Community Consulting Program (CCP) Leadership

A CCP Core Team consisting of a program manager and four MNODN members provides leadership for this program.  They network to identify potential nonprofit clients, review and screen applications, and match MNODN consultants to client projects based on expertise and interests.

If you have questions on whether your project would be a good fit for the MNODN CCP, please feel free to email Monica Dornbach Munson, CCP Manager, at ccp@mnodn.org with questions. We are happy to serve you!

And we always appreciate referrals for potential organizations!

Project Length

CCP consulting teams typically collaborate with a client to complete an approved project within 3 to 4 months.

After a successful 3- to 4-month project, the Core Team could determine that a more intensive engagement with the client is needed and appropriate, and a resulting project could last up to 12 months.  These clients are typically larger nonprofits that are able to pay low-bono rates, seek more transformational work, and meet our selection criteria. In these cases, multiple teams might address a variety of interrelated issues to produce holistic changes.

Typical Client Projects

Depending on client needs, a CCP project may include one or more of the following elements:

• Leadership

• Organization structure and culture

• Strategy, goals, planning, values, vision, mission

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

• Interpersonal/team conflict

• Board development; team development 

• Learning and development

• Organizational processes and systems

• Performance measures and rewards

• Organizational change

• Performance management

Please note: CCP does not offer consultation in the areas of fundraising, marketing, financial systems, legal needs, or technology. 

CCP projects always result in organizational change, beginning with the definition of issues and leading to recommendations for future action. 

How Services Are Provided

MNODN launches projects in two or three cycles each year.

Potential clients submit a MNODN CCP Client Application and participate in two rounds of screening before becoming an official client.

Project Teams are composed of an OD project lead with 10 to 20 years of experience and two to three consultants with varying backgrounds who are passionate about helping nonprofit clients and interested in broadening their experience.

A CCP Consulting Team is then formed based on consultant experience with and interest in a client’s objectives and needs.

Client Selection Criteria for Work

1. Worthiness of the Organization – We seek to work with public benefit nonprofits doing high-impact work that our consultants are eager to support. Our consultants volunteer for projects that are compelling and capture their passion for serving others. Organizations that have significant impact, where we feel our efforts can multiply that value, are highly motivating.  

Please note that you must be a nonprofit organization operating within Minnesota as shown by the most recent IRS 990 on Guidestar.org.

2. Appropriate OD Project Focus – We engage in projects that fall within the realm of organization development and do not accept projects that require marketing, finance, legal, or technology expertise. Think of CCP Consultants as facilitators of and coaches to a  collaborative process with our clients. 

Also, the requested project or a potential project needs to be “doable” within the project’s  3 - 4 month duration.

1. Organizational Stability – We typically work with nonprofits that have been in existence for some time (not new start-ups). We are not experts in launching or sunsetting nonprofits. We help stable organizations with OD challenges and position them for success.

2. Organization size/resources – The organization has size and scale to warrant, absorb, and support the OD work that is planned. Smaller nonprofits must be willing to make a financial investment of $200 for pro-bono consultant work.  Larger nonprofits are charged a low-bono rate.  These fees ensure that MNODN can sustain this work into the future.

3. Leadership support/trust – The organization’s senior leaders see the need for and value of OD and there is an evolving, trusting relationship between the organization and CCP (as is discovered during the initial short-term contract); we are plugged-in, connected, working in partnership with the most senior leaders in the organization. (Real organizational change must be driven from the top-down.) It seems highly likely that the work will be successful and carried out.

4. Geographic accessibility – During Covid we flexed to work virtually which makes it possible to consult anywhere. Our preference is to work with clients in the greater Twin Cities area, which enables in-person meetings as well. We will prioritize local nonprofits when we need to consider capacity.

Client Application

The CCP is accepting client applications.  Please complete the MNODN CCP Client Application form. 

If you have questions on whether your project would be a good fit for the MNODN CCP, please feel free to email Monica Dornbach Munson, CCP Manager, ccp@mnodn.org, with questions. We are happy to discuss your needs!

Examples of Recent Project Work…

• A Minneapolis, faith-based community nonprofit

• Challenge: Replacement of a long tenured Executive Director, retention of top talent, and sustaining the existing, positive organizational culture

• A Minnesota-based entertainment trade association

• Challenge: Development and alignment of the existing Board of Directors’ work focus with the Executive Director team business plan

• A Minnesota-based national partnership of federal and state agencies focused on conservation planning & implementation 

• Challenge: Leadership & position development of an existing operations and marketing team

What Clients Have Said About CCP…

“The partnership with the CCP team provided us the opportunity to do organization development that would not have been done otherwise.”-- Minneapolis faith-based nonprofit

“The Lessons Learned meeting at the close of the project provided the opportunity for shared observations, reflections and suggestions.”-- Board project lead, Minneapolis faith-based nonprofit

“CCP helped us tremendously! Our Board and executive staff were at a stand-still regarding how to determine next steps for Board development - to be more hands-on or more strategic based on the current strategic plan in place. They had the expertise to help us navigate and resolve differences of opinion using development tools and resources that we wouldn’t have had access to or the time and inclination to do on our own. I’d recommend their program to any nonprofit looking for outside consulting help!”-- Board vice president, Minnesota-based Entertainment Trade Association

“The CCP team from those that interviewed us to learn of our challenges and set up an agreement to the Consultant lead and team did a great job! Although our project’s objectives changed somewhat, they helped us get to what was truly needed – determining next steps to Board development – Board member, Minnesota-based Entertainment Trade Association

“The CCP team really helped us to reframe thoughts, reminding us that you can always pivot, and asked great questions to help guide the work that we were doing. This helped us to think in different directions so we could define our objectives success & progress. They took the time to work with our broader staff conducting interviews resulting in feedback and questions for future consideration, really set us up for the next steps of delivering the plan.”-- Executive Director MN-based national partnership focused on conservation

*Community Consulting Program (CCP) provides pro-bono organization development (OD) consulting services to nonprofit organizations in Minnesota who cannot afford these professional services. The program empowers Minnesota Organization Development Network (MNODN) members to give back to the community and broaden their experience in new areas.