Consulting Services

We help you create your own success stories

Contracting for consultation services is a bit like hiring a new staff person. Find the right fit and you steam ahead. You want success from the start—and we do, too. So, what makes a great success story? Most leaders tell us they want consultants who

• Seem to understand what’s needed right from the start
• Meet the goals you set for them—and help you figure out what those goals should be when you are unsure
• Uncover and build on your best assets
• Surface powerful visions that rally staff, board, and partners
• Discover the opportunities hidden in problems and crises
• Help you transform your work
• Leave you stronger, more effective, and more confident
• Know when to facilitate, when to coach, when to lead, and when to (gently!) push

Fieldstone Alliance strives—always, always, always—to help you be your best
Fieldstone Alliance’s consulting practice is one of the country's most enduring nonprofit resources. Our deep knowledge of organization development, capacity building, community revitalization, collaboration, organizational network building, and multisector initiatives is grounded in two-plus decades of direct experience and solid research.

We deliver consulting and project leadership services to nearly 100 clients each year, locally, nationally, and internationally. Our consulting staff bring rich and varied experience working in nonprofits, foundations, neighborhood organizations, multinational corporations, banking, international development, government policy, educational institutions, and start-up businesses.

Our network of affiliated consultants are recognized nonprofit leaders, authors, and consultants with deep expertise in managing organizations, teaching, training, conducting research, and leading community initiatives.

What we do
Our staff and affiliated consultants possess a comprehensive range of consulting capabilities. The majority of our work is in the following areas:

Capacity Building Initiatives
We assist funders and other intermediaries to design, implement, and evaluate initiatives to build capacity among groups of nonprofits, networks, or across communities.

Organizational Assessment
Using our tested model Components of Organizational Capacity, we work with you to design an assessment process that will

• Give you a clear picture of your strengths and limitations,
• Identify how you can strengthen your organization’s capacity, and
• Facilitate change to increase quality, effectiveness, and results.

Organizational Planning
We work with you to design and implement customized planning processes that help position your organization or collaborative to have greater impact. Typical planning processes might include vision formation, strategic plans, business plans, or more targeted plans for a specific initiative or project.

Collaboration and Network Capacity Building
Whether you are considering starting—or are in the midst of—a joint effort, alliance, collaboration, or merger, we can help you be more effective and have greater impact. We offer a range of collaboration services, from assessment, to planning, to evaluation.

Community Planning and Development
We work with you to bring about large-scale change in your neighborhood, city, region, or country. We help you

• Assess opportunities for change,
• Design change processes,
• Convene stakeholders,
• Make critical community decisions,
• Monitor progress,
• and evaluate results.

Who we work with
Intermediaries and networks—grantmakers, management support organizations, collaborations, associations, government partners, and multisector alliances—constitute the majority of our clients. These groups contract with us to help them support their nonprofit constituents. In all our work, we draw on our extensive capabilities in strategy development, organizational effectiveness, network development, capacity building, and knowledge packaging.

How we work
We see each project as a partnership. Through discussion with you, we design services to help you achieve your goals. This begins with a written proposal, work plan, and cost estimate. After project start-up, we monitor progress frequently to ensure that our work is meeting your expectations. We use an external evaluator to review results and satisfaction on every consulting project we do. These evaluation findings help us constantly improve our work and help you have confidence in us.

Related resource
The Organization-Consultant Relationship: Making It Work, a brief article by Carol Lukas with tips on how to hire the right consultant, at the right time, for the right reason.

For more information, please contact Sandy Jacobsen at 651-556-4510 or email her at sjacobsen@FieldstoneAlliance.org.