With all the moving parts that go into running a nonprofit, organizations of every size and experience level have some areas they’re just not prepared to handle alone. Fortunately, there are plenty of professional nonprofit consultants who specialize in helping nonprofits fill these gaps so they can focus on furthering their missions.
Whether your organization needs help launching a major fundraising campaign or wants to improve its data management practices, there’s an expert who can help. Based on your needs, consider partnering with any of these three types of consultants:
The right partner will not only support your current projects but will also put your nonprofit in a position to thrive long-term. Explore each of these consultant specialties to determine which one could be the best option for you.
1. Fundraising Consultants
Raising funds is a top priority for every nonprofit, so this is the first area where many organizations look for support. Even if your team has been fundraising for years, these consultants offer a valuable outside perspective on how you can improve your strategy and ultimately raise more for your mission.
By reaching out to a fundraising consultant, you can benefit from their expertise in fundraising strategy, research, planning, execution, and general best practices. Donorly’s guide to hiring a fundraising consultant explains that these experts can specifically help you:
- Find major donors. Identifying supporters who may be able and willing to donate a major gift to your nonprofit is an important process, but many organizations don’t know where to start. Fundraising consultants can conduct wealth screenings and perform in-depth prospect research to find the best candidates. Then, they can help you develop a cultivation strategy to start building these important relationships before you make your ask.
- Plan and launch a capital campaign. Need to construct a building, start an endowment, or fund another major project? A fundraising consultant can help you plan a capital campaign spanning multiple years to raise enough funding for the project. Capital campaigns are complex endeavors that require plenty of support from major donors, but any nonprofit can tackle one with an expert consultant by their side.
- Improve your overall fundraising strategy. By analyzing your current fundraising practices and donor data, a consultant can design a fundraising strategy that takes your specific support network into account. They can help you build out your giving programs and implement fundraising practices that are grounded in donor research.
- Support your nonprofit’s fundraising development. Some fundraising consultants offer development support through fundraising training or even staffing. If you have a small fundraising team but aren’t ready to hire new team members yet, your consultant can fill the gap in the interim and then prepare you to make the best hiring decisions when your organization is ready.
No matter what your nonprofit’s immediate needs are, working with a fundraising consultant empowers you to grow your fundraising capacity and raise more funds to support your mission in the long run.
When looking for a fundraising consultant, pay attention to their areas of expertise and the types of organizations they typically work with. Read success stories on their websites to see exactly how they’ve helped nonprofits in the past and if that’s the type of help your organization is looking for.
2. Nonprofit Technology Consultants
Nonprofits use a variety of technology solutions to work efficiently, from online donation platforms to donor databases to email automation tools. As the nonprofit landscape evolves and moves further online, it becomes more and more important for organizations to have a robust set of tools at their disposal.
To make sure your organization has the right technology and can use it effectively to support your goals, you can reach out to a nonprofit technology consultant. These experts are well-versed in the latest technologies and nonprofit trends, so they can guide you through choosing, implementing, and optimizing the best solutions to meet your needs.
Specifically, you might partner with a nonprofit technology consultant if:
- Your data is disorganized. Using too many disconnected systems can make it difficult to find the data you need to connect with donors and raise funds. A technology consultant can examine your entire technology stack and create a plan to address any gaps.
- Your website needs improvement. Your organization’s website is the first place supporters and prospective donors go to find information about your nonprofit and take action, so it needs to be professional and easy to navigate. Technology consultants who specialize in web design can improve your website or design an entirely new one that draws donors in.
- You need a more robust CRM. As your nonprofit grows, your constituent relationship management system may no longer scale to meet your needs. If you need a more robust solution with additional features for nonprofits, a technology consultant can walk you through your options and implement the new system once you make your decision.
Consider searching for highly specialized technology consultants if you have a specific need. For example, if you know you want to centralize your donor data by moving your nonprofit to Salesforce, research consultants who are experts in the Salesforce CRM.
No matter what technological support you need, make sure to choose technology experts with plenty of nonprofit experience so they will understand the unique needs and goals of nonprofits like yours.
3. Marketing Consultants
Attracting new donors and retaining your existing ones can be difficult if your team has little marketing experience. If your nonprofit’s staff is new to marketing or your current strategy just isn’t seeing results, a nonprofit marketing consultant may be the answer. These consultants are specialists in creating materials that tell your nonprofit’s story, evoke emotions in potential supporters, and help you build relationships with donors.
Depending on your needs, you may look for a consultant that offers generalized support or addresses a specific type of marketing. For instance, different nonprofit marketing consultants specialize in:
- Multichannel marketing
- Digital marketing
- Nonprofit branding
- Marketing data analytics
- Paid search advertising
- Content marketing
- Donor stewardship
Some marketing consultants are even more highly specialized to meet the needs of nonprofits. For example, Getting Attention explains that Google Grant agencies exist solely to help organizations effectively use and manage their Google Ad Grants, which give eligible nonprofits $10,000 in free monthly ad spend to promote their websites.
Any of these consultants can support your nonprofit in the short term and set you up for lasting success. To get started, do initial research on a few consultants you may be interested in partnering with, then discuss the benefits of working with the right consultant with your team and your board.