do good Consulting’s Services: An Overview

by Laura Huth, President, do good Consulting

In April’s Doing Good, I introduced you to the fantastic team of consultants at do good Consulting and reviewed their areas of expertise. This month, we look at the specific service areas that do good Consulting brings to non-profit organizations across central Illinois.

do good Consulting is a full-service consulting firm specializing in many areas of non-profit operations. Whether your organization seeks fundraising assistance, advice on marketing strategies, help with hiring a new employee, support on strategic planning, or expertise across multiple areas, we have the people and services to help you.

do good Consulting uses a training-based approach in our work, providing you with the tools, knowledge, and energy to carry on the work of your organization long after our work with your group is complete. For example, our team will not come in and raise funds for your organization, but we will work alongside your staff to identify hidden donor opportunities in your database, devise strong fundraising campaigns, brainstorm outreach ideas, and assist in developing donor recognition plans. Like you, we are interested in long-term results and the hands-on training we provide does just that.

In addition to our basic services – fundraising, marketing and communications, organizational growth strategies, strategic planning, and image and service enhancement – do good now offers several new services, including: hiring searches, professional development , and constituent data analysis. Here is a brief review of each service area do good Consulting offers:

Fundraising: This is perhaps our most requested service, and do good’s team has many years of experience in nearly every aspect of fundraising. Starting with plan development, we help organizations boost individual and corporate donations, arrange matching challenge efforts, and research and write grants. We help you set clear funding priorities and goals, limit crisis fundraising, increase board involvement in development, diversify and engage your funding base, integrate fund development with other program activities, and add emotional ‘punch’ to your fundraising. Click here for more on do good’s fundraising services.

Marketing/Communications/Outreach: In this age of advertising saturation and sensational news, marketing your organization is no longer an option, it’s a must. But getting your message out and heard has never been more difficult. do good Consulting specializes in story-based communications and marketing, teaching your staff to touch emotions, change attitudes, raise more money, and win over audiences. Our multi-faceted approach of graphic, written, and electronic communications will have your readers turning pages for more, donors increasing support, volunteers clamoring to help, and audiences – including the media – engrossed. Click here to see how do good can get your marketing and communications work on track.

Organizational Growth Strategies: If you feel you've plateaued and you’re ready to take things to the next level, do good Consulting can help. Whether the focus is on board development and training, implementing new earned income ventures to generate funds, exploring best practices in the field, knowledge and resource management, or creating evaluations to monitor program success, do good can guide your organization to the next level. Read more about do good’s organizational growth strategies here.

Strategic & Program Planning: An old proverb says “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” Too often, groups are so engrossed in the day-to-day operations they forget to plan ahead. Or they take time to create plans, then allow them to collect dust. Yet good planning is the very thing that is essential to getting ahead. do good Consulting helps groups conduct SWOT analyses, devise powerful mission and vision statements, create long-range and strategic plans, and identify strategic opportunities. We specialize in working side-by-side with your team to create exciting roadmaps for action filled with clear steps and roles that inspire action across the organization. Read more about do good’s planning services here.

Image, Service & Structure Enhancement: "That’s just the way it is." If you’ve ever heard that response at work, you can bet an image, service, and structure enhancement by do good Consulting is in order. Dust off and upgrade your image, review services to attain greater efficiency, and enhance your organizational structure for increased performance. Work with do good professionals to take a step back and engage in a hands-on process of systems thinking and analysis. We guarantee you will find flexible, effective, and efficient ways to integrate systems, leverage new support, streamline processes, and upgrade your image. Read more about do good 's image and service enhancement services here.

Recruitment & Hiring Searches: If you are overwhelmed by the hiring process, let do good Consulting help with all the details of your pre- and post-interview hiring process. The services do good offers include developing strong position descriptions and workplans, advertising positions, accepting and assessing resumes, compiling hiring teams, scheduling and conducting interviews, and completing applicant assessments. Click here to read more about do good’s hiring search services.

Professional Development & Coaching: Developing outstanding leaders and teams promotes higher levels of success at your organization. Using trust-building and communication enhancement techniques, conflict resolution methods, staff development ideas, networking, and organizational tools, do good helps individuals identify and achieve career goals while ensuring organizations thrive during transition periods and grow team productivity. Read more about do good’s professional development services here.

Constituent Data Analysis: If you have hundreds or thousands of donor or volunteer records, but you’re not sure what the information means or how to use it, do good Consulting can help. Through analysis of donor information and recordkeeping strategies we can help your organization rank donors for easier cultivation, identify the contacts most interested in your mission, identify hidden prospects among your lists, eliminate duplicate records, streamline data input/output, and improve overall data integrity. Using training and education, do good will work with your staff to ensure you are maximizing your software capabilities and usage. Read more about do good's donor data analysis services here.

Contact do good Consulting today to find out how we can put our training- and education-based approach to work for your non-profit organization. Whether you need help raising money, restructuring for the future, hiring new staff, or planning a marketing campaign, we can help. We look forward to hearing from you!

Champaign County CASA

by Laura Huth, President, do good Consulting

Imagine losing your parents because they can't – or won't – take care of you. Now, into your life come dozens of strangers: police, foster parents, social workers, judges, lawyers, and more.

Founded in January 1994 at the urging of Circuit Court Judge John DeLaMar, the Champaign County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program trains and supervises community volunteers to serve as appointed advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Court System. Each year, almost 700 children, most under the age of seven, are served by over 100 CASA volunteers who provide an extra set of eyes and ears for the court and child welfare agencies. After gathering information, CASA volunteers provide a report to the court that speaks to what is in the child's best interest. No other agency provides community volunteers to serve as child advocates in juvenile court proceedings.

CASA volunteers ensure children don't get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in an inappropriate group or foster home. They are actively involved in their assigned cases, adopting roles that include not only advocacy, but also frequent contact with the children and caregivers, and coordination and involvement with involved parties, including schools, law enforcement, psychologists, foster and biological parents, caseworkers, counselors, case managers and the State's Attorney's office.

Advocates, who are generally assigned only one case at a time, remain with their appointed children until their case is closed. For many children, CASA means the difference between homelessness and a safe home, between dropping out and completing school, between unemployment and success, between jail and becoming a productive member of society.

Every new child abuse petition in the Champaign County juvenile court is automatically referred to the Champaign County CASA program creating a deep need for committed volunteers. And because CASA works with children, there are no fees for services and donations are always welcome.

CASA recently broadened their advocacy to include the use of therapy dogs to work with traumatized children. Therapy dogs can be extremely valuable in cases involving children afraid to talk to people, but who feel comforted and empowered by the presence of a large, gentle dog.

For more information on supporting or volunteering for Champaign County CASA, see www.chcocasa.org