Why Should Your Nonprofit Hire a Consultant?
If you have ever served as a nonprofit or organizational leader, you’ve likely faced many recurring time and capacity challenges. Often, teams do not have the means to 1) build technical skills in-house and comprehensively address skill gaps, and 2) complete pending projects and work beyond high-priority/emergency tasks. This can lead to missed connections and opportunities, especially when organizations fail to take the time to step back and reflect on their progress, exchange ideas, incorporate lessons learned, and map out their strategic goals and objectives.
Many organizations have successfully collaborated with specialized consultants to bridge organizational gaps, identify and connect with resources, and enhance the organization’s capacity to achieve its mission.
Even if you have heard positive stories, you might still have reservations about hiring a consultant or an ‘outsider’ to support your work. This blog post covers why an extra hand from outside the organization may be your best move to increase your organization’s sustainability and effectiveness.
1. Consultants Offer a Fresh Perspective
Consultants bring a fresh set of eyes. They can identify opportunities and challenges your team may not see, offering insights that come from both experience and objectivity. For example, one nonprofit we supported in Cambodia was applying to the same small pool of funders for years without much success. We realized that they had not conducted any external research activities to see if these funders were still interested in their work and to broaden their network. After adjusting their approach, they secured new partnerships that had not previously heard about their work. Sometimes, what you need most is someone who can help you “zoom out” and see the bigger picture as opposed to continuing the same activities you were doing in the past.
2. A Consultant Can Offer Specialized Expertise
Nonprofit leaders wear many hats, but most organizations cannot afford to keep every skill in-house. Maybe you have a fantastic program manager, but no one with strong grant writing experience. Or maybe you know your social media presence needs help, but no one on your staff has communications training.
Consultants fill these gaps. They bring specialized skills — in areas like grant writing, monitoring and evaluation, communications, or web development — to accelerate projects that might otherwise stall. Instead of taking months (or years) to train a staff member in a new skill, a consultant can step in, deliver results quickly, and often train your team along the way.
3. Consultants are Cost-Effective
Hiring a consultant may initially sound expensive. But when you compare the cost of a full-time hire (salary, benefits, and training) with a consultant’s short-term contract, the difference is clear. With consultants, you pay only for what you need — whether it’s a set number of hours each week or for a discreet number of hours geared toward accomplishing a specific project.
4. Consultants Are Also Time-Savers
In addition to savings on costs, consultants can also save your team members’ time. With a consultant, staff can focus on what they do best — running programs and supporting communities — while the consultants take on specialized or time-consuming tasks.
At Collab with Kat, we often receive feedback on how our services have enabled our clients to tackle projects that have been on the back burner for months. After recently wrapping up a project developing a client’s fundraising database and drive, they shared that our efforts saved them three months of work and enabled them to focus on program planning and curriculum projects that they otherwise would not have had time to complete.
5. Provide Access to Networks and Partners
In addition to skills, consultants often bring something equally valuable: connections. Experienced consultants will have built relationships with a diverse pool of donors, peer organizations, and sector leaders.
For example, a consultant might have the resources to introduce you to a foundation program officer, recommend you for a corporate partnership, or connect you with another nonprofit facing similar challenges. These networks can help you grow credibility and visibility far faster than going it alone.
Partnerships and networks are built on trust — and consultants can often be the bridge that makes new and lasting partnerships possible.
6. Consultants Offer Capacity Building for the Long-Term
Good consultants don’t just “do the work and leave.” They empower your team to carry on the work themselves. At Collab with Kat, we often combine our services with training sessions, so staff can continue utilizing the tools and implementing the strategies we put in place.
For instance, after building a website for one of our clients, we ran a series of workshops on how to maintain and continue adding to it. Months later, their team was managing their site independently and even training new staff. That’s capacity building in action — ensuring your nonprofit is stronger long after the consultant’s contract ends.
7. Accountability and Structure
Nonprofits are and will continue to be extraordinarily busy places. Emergencies pop up, and long-term plans often get pushed aside. Consultants can provide your organization with systems and processes to increase accountability and structure that can be modeled across all departments. They typically set timelines, establish deliverables, and help you stay on track.
8. Consultants Are Prepared to Adapt
Consultants work alongside diverse teams and tackle different challenges depending on the client and project. As a result, consultants are extremely adaptable. They can scale their support up or down depending on your needs. Whether you’re launching a major campaign or responding to an unexpected crisis, a consultant can help you navigate challenges without overwhelming your staff.
Final Thoughts on the Benefit of Hiring a Consultant
In these difficult times, nonprofits must work smarter and not harder. At Collab with Kat, we believe in walking alongside nonprofits, helping them build systems, skills, and confidence that will last long after our work is done.
If you’re curious about how our services will help your organization, we’d love to hear from you.
📩 Reach out today to explore how tailored consulting can help your nonprofit grow with confidence.
Sources For Further Reading
- We recommend checking out Forbes Nonprofit Council’s article “ 20 Reasons Why Nonprofits Should Hire Consultants” which offers insights into how outside advisory can bring technical skills, fresh perspectives, and strategic improvements when internal capacity is limited
- AAW Partnership’s article “7 Benefits of Hiring a Fundraising Consultancy”, is a great read about how nonprofits can tap into specialist skills—such as donor engagement and strategy development—when internal capacity is constrained.
- We also suggest reading CANSULTA’s article “5 Reasons Why Your Non-Profit Needs a Consultant”, which highlights how consultants can close internal gaps in skills, bandwidth, and strategy.