organization transitions.  To learn more about working with Kari, please email her at kari@inciteconsultinggroup.com or schedule an appointment to discuss your particular needs.