BUILDING MOMENTUM FOR NONPROFITS
Helping people and organizations create more equitable and healthy communities
That is what we do at SMC, helping clients meet today’s challenges while planning for the future.
With hands-on experience in the nonprofit sector, and decades of consulting success, SMC helps nonprofits create integrated, practical strategies that build strong, sustainable organizations.
Through strategic planning, fundraising and campaign management, training and coaching, we help staff and volunteer leaders think about mission, tactics, and goals. We partner with your team, rolling up our sleeves to get the work done!
With an estimated $90 trillion in wealth changing hands in the next 20 years, nonprofits need smart, winning fundraising strategies now.
SMC HELPS NONPROFITS HELP THEMSELVES
Every SMC consultant is a seasoned pro with bona fide nonprofit and business building experience.
Our low-overhead model offers expert service for less than what other firms charge.
Each SMC team is customized to offer the right combination of experienced professionals for your project.
We have an outstanding track record. 100% of our business comes from renewing clients and personal referrals.
We blend strategy, capacity building and fundraising, eliminating the need for multiple consultants.
MISSION
SMC empowers clients, teaching new skills and building confidence.
As Americans witness daily, wealth, health and education inequities have skyrocketed in the last decade. The nonprofit sector is essential to help communities often left behind.
SMC offers clients sound counsel as they navigate important organizational growth and change. We partner with community, educational, and cultural nonprofits to build the experienced and talented executive leadership needed to excel at their missions.
SMC has more than 30 years experience in providing a range of strategic planning and fundraising services to those who create and operate important nonprofit community and cultural resources.
GOOD WORK
"Siobhan is a trusted friend who always answers my call – whether I need fundraising advice, organizational strategy or support working with my Board.”
- Peter Twyman, Executive Director,
Yamba Malawi, Former ED, Keep a Child Alive
I've been a part of Siobhan's weekly meeting of fundraising professionals. She initiated this group to help us work through the COVID-19 pandemic together. Thanks so much, Siobhan! Once again, our Wednesday call provided me with the type of thought-partnership that has proven invaluable during this pandemic.
- Mikaela Levons, Chief of Development, Equal Justice USA
Siobhan McDermott is a brilliant development professional. Working with her has been delightful and rewarding.
- Elsa Longhauser, Executive Director, Institute for Contemporary Art,
Los Angeles
From our first meeting, Siobhan quickly grasped the ethos of DCTV, our assets and deficits. Nothing was too daunting. At every step of our campaign, she knew how to steer our project toward success. She also had, at-the-ready, a stable of experienced consultants who specialize in finance, strategy, board development, and fundraising.
- Catherine Martinez, Former ED & CFO, Current CFO, DCTV
"Siobhan is one of the outstanding people with whom I have worked with in my fundraising career."
- Al Milano, Executive Vice President,
AT&T Performing Arts Center
Siobhan McDermott is a consummate pro who really understands philanthropy. The added bonus is that she is delightful, warm and fun. We always look forward to working with her.
- Jock Mitchell, Board of Directors,
Buffalo Prep & Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
As a consultant, her energetic but thoughtful advice helps clarify essential next steps. It’s a pleasure to work with her and learn from her marketing skills and people savvy.
- Michele Mosko, Senior Associate Director of Development,
National Jewish Health
Siobhan is an energetic, thoughtful professional, who helped Jazz House Kids' leadership consider how best to plan for its future growth and sustainability. I learn something new whenever we meet!
- Margarethe Laurenzi, Director of Leadership Grantmaking and Engagement at Community Foundation of New Jersey
SERVICES
Fundraising Feasibility Study
Feasibility Studies can jump start a capital campaign, recharge a lackluster annual fund, evaluate a donor program, or test the waters for an endowment or planned giving campaign.
We involve volunteer leaders early. Experience demonstrates that teams engaged from the beginning are the most effective.
Financial Analysis
Solid financial planning and documentation create a credible statement of need. SMC consultants work with the leadership and staff to review historical trends and develop achievable long-range goals, all based on sound fiscal projections.
We develop an “all-in” budget plan that allows you to see not only your operational needs but how an endowment or capital program can affect your bottom line.
Organizational Assessment
All nonprofits need human and financial resources to bring their mission to life. Often, however, an organization might not be working as effectively as possible. Do our special events raise enough money to justify how much staff time they take? Are we keeping our best donors engaged? Do our Board members feel connected and motivated to work and give?
An Organizational Assessment closely evaluates your organization's infrastructure and operations to ensure you're working at your best potential.
Strategic Planning
New programs or staff expansion, capital investment, and endowment building are all connected when creating a long-range plan.
SMC uses interactive and creative working sessions to engage all your stakeholders, learning about your successes, challenges and marketplace, analyzing budgets and programs, and fundraising strategies.
We arrive together at a realistic series of goals, action plans and timetables that keep your organization moving to the next level.
Development & Campaign Management
As volunteers and staff begin to implement new development programs or execute a campaign, SMC provides ongoing guidance and a helping hand.
Our consulting programs are designed to meet your objectives and budgets. They can range from minimal oversight when a strong development staff is in place to extensive campaign leadership while staff is recruited and brought up to speed.
Building Consensus & Shared Vision
Roadblocks are everywhere! SMC can assist your organization in recognizing challenges and guide you through a process that enables you to emerge with a shared vision and strategy that unites volunteers and staff.
Additional Services
The SMC team has extensive experience in many areas of nonprofit fund raising and management. Other services provided include:
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Building and training boards
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Facilitating meetings and conferences
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Copy writing and design
Let SMC help!
The "to do" list can feel overwhelming! SMC consultants provide a fresh perspective and professional framework to help your organization get started, or get your organization moving again.
QUESTIONS
How does SMC partner with my organization?
SMC consultants are facilitators, motivators, recruiters or "pitch in and help" team players. Often the board and/or staff of an organization have identified where they want to be but aren't quite sure how to get there. We can help to focus your discussions and arrive at an achievable plan. We can help you recruit the people you need, both staff and volunteers, and train team members to be confidant advocates and fundraisers. And, as the situation requires, we can offer an extra pair of experienced hands to get the job done.
How can I justify the cost of a consultant when we’re trying to raise money?
A fresh perspective helps to unite and motivate your team of volunteers and professionals to achieve your goals. The objectivity of a consultant brings clarity and focus to your fundraising efforts, builds consensus and energizes your volunteers to be successful fundraisers.
Can SMC consultants make a solicitation to my major donor prospect?
A volunteer makes the best solicitor because they have a credible relationship to the nonprofit. With proper preparation and strategic thinking, we help you make the strongest solicitation possible.
We need money now. How can we start raising money today?
Fundraising for any organization is a two-pronged effort: raising enough money for today so that there is a tomorrow! SMC can immediately review your current approach to maximize your effectiveness. Simultaneously, we can identify what initiatives to undertake to grow your organization.
With whom will we be working?
In many big firms, you only see your senior consultant at periodic meetings, working primarily with associates or junior consultants. Because SMC is a small firm, you will always be working with a principal.
THE TEAM
Siobhan McDermott launched Strategic Management Consulting in 1998 after serving as a consultant and campaign manager for a national consulting firm and serving on the professional development staff of several of New York’s premier cultural institutions including The Public Theater, City Center, and the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Siobhan has worked on the capital campaign teams for performing arts centers in New Jersey, Montauk, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Mt. Crested Butte, Greenville (SC) and Charleston (WV).
She has collaborated with experienced colleagues for more than 25 years in her effort to create an appropriate and responsive team for each of her clients. Siobhan is known for her ability to foster consensus in the early stages of strategic and fundraising planning, putting the building blocks for successful organizational growth in place from the start. She also brings knowledge of how to raise funds in smaller communities, having worked across the US in a range of demographics and locations.
Siobhan has an extensive background in strategic and campaign planning, fundraising, executive search and economic impact studies for nonprofits. Recent projects include EverGreen Meadow Academy, a NY State residential and academic center for girls at risk of self-harm (Hudson Valley NY), the Westminster Economic Development Initiative's West Side Bazaar (WEDI), an organization dedicated to entrepreneurial and educational opportunities for immigrants and refugees, Buffalo Prep, an educational program for young people often left behind by traditional educational systems (Buffalo, NY); Institute for Contemporary Art (LA); The Writing Revolution (NYC); Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey, Montclair Film (Montclair, NJ); KIPP Charter Schools, People’s Prep and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Newark, NJ); and Princeton AlumniCorps (Princeton, NJ). Others include DCTV and Row New York (NYC) and Theatrical Outfit and Weinstein Hospice (Atlanta, GA).
Meghan Wood joins SMC with more than a decade of experience in nonprofit fundraising, with special expertise in major gift solicitation and individual giving. She has excelled in numerous Director of Development roles for nonprofits of all sizes and has unique experience working with international and healthcare related organizations.
She began her career as a part-time Development Associate at the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, a role that she credits with teaching her the ins and outs of fundraising. After a few short years, Meghan was promoted to Director of Development and helped to grow the organization's budget sixfold to more than $6M.
A career highlight, Meghan led US based fundraising for a one-of-a-kind orthopedic hospital in West Africa and has traveled the world cultivating relationships, managing fundraising events of all sizes, and building mission driven philanthropy. There is nothing more rewarding to her than connecting a vital mission with someone who can make a sustainable impact.
Meghan's professional work now focuses on small sized nonprofits with budgets of less than $3M per year. She strategically crafts fundraising plans, advises on the diversification of revenue sources, and works with staff and boards to bolster fundraising efforts.
Meghan is a graduate of Loyola University of Maryland where she earned a full athletic scholarship to play Division 1 basketball. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration as well as a Masters Degree of Education. After discovering her love for the nonprofit sector, Meghan went on to receive a Masters Degree in Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from Pace University.
Meghan currently resides in New York City. Outside of work, Meghan enjoys spending time with her wife, Denise, and their two children, Lia and Thomas. Her dog, Charlie, also demands much of her attention. Connect with Meghan on LinkedIn.
Melissa Berman (Writer) is an award-winning (Clio, Emmy, Addy and more) copywriter and brand consultant with experience in the arts, advertising, film and humanitarian causes. She creates ideas and stories that connect people to brands in meaningful ways. From developing inspirational case statements, to guiding rebranding projects to writing short-form messaging, Melissa’s copy and narratives are smart, approachable, and effective. Her keen ability to translate mission and vision into powerful communication pieces has served SMC clients over numerous projects.
A tireless volunteer in her community, Melissa has passionately led cause-related efforts that recruited and deployed hundreds of volunteers and supplies to support and rebuild communities following California’s most recent wildfires, Superstorm Sandy on Long Island’s East End, and Haiti’s hurricanes. Campaigns and organizations for which Melissa has worked include East Hampton Film Festival, Partnership for the Homeless, Yosemite’s Lost Valley, among others. You can find Melissa on LinkedIn.
Svenja Greenwood (Graphic Designer) is the founder and principal of Buro Svenja, an award-winning, full-service graphic communications studio based in the NY Metro area. Specializing in everything from branding over editorial design to integrated campaigns—both online and offline—Buro Svenja offers a comprehensive range of creative solutions.
Her diverse clientele includes global and national organizations such as Atlantic Track, BCAT, Climate Lead, Friends of the High Line, Lobster Place, New Haven Reads, Squash Haven, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Springpoint Schools, The Walther Collection, The World Bank, UNICEF, WEDI, and the World Health Organization.
Svenja has collaborated with SMC to consistently deliver exceptional communication materials for our clients such as visual identity systems and case-for-support materials—including design, photography, graphics, and printing. Her work stands out for its thoughtful precision, earning her a place as SMC’s preferred designer. Thanks to our ongoing collaborations, we’ve developed an efficient working relationship that allows us to deliver high-quality results while maximizing time- and cost-savings for our clients. You can find Svenja on LinkedIn.
Peter Clarke created Harbor Services, a specialty project and management consulting firm, and is a long-time collaborator with Strategic Management Consulting. As Project Manager of major nonprofit development efforts, Peter works closely with clients to define and implement the capital construction side of projects. Peter’s impact extends beyond construction-based concerns. Given his keen understanding of consensus building and communications skills, he is a key member of the team for cultivation and fundraising activities. Recent projects include The River Fund NY (Queens, NY), the Children’s Museum of New Jersey (Newark, NJ), the New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NJ), and TEAM Academy Charter Schools (Newark, NJ). He is a trustee of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain and a long-time officer, director and grants committee chairman for a local branch of a national historical society. Peter lives in New Jersey.
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