Hiring a Transition Consultant or Search Firm

Paying for a consultant, one grantmaker explained, can be a good way to support a transition while keeping an appropriate distance from the organization... the funder’s role, she stressed, is not hands-on; that’s where the consultant comes in. Often, the relationship between the consultant and the grantee is confidential, and the grantee knows upfront what information the consultant will give to the foundation. The consultant checks in with the funder periodically, giving the funder aggregate data about services provided under the contract (how many transitions, what sort of problems have arisen), not details of their work with particular grantees... “We’re always crystal clear that the consultant works for the organization. And the organization picks the consultant. While I do sign off on the consultant during the final stages of the grant approval process, I’ve never told an organization that they couldn’t use someone, or that they needed to use someone else rather than the person they chose.”

Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.

This takeaway was derived from Executive Transitions.

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