Strategic Leadership Partnership
Regular one-on-one time with a steady, experienced partner, open-ended by design.
Nonprofit Consulting Services
Serving Vermont, New Hampshire, and the Upper Valley, with select engagements nationwide.
The shape of our work
Most of our work is project-based and time-bound, with a clear scope and a defined end. Strategic Leadership Partnership is the one exception, an ongoing relationship for leaders who want a thought partner in their corner. We specialize in Strategic Leadership Partnership, Organizational Assessment & Design, and Grant Strategy & Support, and everything we build is designed to keep working after the engagement ends. Wherever you are in that arc, you're welcome to start the conversation before you know exactly what you need.
Blue Heron Nonprofit Consulting works with nonprofit leaders at pivotal moments, when growth, transition, or complexity has outpaced the infrastructure underneath it.
Services
Our nonprofit consulting services
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Organizational Assessment
You can feel that something isn't working, but naming it is the hard part. The Organizational Assessment runs 6 to 8 weeks and ends with a written summary that tells you what to address now and what can wait.
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Organizational Design
Systems, structures, and financial planning your organization owns and keeps. Organizational Design starts from a completed Organizational Assessment. With The Blueprint, you receive the full plan and take it from there. With The Blueprint, Built Together, we build it with you and stay through adoption.
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Succession Planning
Leadership continuity for your whole organization, beyond the ED role alone. Succession Planning looks at the depth of your bench, how you're growing talent, and where institutional knowledge sits. It runs about 3 to 4 months.
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Grant Strategy & Support
Grant Strategy & Support covers three kinds of grant help: strategy and prospecting, a focused readiness assessment, and project-based writing for a defined project. If you're not sure whether your organization is grant-ready yet, start with the free grant-readiness checklist first.
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Interim Executive Director
When a leader leaves, boards need a stabilizer with full executive authority, in the seat fast. Our Interim Executive Director service places that leadership, co-led by Margot Holmes and Angela Kelley. It's the engagement where in-person presence matters most, so we keep it close to home: primarily remote, with targeted on-site support for organizations in Vermont and New Hampshire.
The starting path
How engagements start
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You reach out.
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We listen first.
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We recommend a starting point.
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You get a clear proposal.
Frequently asked questions
Is Blue Heron the right fit?
We've worked with organizations across many sectors and at different stages of their development. That said, we're likely not the right partner for ongoing grant writing on retainer, or for standalone facilitation with no systems work behind it. Facilitation shows up throughout our work, including board training and strategic planning, but as part of a broader assessment or design engagement, not as a stand-alone service. If you're not sure whether we're a good fit, reach out, we're happy to talk it through.
How many organizations does Blue Heron work with at once?
We work with a small number of organizations at a time, and we keep it that way so every engagement gets real attention.
Do I need to know which service I need before I contact you?
No. Tell us what's going on and we'll help you find the right starting point. Progress doesn't always look the way you expect, but it still gets your organization to its goal.
What if I can't afford it?
Let's talk, there may be options. Tell us what you're weighing and we'll be straightforward about what's possible.
Next steps
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what's going on and we'll help you find the right starting point. We respond within one business day.