Category: Services

Risk Management and Fundraising Governance

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

Risk Management and Fundraising Governance

Overview

As donors increasingly demand tangible assurance their money is well spent and regulators question the costs of fundraising, nonprofit executives and their boards need to know how to build trust in their organization. We bring knowledge about “best practices” in fundraising and are fully conversant with standards that exist to assess them. We can work with you to understand risks associated with various fundraising approaches. We can train your staff on effective processes and we can develop tools for your Board to gain and maintain confidence that your organization’s reputation is in good hands.

Providing Direction

Risk management is essential for any organization and S. Sutton & Associates Inc. understands reputational risk around fundraising operations and results presents particular vulnerability. With that in mind our senior consultants with years in the arena also understand that with competing demands Boards need simple methods to assess risk, carefully considered solutions and if necessary, strategic remediation to restore trust.

In keeping with the methodology of the firm, our experts are able to provide a complete audit and assessment of your current state, articulating potential vulnerabilities and actionable strategies to avoid issues. Guidance and training for executive leadership staff is available to establish a framework going forward.

If the Board is placed in a position to consider remediation, our experts provide actionable steps for the organization to deploy and guidance for short term crisis communications and long term confidence building measures.

Services

Project Management

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

Project Management

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. can apply tools, processes and knowledge so your projects achieve the objective, whether you are restructuring an organization or program, conducting an event or managing multiple projects.

Overview

More than $12 trillion (one-fifth of the world’s GDP) is spent on projects, and it is not surprising that organizations aim to improve performance, reduce risk, save money, and earn a greater return on investments through excellence in basic project management execution. Rigorous management principles and processes apply to businesses in various fields and industries as well as the nonprofit sectors and philanthropic management.

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. has the expertise to plan and control projects in order to meet the triple constraints of cost, schedule, and scope. We apply knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities during the lifespan of your particular project to initiate, execute, monitor and close processes. We manage integration, scope, time, costs, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement.

Our project management experts determine what activities need to be done to complete the project, organize when the activities are to be done, and forecast the resources (money, people) required to do the work. We ensure the activities are completed, manage additional activities and address risks, issues, and problems proactively, assuring you achieve your objectives.

Services

Planned and Legacy Gifts

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

Planned and Legacy Gifts

Overview

Planned and legacy gifts often represent the largest gift of an individual’s lifetime and may be through gifts of appreciated assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate and other non-liquid assets or by will or bequest. An important component of any evolving development program seeking to create a pipeline of support at every level is a robust and sophisticated approach to encouraging planned and legacy gifts.

Raising Sights

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. also will provide direction to enable your organization to effectively engage your supporters in complex gift conversations, raising their sights and increasing the impact they can have on your mission.

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. offers advice and counsel to develop and maintain a program for planned and legacy giving including:

Prospect identification
Staff structure and processes
Direct marketing
Gift accounting for complicated asset transfers, including tax requirements and restrictions
Recognition and stewardship programs
Use of volunteer and expert advisory boards
Training for staff and volunteers

Services

Major and Principal Gifts

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

Major and Principal Gifts

Major and principal gifts represent the culmination of a highly orchestrated series of steps which require rigor, persistence and institutional support at every level. S. Sutton & Associates Inc. is poised to help guide your organization through the steps to achieve success in this arena.

Overview

Major and principal gifts represent an essential method of fundraising for institutions which have developed a cohort of donors who have been solicited and stewarded on a regular basis, albeit at lower levels. Though not exclusively, the vast majority of large gifts to an institution come from individuals already in its donor database. To be successful generating major and principal gifts a constellation of relationships must be built over time between a prospect or donor, the institution, volunteer leaders, subject experts and the gift officer who acts as the facilitator. All interactions are designed to engage, elicit and share information and create understanding of the impact of a potential commitment.

Major and principal gifts take time to cultivate and often evolve from small gifts to the annual fund. S. Sutton & Associates Inc. can help your team assess its readiness and develop capacity in major gifts staff and volunteers, analyze your major gift portfolio, and help you successfully apply best practices that blend well with your overall fundraising enterprise.

We can assist you to create structures of engagement to involve prospects in greater depth in your institution’s mission and priorities as well as effective structures to engage volunteers with prospect identification, cultivation and solicitation and stewardship.

Services

International Fundraising

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

International Fundraising

Building a global strategy, understanding philanthropic culture and practice, developing effective engagement programs, generating sufficient initiative and follow-up and utilizing institutional thought leaders can be a daunting task.

Overview

Thomas L. Friedman in his transformative tome, The World is Flat, gave voice to a phenomenon that “the global competitive playing field was being leveled. The world was being flattened”. His words are even truer today than when written in 2005. With steady globalization in the private sector there has been increased globalization in the nonprofit sector. S. Sutton and Associates has the experience and expertise to help you engage globally.

International fundraising presents a unique challenge, and implementation requires unique skill and expertise. S. Sutton and Associates can help your organization make the case for activity on the global stage, devise effective organizational structures and program strategies, identify and train the experienced major gift professional talent, build the right case for support, manage long distance and culturally diverse constituents and track and align global initiatives organization-wide.

Services

Interim Program Management

Post author By mturner
Post date September 9, 2016

Interim Program Management

Overview

During a time of transition, S. Sutton & Associates Inc.’s consultants will work on site providing day-to-day management and oversight of your advancement program.

Expert Service – Raising Sights

The consultant’s time will be hands-on and tailor the activities to the needs of your institution which may include review and guidance around:

Prospect pool gift capacities, ask amounts and targets
Portfolios and individual assignments
Building staff skills in cultivation and solicitation and stewardship strategies
Work flow
Prospect management systems and accompanying reports
Measuring fundraising success
Enhancing the effects of your program