Ron Gifford, Dunleavy & Associates
Ron Gifford is a Managing Director at Dunleavy & Associates. Ron has served nonprofit organizations in Indiana and elsewhere in varied capacities for more than 30 years: as a practicing lawyer, as chief executive for several initiatives, as a member of numerous boards, and as a consultant and strategic partner.
Early in my tenure as CEO of Jump IN for Healthy Kids, my colleagues gave me a lovely gift: a handcrafted nameplate for my desk. On the front were the usual items: my name, title, logo. But on the back, though, where only I could see it, they put this inscription: “Don’t screw this up!!”
I laughed out loud the first time I saw the inscription. Yep, best advice ever! But even though it was offered in a humorous vein, I certainly felt the more serious sentiment behind it. We had a great board, significant funding, wide community support, and a critical mission to accomplish. Given those resources, we felt a lot of pressure to deliver and demonstrate results. In other words, to not screw it up.
Sound familiar? The back of that nameplate could easily sit on the desk of most nonprofit leaders, right? For many, this feeling reflects their internalized sense of commitment and obligation to the mission and to their constituents. And sometimes, the message gets delivered to us more directly, from board members, staff, donors and funders, and the community at large.
So, what does this have to do with the consulting work we do at Dunleavy & Associates? For starters, we understand those pressures in ways that inform everything that we do. See, in our prior roles, my colleagues and I have sat behind the desk, looking at that proverbial inscription, as nonprofit CEOs, board chairs, development directors, and interim EDs. We don’t have to borrow your watch to tell you what time it is, so to speak, because we’ve already worn the watch.
And then we use those decades of practical experience to walk side-by-side with our clients, to understand their particular needs and goals, and then to collaborate fully with them to achieve their desired results. In this regard, we think cookie cutter approaches should really be limited to, well, cookies, and nothing more. This philosophy is the “Dunleavy Difference” that the firm and its founder, Nancy Dunleavy, have practiced for almost 25 years.
We have deep experience in those specific areas where nonprofits often have needs: board governance, strategic planning, executive search, interim leadership, fundraising and development. Our team members hold certifications from BoardSource, the Association of Nonprofit Organizations (as well as the Pennsylvania-specific organization), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
But at the end of the day, I believe that the thing we do best is the thing that adds the most value: we help our clients figure stuff out. As uber consultant Joan Garry reminds us, “nonprofits are messy.” And messy doesn’t always fit within a neat little box. Sometimes, you don’t need another plan; sometimes you just need someone who can roll up their sleeves with you and help you figure out how to do the stuff that you need to get done.
Our mission at Dunleavy is to help you achieve your mission. However that manifests itself for you, we’d love to help you figure it out! And we promise you one thing: we’ll do our best to make sure none of us screws it up!