Use of Consultants by U.S. Foundations: Results of a Foundation Center Survey

This article presents the results of a survey launched in January 2014 by Foundation Center, in collaboration with the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, examining use of consultants by community, corporate, and independent foundations whose annual giving totals at least $100,000. The s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Foundation Review 2015-01, Vol.7 (1), p.6
Main Authors: McGill, Lawrence T, Henry-Sanchez, Brenda L, Reibstein, Sarah, Wolcheck, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collaboration
Consultants
Consultants (Persons)
Foundations
Foundations (Endowments)
Information management
Management
Open Access
Philanthropy
Polls & surveys
Response rates
Surveys
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Summary:This article presents the results of a survey launched in January 2014 by Foundation Center, in collaboration with the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, examining use of consultants by community, corporate, and independent foundations whose annual giving totals at least $100,000. The survey asked funders to report whether they used consultants in the past two years and, if so, how frequently and for what purposes; they were also asked to report their level of satisfaction with consultants’ work. Funders that did not engage consultants in the last two years were asked why not. The survey also sought open-ended responses about working with consultants. The survey found widespread use of consultants among foundations. While the results of this study tend to emphasize the benefits – taking advantage of external expertise, allowing staff to stay focused on what they do best, bringing fresh or neutral perspectives to the work – respondents were also clear that working with consultants has its challenges.
ISSN:1944-5660
1944-5679
1944-5660
DOI:10.9707/1944-5660.1231