Diligent Consulting:
5 Things to Know About Us
01.
Diligent Consulting, located in Des Moines, Iowa, is a consulting firm focused on nonprofit board governance practices. We partner with nonprofit clients to evaluate and strengthen board governance structures and ensure policies and procedures support the board's operations and mission. The company was founded in 2020.
02.
Diligent Consulting was born of the idea that a nonprofit organization is only as strong as its board governance. This was the impetus for establishing the 5 Pillars of Nonprofit Governance. A nonprofit can have a great mission and amazing goals, but little will be accomplished if the organization does not have the ability to implement them.
03.
Founder Sarah Spilman has 25 years of professional experience across a variety of industries. She has 4 years of consulting experience, working with 22+ nonprofit hospitals and trauma centers across the country. She also has 10 years of experience serving as an officer and governance chairperson on various nonprofits.
04.
We know that bylaws, policies, and procedures are not glamorous. Most board members would rather spend time discussing mission delivery and nonprofit impact. Sound governance is an easily overlooked but essential component of operational and board success.
05.
Our ideal client is an establish nonprofit organization that is stagnant or experiencing turbulence; if you are from an organization that cannot locate your bylaws or never consults them, then we are very interested in working with you! More specifically, we are ideally suited for emerging or maturing nonprofit organizations that are struggling due to leadership turnover (Executive Director or Board executive team), mission creep, an unfavorable circumstance, or lack of attention to policies and procedures. Most boards are thrilled to hear about the impact of the nonprofit on the world around them, but governance is often overlooked or relegated to a lone board member who knows how to write policies. In contrast, we are probably not the best group for an organization that is just being established and/or has no paid staff; evaluating the partnership between the Executive Director and Board is an essential part of our work.