In my first two posts on this topic, i explained where my interest in serving the non-profit world came from (my parents, natch). In the second I spoke about my longstanding involvement with Junior Achievement, Now that I am on the ‘back nine’ of my commercial career I have been doing more work than just supporting JA. I did spend a couple of years on the board of A Better Chance (ABC) in Westport, CT but that ended when I moved to London and it became difficult to stay involved.
Last year I joined a group called the National Executive Service Corps (NESC). NESC is a non-profit that serves other non-profits. It is made up of consultants who work pro bono to help the leadership of local non-profits on things like strategy, organizational alignment, fundraising strategy, board governance. The consultants are all very interesting people who have had long careers and senior roles in a wide variety of industries. We work in small teams of 3-4, do analysis of data, interview our clients and develop recommendations for how they might improve.
I have worked on several engagements since beginning with NESC. My first was in support of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport CT. When asked to help out on this project my first instinct was to shy away – i would have a hard time coming up with a subject I know less about than the catholic church. I didn’t know how they were organized or their strategy for serving the community, but I joined the team and learned a great deal. The Diocese serves their community via the churches, catholic schools, charities and food banks and their community centers. They were specifically looking for help advising the boards of their community centers on how to work together. I realized that I could help the team – this was about strategy and partnerships and I know how to help organizations with issues like this.
My next project was one I was asked to lead, performing an organizational assessment for the foundation organization supporting a large community college. Foundations are common vehicles that operate as 501 3(c) non-profits, raising money to support their college, enabling them to provide financial assistance and grants to needy students. These Foundations have their own Boards and this group wanted to ensure that they had the right leadership and team in place to support the college in the future. We performed 25 interviews, of all staff and a number of board members as well as the college president, and provided thoughtful input to the Board, which they ultimately adopted as a plan. I am now starting a new project with another community college foundation, helping them assess the effectiveness of one of their important programs supporting their neediest students.
This is work that I enjoy because it uses my experience and brings value to organizations that help people in a wide variety of ways. I don’t know yet if I will go back to the commercial world, but even if I do, I will work hard to keep my hand in the non-profit world, as I profit greatly from that work.
mikesteinharter.com 