• How Consultants Shape Nonprofits
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How Consultants Shape Nonprofits

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Groundbreaking research illuminates the pivotal, problematic role of consultants in the nonprofit world. The nonprofit sector leans heavily on consultants to guide strategic planning, advise on fu...
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  • 05 November 2024
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Groundbreaking research illuminates the pivotal, problematic role of consultants in the nonprofit world.

The nonprofit sector leans heavily on consultants to guide strategic planning, advise on fundraising strategy, gather data on program effectiveness and more. How Consultants Shape Nonprofits explores how consultants, while working diligently to customize solutions for their clients, reinforce status-quo practices and ideas while prioritizing the opinions of people in power (nonprofit funders, leaders, etc.) over those of lower-level staff and communities. Consultants thus leave unaddressed some of the most pernicious problems in the nonprofit sector. The book's important conclusions about the complex role of consultants in the nonprofit world are based on more than a year of ethnographic research and nearly 200 interviews with practitioners. Dr. Reisman concludes with guidance on how consultants, nonprofit leaders, and donors can better collaborate, and overcome traditional "blind spots" in the nonprofit-consultant relationship.

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Price: $32.00
Pages: 264
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Imprint: Stanford Business Books
Series: Stanford Social Innovation Review Books
Publication Date: 05 November 2024
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781503635364
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:

"Rigorously researched and beautifully written, How Consultants Shape Nonprofits illuminates the ubiquitous but largely under-the-radar practice of nonprofit consulting, revealing the integral role it plays in both promoting innovation and reinforcing field norms. The book's vivid narratives of nonprofit consulting will elicit nods of recognition from both consultants and their clients." —Lawrence McGill, Founder and Principal, Ambit 360 Consulting
Leah Margareta Gazzo Reisman (PhD, Princeton) is a sociologist and nonprofit leader. Her research has been supported by the NSF and the Mellon Foundation, and has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She is a Program Officer at The Barra Foundation in Philadelphia, and a Research Fellow at the John Brademas Center at NYU.
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
PART I: Mapping the Field of Consulting to Nonprofits
INTRODUCTION: The Work of Nonprofit Consultants
1. Oracles, Facilitators, and Point People:Demystifying Consultants to Nonprofits
PART II: Consultants' Drive to Customize
2. No Cookie-Cutter Solutions:Consultants' Drive to Customize for Clients
3. Data as Conversation-Starters:Consultants Defer to Client Knowledge
4. How to Be a "Nonprofit Person" in Consulting: The Perils of Caring Too Much
PART III: The Unintended Consequences of Consulting
5. Best Practices as Common Practices: Consultants Unintentionally Reproduce the Status Quo
6. How Consultants Prioritize the Powerful: Funder and Stakeholder Influence
7. A Soft Hand and Firm Advice: Perpetuating Hierarchies of Ideas
CONCLUSION: Staying the Course or Changing the System
Appendix: Reflection Guide for Practitioners
Notes
References
The Author