BUILDING MOMENTUM FOR NONPROFITS
Helping people and organizations create more equitable and healthy communities
That is what we do at SMC, helping clients meet today’s challenges while planning for the future.
With hands-on experience in the nonprofit sector, and decades of consulting success, SMC helps nonprofits create integrated, practical strategies that build strong, sustainable organizations.
Through strategic planning, fundraising and campaign management, training and coaching, we help staff and volunteer leaders think about mission, tactics, and goals. We partner with your team, rolling up our sleeves to get the work done!
With an estimated $90 trillion in wealth changing hands in the next 20 years, nonprofits need smart, winning fundraising strategies now.
SMC HELPS NONPROFITS HELP THEMSELVES
Every SMC consultant is a seasoned pro with bona fide nonprofit and business building experience.
Our low-overhead model offers expert service for less than what other firms charge.
Each SMC team is customized to offer the right combination of experienced professionals for your project.
We have an outstanding track record. 100% of our business comes from renewing clients and personal referrals.
We blend strategy, capacity building and fundraising, eliminating the need for multiple consultants.
MISSION
SMC empowers clients, teaching new skills and building confidence.
As Americans witness daily, wealth, health and education inequities have skyrocketed in the last decade. The nonprofit sector is essential to help communities often left behind.
SMC offers clients sound counsel as they navigate important organizational growth and change. We partner with community, educational, and cultural nonprofits to build the experienced and talented executive leadership needed to excel at their missions.
SMC has more than 30 years experience in providing a range of strategic planning and fundraising services to those who create and operate important nonprofit community and cultural resources.
GOOD WORK
"Siobhan is a trusted friend who always answers my call – whether I need fundraising advice, organizational strategy or support working with my Board.”
- Peter Twyman, Executive Director,
Yamba Malawi, Former ED, Keep a Child Alive
I've been a part of Siobhan's weekly meeting of fundraising professionals. She initiated this group to help us work through the COVID-19 pandemic together. Thanks so much, Siobhan! Once again, our Wednesday call provided me with the type of thought-partnership that has proven invaluable during this pandemic.
- Mikaela Levons, Chief of Development, Equal Justice USA
Siobhan McDermott is a brilliant development professional. Working with her has been delightful and rewarding.
- Elsa Longhauser, Executive Director, Institute for Contemporary Art,
Los Angeles
From our first meeting, Siobhan quickly grasped the ethos of DCTV, our assets and deficits. Nothing was too daunting. At every step of our campaign, she knew how to steer our project toward success. She also had, at-the-ready, a stable of experienced consultants who specialize in finance, strategy, board development, and fundraising.
- Catherine Martinez, Former ED & CFO, Current CFO, DCTV
"Siobhan is one of the outstanding people with whom I have worked with in my fundraising career."
- Al Milano, Executive Vice President,
AT&T Performing Arts Center
Siobhan McDermott is a consummate pro who really understands philanthropy. The added bonus is that she is delightful, warm and fun. We always look forward to working with her.
- Jock Mitchell, Board of Directors,
Buffalo Prep & Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
As a consultant, her energetic but thoughtful advice helps clarify essential next steps. It’s a pleasure to work with her and learn from her marketing skills and people savvy.
- Michele Mosko, Senior Associate Director of Development,
National Jewish Health
Siobhan is an energetic, thoughtful professional, who helped Jazz House Kids' leadership consider how best to plan for its future growth and sustainability. I learn something new whenever we meet!
- Margarethe Laurenzi, Director of Leadership Grantmaking and Engagement at Community Foundation of New Jersey
SERVICES
Fundraising Feasibility Study
Feasibility Studies can jump start a capital campaign, recharge a lackluster annual fund, evaluate a donor program, or test the waters for an endowment or planned giving campaign.
We involve volunteer leaders early. Experience demonstrates that teams engaged from the beginning are the most effective.
Financial Analysis
Solid financial planning and documentation create a credible statement of need. SMC consultants work with the leadership and staff to review historical trends and develop achievable long-range goals, all based on sound fiscal projections.
We develop an “all-in” budget plan that allows you to see not only your operational needs but how an endowment or capital program can affect your bottom line.
Organizational Assessment
All nonprofits need human and financial resources to bring their mission to life. Often, however, an organization might not be working as effectively as possible. Do our special events raise enough money to justify how much staff time they take? Are we keeping our best donors engaged? Do our Board members feel connected and motivated to work and give?
An Organizational Assessment closely evaluates your organization's infrastructure and operations to ensure you're working at your best potential.
Strategic Planning
New programs or staff expansion, capital investment, and endowment building are all connected when creating a long-range plan.
SMC uses interactive and creative working sessions to engage all your stakeholders, learning about your successes, challenges and marketplace, analyzing budgets and programs, and fundraising strategies.
We arrive together at a realistic series of goals, action plans and timetables that keep your organization moving to the next level.
Development & Campaign Management
As volunteers and staff begin to implement new development programs or execute a campaign, SMC provides ongoing guidance and a helping hand.
Our consulting programs are designed to meet your objectives and budgets. They can range from minimal oversight when a strong development staff is in place to extensive campaign leadership while staff is recruited and brought up to speed.
Building Consensus & Shared Vision
Roadblocks are everywhere! SMC can assist your organization in recognizing challenges and guide you through a process that enables you to emerge with a shared vision and strategy that unites volunteers and staff.
Additional Services
The SMC team has extensive experience in many areas of nonprofit fund raising and management. Other services provided include:
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Building and training boards
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Facilitating meetings and conferences
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Copy writing and design
Let SMC help!
The "to do" list can feel overwhelming! SMC consultants provide a fresh perspective and professional framework to help your organization get started, or get your organization moving again.
QUESTIONS
How does SMC partner with my organization?
SMC consultants are facilitators, motivators, recruiters or "pitch in and help" team players. Often the board and/or staff of an organization have identified where they want to be but aren't quite sure how to get there. We can help to focus your discussions and arrive at an achievable plan. We can help you recruit the people you need, both staff and volunteers, and train team members to be confidant advocates and fundraisers. And, as the situation requires, we can offer an extra pair of experienced hands to get the job done.
How can I justify the cost of a consultant when we’re trying to raise money?
A fresh perspective helps to unite and motivate your team of volunteers and professionals to achieve your goals. The objectivity of a consultant brings clarity and focus to your fundraising efforts, builds consensus and energizes your volunteers to be successful fundraisers.
Can SMC consultants make a solicitation to my major donor prospect?
A volunteer makes the best solicitor because they have a credible relationship to the nonprofit. With proper preparation and strategic thinking, we help you make the strongest solicitation possible.
We need money now. How can we start raising money today?
Fundraising for any organization is a two-pronged effort: raising enough money for today so that there is a tomorrow! SMC can immediately review your current approach to maximize your effectiveness. Simultaneously, we can identify what initiatives to undertake to grow your organization.
With whom will we be working?
In many big firms, you only see your senior consultant at periodic meetings, working primarily with associates or junior consultants. Because SMC is a small firm, you will always be working with a principal.
THE TEAM
Siobhan McDermott, President of Strategic Management Consulting, has 25 years experience in nonprofit management and consulting. Siobhan is known for her ability to foster consensus even in the early stages of strategic and fundraising planning, putting the building blocks for successful organizational growth in place from the start. Siobhan helps organizations train and position the teams needed to reach strategic goals without having to invest time and money in getting different consultants up to speed.
Siobhan launched Strategic Management Consulting in 1998 and has led projects nationwide including fundraising studies and planning, visioning and strategic planning, and board development.
She previously was a consultant and campaign manager for Milano, Ruff & Associates, Inc. and served on the professional development staff of several of New York’s premier cultural institutions including The Public Theatre and Princess Grace Foundation-USA.
Siobhan is an active community volunteer and leader, creating the Nonprofit Community Coalition, a free weekly consulting community open to leaders throughout the Covid pandemic, helping organizations navigate fundraising during community crisis and Black Lives Matter.
Siobhan resides in Vermont and New Jersey.
Find Siobhan at www.linkedin.com/in/siobhanmcdermott
Peter Clarke created Harbor Services, a specialty project and management consulting firm, and is a long-time collaborator with Strategic Management Consulting. As Project Manager of major nonprofit development efforts, Peter works closely with clients to define and implement the capital construction side of projects. Peter’s impact extends beyond construction-based concerns. Given his keen understanding of consensus building and communications skills, he is a key member of the team for cultivation and fundraising activities. Recent projects include The River Fund NY (Queens, NY), the Children’s Museum of New Jersey (Newark, NJ), the New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NJ), and TEAM Academy Charter Schools (Newark, NJ). He is a trustee of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain and a long-time officer, director and grants committee chairman for a local branch of a national historical society. Peter lives in New Jersey.
George J. Abraham, SMC Consultant, is a seasoned strategic business advisor with more than 30 years of experience advising entrepreneurial companies and large enterprises. He provides high-level strategy and business development services to entrepreneurial and corporate companies through his practices, Rhodium Strategies and Rhodium Analytics. George approaches business with a human eye for usefulness, practical advancement and social impact.
George has served on numerous SMC nonprofit projects including the Cleveland Cord Blood Center, leading a reorganization of its operating model, the Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center in Colorado, providing critical market analysis and operating planning; economic development strategies for Explore & More Children’s Museum in Buffalo, NY; and operating planning for The River Fund NY in Queens, NY. He also served as a leading member of the strategic advisory team for the NYC 2008 Olympic bid, and on the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities, playing a key role in the development of the Palm Performing Arts Center (Telluride, CO.) while an advisor to the leadership donors.
His experience as a founding partner of a venture capital fund, managing director with a technology focused investment bank, and operating executive at numerous tech companies provides experience that helps organizations operate and grow effectively. He is a Board member at Tekserve Corporation, T2 Computing, and GroundControl Solutions. He is a member of the faculty at Stevens Institute of Technology where he teaches ‘Entrepreneurial Thinking’ to engineering undergraduate students. George lives in New Jersey.
Find George at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgejabraham
Michael Ruff is an experienced development and management professional based in Los Angeles, CA. He provides fundraising counsel and program oversight for a diverse set of clients, preparing budget projections and establishing systems, conducting financial analyses, and setting strategies and goals for institutional advancement. Michael is currently serving at the Director of Development at the J. Paul Getty Trust, but engages from time to time with particular SMC projects. Recent clients include The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, The Institute for Contemporary Art/LA, Levitt Pavilions, Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, and Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA. Michael and Siobhan have lead dozens of projects over the course of their 25+ year collaboration, including current engagements for DCTV's multi-million expansion in Lower Manhattan and for Weinstein Hospice of Atlanta.
He has held leadership positions as Director of Development at the Fowler Museum at UCLA; Associate Vice President & Director of Development at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Deputy Director of West Coast Development at Harvard University; Associate Vice President for Development at the Music Center-Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County; and Vice President & Partner at Milano, Ruff & Associates, a management and fundraising consulting firm serving arts, cultural, and educational institutions nationwide. He also held senior management roles at the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Off-Broadway theatre, Circle Repertory Company.
He is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG). He serves on the board and is treasurer of The Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA.
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