TeamUp Program

Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status in Southern Arizona based in communities south of the Gila River. We welcome applicants from Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties.

Annually we can connect about 60 projects with consultants through December 2024. Future funding is under consideration.

All the consultants who join our consulting network will agree to a standard fee of $100/hour.

Up to 20 hours of consulting/coaching will be fully underwritten; if an organization wishes to continue the engagement of the consultant, additional fees will be assumed by the nonprofit.

Projects will be short-term, limited to 20 hours of consultation. The timeline will be agreed upon between the nonprofit and consultant; TeamUp is not setting any expectations for how quickly or slowly the work should be done. The types of projects we anticipate will include, but not be limited to the following:

1. Information and Referral—Provide sample documents, resources in the community for do-it-yourself projects, IRS requirements, potential fiscal sponsors.
2. Review and Comment—Upon request, consultant reviews and provides comments on governance documents such as bylaw revisions, committee charters, job descriptions for board members and volunteer leaders, personnel policies/employee handbooks, DEI statements, and code of conduct.
3. Assessment and Action Steps—Consultant does an assessment to evaluate development plan and materials, marketing plan materials/website, DEI-related policies, procedures, and practices, etc. Consultant provides feedback and recommendations for the organization to consider/implement.
4. Leadership Basics—Consultant may work with board/staff to do self-assessment followed by interactive work that may include board or staff retreats, plans to diversify the board, and develop a succession plan.
5. Coaching—Consultant provides guidance to CEO/ED, Board Chair and board leadership, focusing on newly appointed and those in transition.
6. Transformational Projects—Consultant engages with leaders desiring capacity building to help their organizations advance to the next phase of growth; providing counsel to organizations interested in organizational restructuring; and guiding organizations in need of a vision/mission.

Some longer term, complex projects or unique challenges may be better suited to a direct contractual relationship with a consultant, such as the following:

1. Filling what would otherwise be a staff job, such as interim executive director or manager
2. Conducting an Executive search
3. Managing Capital campaigns/endowment campaigns
4. Executing fundraising events
5. Designing/building websites; implementing information technology projects
6. Designing graphics/layout for marketing materials (logos, brochures, annual reports, letterhead)
7. Writing grant proposals

A maximum of one project per fiscal year may be considered for approval, particularly if the next phase of work to be done has been identified during the initial project. 

We recommend that nonprofit leaders identify the potential project that they feel is most important at the time they complete the intake form.  Since some potential projects may have multiple dimensions and phases, the diagnosis phone call with the Center’s Director before the matching process will help determine the appropriate starting place where a consultant can be particularly helpful.  Another consideration will be to assess which project will provide a strong foundation for continuing work by the nonprofit.

The Center will maintain a list of nonprofit organizations that participate in the program which will be reported to the investors in the program.  However, in reporting to funders, including the board members and committees of the Community Foundation which provide oversight, the projects will be described in a summary fashion by NTEE codes, budget size, geography, and other characteristics that will tell if we are achieving our goals of diversity and inclusion.

We are hyper-conscious of the reticence of nonprofits to reveal areas of weakness because their fear that knowledge might disqualify them from future grants.  We want to assure you that the Center programs and its director are not involved in grant-making decisions and we will not be required to reveal confidential information about your organization to our funding sources.  Of course, the consultants have a professional code of conduct which means that they respect and honor confidential information they learn through their engagements.

At the completion of the project both the consultant and nonprofit will submit their own concise online reports on the project, its successes, their level of satisfaction and identifying what they believe the next steps should be.