Why We Make Some of Our Consulting Services Available Pro Bono

Starting an organization takes courage.

Usually there is an idea, a need in the community, and a small group of people who believe something should be different.

What there usually isn't is enough money, enough staff, or enough time.

That's one reason Facilitation Corps makes some of our consulting services available on a pro bono basis to emerging and resource-constrained organizations.

For me, this isn't simply about providing free consulting. It's about capacity building.

Organizations deserve opportunities to build strong foundations before they have large budgets—not only after they become established.

Good Organizations Begin with Good Questions

Early-stage organizations are often under tremendous pressure to produce.

Raise money. Build a board. Develop programs. Recruit staff. Serve the community. Demonstrate results.

In the rush to get started, there may be little time to ask some fundamental questions:

Why do we exist?

Who are we accountable to?

What are we trying to change?

Whose voices need to shape our work?

How do we want to work together?

What should we focus on first—and what can wait?

Those aren't abstract questions. The answers eventually influence an organization's strategy, culture, partnerships, leadership, and relationship with the community.

Good planning creates space to wrestle with them.

Start by Listening

One of the values that runs through our work at Facilitation Corps is that the people closest to an issue frequently understand things that aren't visible from the conference room.

That's why organizational development should include listening.

Community members, staff, volunteers, board members, partners, and people receiving services may see the organization very differently.

Listening sessions, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, advisory groups, community forums, and other engagement processes can help organizations understand those perspectives before important decisions are made.

Too often, organizations ask people what they think after the major decisions have already been made.

Meaningful engagement starts earlier.

It doesn't mean every suggestion becomes organizational policy. It means people have a genuine opportunity to inform the conversation.

Build the Organization You Want to Become

Culture doesn't suddenly appear when an organization reaches 25 or 50 employees.

It starts much earlier.

How does the founding team handle disagreement? Who gets to make decisions? How are people treated when they raise difficult questions? Does the organization make room for perspectives different from those of its founders? How does leadership communicate when something isn't working?

These early practices have a way of becoming organizational habits.

That's why some of our pro bono consulting work focuses on organizational development, leadership, communication, team development, and facilitation—not simply writing a strategic plan.

The goal is to help organizations develop the capacity to navigate the challenges they haven't encountered yet.

Don't Try to Do Everything

Another challenge for emerging organizations is ambition.

People start organizations because they care deeply about something. That commitment can make it tempting to tackle every problem at once.

Usually that's not sustainable.

Strategic planning can help an organization distinguish between what is important and what is important right now.

Those are not always the same thing.

A useful planning process helps leaders identify priorities, understand their capacity, determine where partnerships are needed, and make intentional choices about where to invest limited resources.

Sometimes strategy is as much about deciding what not to do as deciding what to do.

Pro Bono Doesn't Mean Lower Expectations

Our pro bono consulting services are intended for organizations that are emerging or operating with significant resource constraints.

The nature of the engagement depends on the organization and the circumstances. It might involve strategic planning, organizational development, facilitation, leadership support, community engagement, or another focused capacity-building need.

But I think an important principle is that pro bono work should still be meaningful work.

Organizations with fewer resources don't deserve lower-quality thinking.

They may actually benefit most from having someone help them step outside the urgency of day-to-day work and think carefully about where they are headed.

Capacity Building Is the Point

Ultimately, I don't see the consultant's role as coming in with all the answers.

Our job is to help organizations ask better questions, hear from the right people, make thoughtful choices, and develop the capacity to continue doing those things themselves.

That philosophy applies whether we're working with an established public agency, a nonprofit organization, a collaborative, or a small organization just getting started.

The circumstances may be different.

The fundamental question is often the same:

How do we create the conditions for people to do their best thinking and work together toward something that matters?

That's what Facilitation Corps tries to bring to the table.

And making some pro bono consulting services available is one small way we can make that support accessible to organizations that might otherwise have to wait until they can afford it.