Consulting
CCP offers an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to build capacity in areas such as board development, strategic planning, organizational change, communication and team building by working together with our volunteer consultants.
“CCP helped us make space for some really important conversations that kept getting pushed to the back burner…those cultural, relationship pieces that don’t have deadlines or funding deliverables attached to them. Through our work with CCP, pieces of our mission came to life, and I am happy to report that everyone on the board is more engaged and committed than they have ever been!”
--- Ashley Miller, The Service Board ED
How it works
CCP acts as a capacity-building matchmaker: we match nonprofit client organizations in need of capacity building together with CCP consulting teams to work together on a specific project.
Each project is unique and designed to meet the client organization where they are. Examples of past projects include:
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Team development projects: often we work with organizations to help them strengthen relationships and work together as a strong team.
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Visioning and planning projects: many projects have helped organizations envision where they want to take their organization next, and what it will take to get there.
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Navigating change: change is a constant in the nonprofit sector; we help organizations navigate changes and transitions in staffing, governance, and programming.
CCP consulting teams do not provide ready-made solutions or technical expertise in areas of financial management, fundraising, or marketing.
A collaborative approach
CCP uses a collaborative consulting approach, which starts with strong relationships between consultants and organizational leaders, as we believe that a partnership offers the most effective leverage for change.
Client and consultant work together to share the knowledge and perspective each brings, respecting the wisdom and experience in the client system while offering outside perspective and expertise from a CCP practitioner with years of real world client experience.
Our focus is on helping clients develop their own plan with creative solutions that best leverage their strengths and available resources.
Your consulting team
CCP is able to provide these services free of charge (aside from a small program fee) by leveraging volunteer resources and talent from our community. We are an all-volunteer effort, fueled by a spirit of generosity.
Our consulting team could be:
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Practitioner Engagement: An experienced CCP practitioner paired with one or two 'learners' from our volunteer consultant community
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Team Engagement: A team of volunteer professionals supported by an experienced CCP practitioner as coach/mentor
Get started today
Our process is simple and starts with a short application by clicking on the “Apply Now” button below.
Once you apply...
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We connect with you for a brief interview, learning more about the situation to determine if our services would be a good fit.
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If we are a good fit for each other, we then have a second meeting to include client leaders (typically the Executive Director and Board President) to discuss a possible scope of work.
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We then identify a team from among our volunteers with the appropriate experience and availability to meet your needs.
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Once the consulting team is formed, they engage you in assessing needs and jointly develop a scope of work and timeframe. Projects typically span 3-6 months.
Apply for our consulting services today!
2024 UPDATE: We are not currently accepting new consulting project applications at this time. We have a new pilot project with the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development, collaborating with them to support their nonprofit Business District Organizations.
We work with organizations based in Washington State from across the nonprofit sector – from arts to education, community engagement to cultural advocacy, healthcare to housing services. Our priority is to serve organizations that would not otherwise have the means to hire consults; those organizations often have small and nimble staff teams, small operating budgets, all-volunteer staff, and limited unrestricted funds. We do not work with for-profit private companies or 'solo-preneurs' (one-person organizations). We also prioritize organizations in rural areas, and organizations serving under-privileged communities.