Nonprofits are Messy, So We Get Our Hands Dirty

“How should I list your title?” he asked. Oh man, what a question.

I have wrestled a lot with this one. My title? I’m technically City of Light’s founder but also the lead consultant. I work on strategic planning, coaching executives, designing board training, re-working processes, developing rubrics, and occasionally designing websites or writing grants. Where your typical consultant gathers some facts and makes recommendations, I can often be found elbows deep in organizational development. And that makes City of Light an oddball in the consulting world.

Peter Block’s book “Flawless Consulting” states that consultants are called upon for their expertise, perspective, and wisdom. The consulting bible is firm on this: Consultants do not get their hands dirty.

I’ll be honest. The idea of someone approaching me like a guru at the top of a mountain was heady! I’ve got the credentials to back up the consultant model, but that idea doesn’t work in the world of small nonprofits. And while it’s a model that has existed for decades, I’m just not sure it’s how adults best learn. 

While studying the science of skill building, one model rose above the rest: “I do, you watch; we do together; you do, I watch.” In this model, the person with knowledge gets the chance to model a skill and then help the learner try twice in a safe environment. The alternative, pure-consulting model would be, “You attempt; I shout instructions from across the room; You attempt again; I criticize.” This is a recipe for disaster.

We decided early that the stakes were high - that our clients were working on socially important causes. Their failure could mean the failure of things that mattered: kids’ reading, human trafficking victims escaping, and animals not becoming extinct. 

So, we designed this new model, which Peter Block and his colleagues may not approve. We believe that the best way to support a nonprofit is to surround it with services to help it communicate, plan, and lead itself better. Providing expertise can only help with some of that. So, we also provide access to skilled team members who can create assets for young nonprofits: we write grants, design logos, develop websites, and then train the team to use what they’ve made. 

What we do differently is the critical piece of the puzzle: We build the bicycle with training wheels so you can ride it. Then we teach you how. Then, we take off the training wheels. The typical consultant would never pick up a wrench, but that’s not our style.