Capacity building strengthens an organization’s ability to deliver on its mission over time. PJL Associates works with you to build your capacity and sustain your organization through changing times and new challenges. Strong, well-managed organizations make a genuine difference in their communities because they continually engage in self-assessment, improving when necessary their governance and leadership, operations, programs, and/or resource development. It is no coincidence that these organizations typically succeed in fundraising.
Governance and Leadership
Board and senior management are fundamental to the strength of your organization; their understanding of the responsibilities involved and their ability to set the vision and direction are essential to ensuring that your organization thrives. PLJ Associates can work with you to assess the health of the board and senior management, recommend strategies to maximize their effectiveness, and help implement those strategies.
Some of the board development strategies PJL Associates can engage in include conducting an analysis of the current board, writing board member and committee job descriptions, developing recruitment processes and procedures, and working with staff leadership and governance committee on all phases of the board building cycle, from identifying and recruiting new board members to orienting, educating and evaluating the board. PJL Associates will review your Bylaws and a variety of policies to ensure that you are meeting legal requirements at a minimum and, more importantly, that you are structured to function in the most effective manner possible.
Regarding executive staff development, we can similarly review your staff structure, organizational chart, job descriptions and policies to assist you and your chief executive with improving the efficiency and effectiveness of senior management.
Should additional executive staff be needed, the President and Founder of PJL Associates has over 25 years of experience in executive recruiting. We provide executive recruiting services for our clients including Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, Director of Development and all related development positions. Our process is time tested; we start with an introductory meeting with your leadership to learn more about your mission, vision and values. We work with you to create a position description and post that description through multiple channels. We review all applicants, perform phone screenings, and present you with a list of most highly qualified candidates. We then provide assistance on structuring the in-person interviews, offering suggested questions and candidate evaluation forms. Finally, we conduct reference checks and background checks as needed. These steps have proven successful time and time again in ensuring that our clients choose the best possible candidates.
Succession planning is an often-overlooked but crucial component of a well-managed organization. PJL Associates will work with your board and senior staff to develop a plan that lays out the necessary steps should an executive staff or board member leave your organization. Ideally, the plan should include steps to be taken before the individual leaves the organization.
Another often-requested service is executive coaching. Most non-profit executives find those moments when they wish they had a coach to help them, whether it is to refine their fundraising skills, strengthen their executive management capabilities, or build their career. PJL Associates welcomes the opportunity to work with senior staff one-on-one to help them define and achieve their goals.
Operations
Periodic review of an organization’s operations, which may include its organizational infrastructure, human resources, facilities, technology and equipment, is necessary to ensure that it can support its desired outcomes. Using time-tested diagnostic tools, PJL Associates can help identify operational areas in greatest need of capacity building to optimally fit your organization’s goals.
Programs
Core to an organization’s mission is the delivery of its programs. But how do you know you are delivering those programs in the most effective and efficient way possible? Measuring impact is essential to any organization wanting to achieve meaningful results and secure increased funding from its stakeholders. Our team can conduct a program assessment and work with you to build your capacity to most effectively deliver your services. Regular evaluation of services is equally important and PJL Associates can help you design on-going evaluation plans. In these ways, we can help you maximize your impact, produce measurable results and attract greater community investment.
Resource Development
PJL Associates can evaluate the productivity of your annual fundraising campaigns and generate new strategies to help you build capacity to maximize giving and retention. We can also help assess whether you have the appropriate staffing and other fundraising capabilities in place for larger fundraising campaigns and make recommendations for optimizing those capabilities.