Then-ACN President Maureen O'Connor's letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy was published in the January 23, 2003 issue.

Testing Consultants: Not the Way to Hire Veterans

To the Editor:
Your excellent article on the use of fund-raising consultants by nonprofit groups ("When Fund Raisers Go Solo," December 12, 2002) suggested a few thoughts:

Fund raising is not the only field in which nonprofit groups can benefit from outside expertise. While an obvious example is information systems, few nonprofits can afford a full-time chief information officer or director of management-information systems, but all of them need immediate access to accurate data. There are many other examples, including publications development, financial planning, and meeting facilitation. The Web site of the Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, a Chicago-based professional association that I head, offers a comprehensive list of areas in which expert assistance is available.

The process of selecting the right consultant is, of course, of great concern to nonprofit groups and consultants alike. For this reason, my association's Web site, , contains a number of resources to help nonprofits with the selection process.

The suggestion in your article that nonprofit organizations test prospective consultants is likely to result in their eliminating the most senior and best-qualified consultants, who know better than to give their work away. The Association of Consultants to Nonprofits recommends that nonprofit organizations ask for references and work samples, and interview no fewer than three consultants to assure the best fit. Nonprofit organizations might also ask whether consultants are members of a relevant professional association, whether broad-based organizations like ACN, or subject-specific, like the American Association of Fundraising Counsel. This can help answer the question of whether someone is a real consultant or merely between jobs. In the case of our association, and probably many other organizations, membership also represents a commitment to a code of ethics and to an ongoing program of continuing professional education.

I hope The Chronicle will continue its attention to this important subject. As economic conditions grow tighter, decisions about whether and how to use consultants are likely to become more frequent, and it's to everyone's benefit if those decisions are well-informed.

Maureen O'Connor
President
Association of Consultants to Nonprofits
Chicago