• Organizational Development
  
  • Board Focus Groups
    
    • Improved financial systems
      
      • Fundraising
        • Strategic Plans
          
          • Marketing and Branding
            • Executive Search
              

These are just some of the ways that NESC’s Social Services Consulting Group has been helping scores of day care and family centers, geriatric facilities, employment services, community centers, services for women, children and immigrants, Park Departments and many others in the Tristate area.

Examples:

1. For a small agency wrestling with budgetary and fundraising concerns, bilingual NESC consultants crafted a realistic budget and budget process and identified sources of grants for long-term funding.
2. For a large organization seeking to probe how its many affiliates viewed the future of the organization and their immediate and long-term needs, NESC Consultants interviewed key staffers in each affiliate and reported the findings, which then served as the core for a robust long-term strategic plan.
   
3. For a New York/New Jersey parks system in need of a long-term strategy and fundraising plan, NESC Consultants analyzed the organization and the environment in which it operates (including assessing its competition for funding) and then prepared a feasibility study demonstrating the viability of a major capital campaign.
4. For a Manhattan-based group outgrowing its facilities, NESC space planners and architects evaluated the organization’s space needs and then drafted a detailed Action Plan for buying and moving into larger quarters – which reduced occupancy costs.
5. For a suburban fundraising organization seeking to improve its personnel practices, NESC consultants revised the personnel manuals, rewrote the application forms and proposed a performance objective system.
   

The NESC Method

Initial Meeting & Proposal
At initial exploratory discussions with NESC, the prospective client describes the challenges or problems or opportunities it faces. From this, NESC crafts, at no fee, a detailed Proposal outlining how NESC can help solve those problems and exploit those opportunities.

The NESC Team
If the client decides to retain NESC for the project, NESC Senior Vice President and Social Services Consulting Group Director Joe Townsend recruits the Consultant Team.

These senior executives and seasoned professionals contribute their time and experience and share the client’s commitment to help the most vulnerable in the Tristate community. Many have been working with nonprofit agencies, groups and institutions for many years and have mastered the ways that these groups cost-effectively can address a vastly wide array of problems and issues.

Interviews, Digging & Assessment
NESC Consultants meet with the client’s officers, Board members and appropriate staff and stakeholders. They burrow into the organization, coming to understand its vision and mission, observing and analyzing its operations and assessing the broad environment in which the client functions and the competition it faces.

The NESC Report
From its research, the NESC Team produces a Report, which will evolve through much iteration as it is revised to reflect Client comments and suggestions. The Report includes an assessment of the problem and opportunities and an analysis of the Client’s resources. Most importantly, it prescribes very detailed pragmatic, reasonable and affordable ways to address the matter. This includes specific Action Items, resources needed, a TimeLine and an Accountability Process to ensure that the Report actually spurs action and does not sit on the client’s shelf.

The NESC Fee
The scope of the project and the client’s budget determine NESC’s fee. Whatever the fee, it is always a small fraction of that charged by commercial for-profit consulting firms.

Joseph J. Townsend, a senior consultant for the Arts & Culture sector since 2006, was recently appointed head of the Social Services sector, succeeding Marie Terry who retired in early 2008. Joe is enthused about the prospect of advancing the key role that social services has traditionally played at the NESC.

From 1997-2006, Joe was a Senior Financial/Operations Executive concentrating in the Latin American resort/leisure industry. His management experience successively includes Treasurer, Secretary Treasurer and Senior Vice President for Club Med between 1972-1997.

Previously, Mr. Townsend was Controller and then Senior Vice President and CFO for Club Med Sales. He has had various additional professional experience at the Kenton Corporation, a retailer; ITT Corporation headquarters; and Holt Rinehart and Winston.

From 1998 until joining the NESC in 2006, Mr. Townsend consulted for several travel-related clients, including Amerinda International and Quasar Expeditions.

Joe attended Queens College (CUNY). Our new sector head and his wife reside in Manhattan.