Our Services

Cornerstone Consultants provides technical expertise in:

Board Development
Build capacity for governance using evaluation tools and customized training

• Prepared plan for increasing governance capacity of an urban arts organization
• Conducted Board Training for International Education Technology NGO affiliated with the UN
• Supported Boards and Cooperatives in the formation of Bylaws and in the revision of Bylaws
• Supported organizations faced with succession changes and personnel challenge

• Wrote the reorganization plan to support successful restructuring through the bankruptcy courts of a nonprofit that develops and sells American made crafts
• Wrote a land acquisition plan for a Northwest Tribe
• Prepared an urban arts organization to develop, brand and market a line of locally made products
• Developed business planning and cash flow templates for low income microenterprise entrepreneurs
• Developed templates for feasibility studies used to determine the merits of new business ventures
• Assisted a Mid-Atlantic community in determining the feasibility of launching a large year round Public Market

• Prepared analyses and business plans for retail venues for 8 community cultural centers in Chicago
• Prepared business plans for various urban and rural arts organizations
• Designed a framework for sharing marketing and fundraising services among three youth arts entrepreneurship organizations in Upper Manhattan
• Wrote a business plan for a tribal bison project that combines income generating projects with prairie restoration and tribal education
• Wrote and tested two publications, Museum Shop Workbook and The Earned Revenue Handbook, working with the African American and Latino Art Museum Working Group (to learn more purchase these books, go to our products section)
• Developed advertising and marketing policies to help KZ youth generate revenue needed to support a narrowcasting service in their town
• Developed half price and bundled ticketing products to promote cultural organizations in their audience development efforts
• Participated in testing of collaborative market research services by a statewide microenterprise service organization

Community-Based
Design and implement evaluations that measure the impact of organizations and their programs on their stakeholders, particularly the communities that they serve.

• Conducted a one-year evaluation of a community foundation’s rural initiative
• Evaluated the impact of a federally-funded, distance learning program that delivers financial education
• Assessed the impact of philanthropy seminars and offered recommendations for improvements
• Developed and assisted in the implementation of a self-monitoring protocol for organizations in a community-based forestry initiative

Cluster
Evaluate the impact of funder strategy in the context of a specific pool of grantees

• Evaluated, over an 18-month period, 13 access to business capital grantees for a major regional foundation
• Evaluated a multi-year initiative for a community foundation
• Evaluated a multi-year initiative for a federally funded sustainable forestry organization
• Conducted a three-year external assessment of a three-year Native American economic development program
• Developed grant making protocols for a statewide humanities council
• Fostered development of multi-state grantmaking programs for arts and humanities programs

Funder projects
Research organizational capacity and community need in relationship to specific proposals that funders are considering.

• Evaluated the needs and opportunities in rural Pennsylvania for a foundation and presented a strategy for their investment in community economic development
• Assessed the role that arts and culture play in community development for an international foundation
• Working with country staff, developed an organizational capacity building program in the South Caucasus

Marketing
Provide support to organizations that are developing and implementing branding and marketing plans

• Wrote Branding and Marketing Toolkit: For Community-Based Businesses and Products
• Conducted workshops with community-based business people and loan organizations
• Directed development of a statewide branding campaign to promote several hundred art organizations and institutions
• Developed RFP for an institutional branding project, played a role in selecting a contractor, and led efforts to implement the subsequent campaign
• Helped launch new organizations and campaigns through collaborative marketing initiatives that involved deployment of special trademarks, slogans, advertisements, earned media coverage and marketing displays

• Worked with an international organization to design and facilitate a series of staff learning meetings to build confidence and skills during a time of transition
• Developed staff training tools to introduce new program initiatives

Organizational Assessment and Development
Prepare organizational assessments, change management and restructuring strategies and meeting facilitation for Board, staff and funders of nonprofit and cultural institutions

• Prepared an organizational assessment of a Native American organization and its capacity to implement a major program (this was provided to potential funders)    

• Worked with an organization's President on fundamental change in reporting structure and conducted a confidential assessment of each member of senior management

Performance Management Systems
Enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness through the design and implementation of reporting and feedback systems and new performance appraisal systems

• Designed a new performance appraisal system or a 200+ employee organization, trained all levels of management in conducting reviews, and provided individual coaching

• Working with country staff, developed an organizational capacity building program in the South Caucasus
• Helped design a regional initiative to foster collaboration by rural development groups committed to supporting microenterprise entrepreneurs
• Worked with interfaith groups to design food security programs and prepare grants for funding
• Worked with organizations focusing attention on food systems’ roles in bridging urban/rural divides

• Conducted strategic planning sessions with management, staff and board members of a Native American micro-loan fund and prepared the strategic plan
• Prepared Unit Plans for several Business Units within an international pharmaceutical company
• Facilitated the strategic planning process and prepared strategic plans for a national membership organization, social services organizations, and arts organizations
• Worked with agency stakeholders to create strategies that would lead an Armenian consulting service to achieve self sufficiency through fees for services.

• Presented EPA Region III’s Green Communities website to communities in Pennsylvania and work with them to incorporate sustainability issues in their current planning efforts
• Worked with South Africa’s Department of Environment and Tourism to select demonstration communities that will incorporate sustainable community planning in their Integral Development Plans through the use of EPA’s technical assistance kits
• Developed guidebooks that will assist communities that are undertaking sustainable community planning in South Africa and in the USA

• Developed and delivered workshops on branding and marketing, Appreciative Inquiry, and various group process methods
• Developed and delivered supervisory training for hospital-based nurse managers
• Taught Human Resources and Performance Management in an MBA program designed for mid-career staff of international organizations 
• Taught graduate courses in human resources management, philanthropy and in strategic planning for a MS program in Nonprofit Management