Interim Fundraising Leadership
Executive-level nonprofit leadership turnover is our new reality.
- 1 in 6 executive directors are 60+ years old¹
- 33 percent of executive directors feel somewhat or very burned out²
- Half of chief development officers are planning to leave their position³
Hiring for these positions can take at least four to six months – sometimes even a year. Understanding the importance of maintaining solid donor relationships, can your nonprofit afford to wait until the new leader comes on board?
Orr Group has provided short- and long-term interim executive directors and chief fundraiser solutions for more than 20 years. Our interim solutions partners often learn that there are larger issues that need to be fixed before they can hire senior executives. We can partner with you for long-term fundraising success.
In addition to assisting with fundraising strategy and management, Orr Group has served in interim roles in nonprofit leadership, finance, human resources and general management. From start-up to a mature organization, our intimate knowledge of the challenges nonprofits face allows us to counsel and provide both strategic and tactical support at every stage of the nonprofit life-cycle.
Board Development
Board leadership drives financial and programmatic success. The right board members focused on the right outcomes ensures impact and mission achievement.
Nothing is more important to the health and sustainability of your organization than recruiting highly qualified and enthusiastic people to serve on your board. Building a board is about finding leaders who have the right blend of skill sets, expertise, community connections and perspectives that align with your organization’s strategies, goals, and needs.
How the board does its work—its culture and structures—is just as important as getting the right people on the board. Understanding the areas a board needs to strengthen is relatively straightforward; actually improving performance is quite challenging. An objective voice can help steer the board towards these needed changes.
Orr Group can tailor an approach to work with you on board recruitment, engagement, and fundraising, whether you are:
- Challenged by your board’s lack of commitment to a fundraising strategy plan and ability to personally bring resources to the table
- Needing greater diversity in sectors, skill-sets, and demographics
- Committed to building your board but lacking the staff resources to lead the effort
- Seeking greater board alignment with your organization’s mission, goals and current needs
- Aggressively seeking to increase revenue and needing the help of your board to do so, or
- Fortunate to have a board willing to fundraise, but looking to ramp up engagement and activity.
In addition to recruiting the right new members for your board, Orr Group can help you develop a system for on-going board recruitment, a strengthened board structure and culture, and deeper engagement by board members. These will all lead to increased revenue for your organization.
Leadership and Management Services
Orr Group’s strategic nonprofit management services include:
Creation and set-up
We can advise on organizational structures, legal and registration issues, leadership roles and board composition, budgeting, hiring strategies and key staff recruitment to set your nonprofit up for success.
Management and operational issues
We can serve as your interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or Director of Human Resources, helping to develop short, medium and long-term plans, set and implement a new strategic framework for your operations, and develop and roll out new operating policies and procedures to help you achieve your mission.
Leadership, transition and succession planning
Turnover in key, mission-critical roles presents an on-going challenge for nonprofits trying to raise funds, run operations, and serve their constituencies. As well as serving in an interim capacity, we can help you to evaluate talent both within and outside of your organization to ensure smooth transitions and support effective leadership.
Mergers and acquisitions
If your organization is seeking to join forces with another nonprofit, whether to streamline operations or better serve your communities, we can help you create a roadmap for this process and ensure that you are positioned to achieve your goals.
Financial viability assessments and dissolution planning
Will your projected cash flows and overall revenues allow you to achieve your program goals? What is the long-term outlook for your organization? Do you need to restructure, or consider new operating models? Orr Group can help you assess your future and plan for change.
Day-to-Day Operational Support
In addition to the strategic services outlined above, Orr Group can also help you to meet everyday operations needs by providing the following services:
- Accounting, bookkeeping, revenue processing, bill payment, budget preparation, and audit support
- Cash management, cost analysis, and expense modeling
- Program revenue monitoring and forecasting
- Recruitment advertising, candidate sourcing, applicant tracking, interviewing and hiring
- Training and professional development
- Payroll and benefits administration
- Assistance with front office operations, and
- Advice on selection and deployment of database management software and other information technology issues.