A Community of Consultants Serving the Nonprofit Sector

For more than 30 years, ACN has strengthened nonprofit organizations by serving as a society of professional nonprofit consultants. Our consultants are located throughout the United States and Canada and work with local and national organizations in areas from Association Management to DEI and from Social Media to Strategic Planning.

As thought leaders in this focused and ever-changing sector, our members provide organizations with a rich resource of expertise, education and experience. We hope our site helps you find a consultant, submit an RFP, learn about our events, or get advice. New members are always welcomed! 

Mission Statement
The Association of Consultants to Nonprofits envisions a world where all organizations doing social impact work have the external expertise they need to fulfill their missions.

Statement of Purpose
ACN raises the profile of consultants doing social impact work by providing its members with opportunities to build relationships and expand their expertise.

Thanks to everyone who attended Brand Thinking 

We were pleased to see many consultants and nonprofit leaders at our first in-person workshop in a while Brand Thinking on Jan 30. Photos from the event below!

If you have a suggestion or request for content you'd like to see from members of Association of Consultants to Nonprofits or a question about membership, please reach out to executive director Jennifer Heffernan at execdirector@acnconsult.org.

Photos by Kaye Cooksey for ACN

ACN Board Winter Update

The ACN Board of Directors met for our regularly scheduled Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 28, the day after reports about the ‘Federal Funding Freeze.' We used the time to discuss our association’s response. I was encouraged by the planning the Board had already put into place:

• We already have a ACN members-only virtual program 'The Next Four Years: Optimizing Our Impact' scheduled for Tuesday, February 18 at 10:30 AM CST/11:30 AM EST
• We just setup the ACN Slack channel /CurrentEvents for real time conversation with ACN members on issues impacting our sector
• We always encourage ACN members to connect for 1-on-1s with other consultants using the ACN Member Directory
  

We also recommend consultants make use of this document from the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) | Executive Orders Affecting Charitable Nonprofits. This document is updated on a daily basis and provides updates on any Executive Order that lands on the NCN’s radar. Many state members of NCN, like official ACN partner Forefront, have set up their own resources page.

ACN 2025 and Beyond

With more than 10% of 2025 in the rear view mirror, I am happy to report that the Association of Consultants to Nonprofits continues to show strength. We are celebrating these highlights:

• Membership is up about 15% from over the summer
• The organization just had its largest in-person event since 2022
• Our approved FY24-25 budget projected ending the year $10k in the red but the board now projects we will end the year in the black

If that intrigues you as a member, I encourage you to get involved with an ACN Committee. 

Working with other ACN members is one of the most rewarding things I have done and you can start doing that as early as next week by reaching out to an ACN Committee Chair. If you are thinking about getting even more involved, you can consider nominating yourself to join the ACN Board of Directors. Be on the lookout for the call for Board of Directors nominations coming out in March.

Thank you all for your continued support of ACN. Stay warm, stay healthy, and stay connected.

Our Member Organizations Consist of:

Who We Are. We are a professional society managed by our members on a volunteer basis. Sole practitioners, partnerships, and organizations may join as members.  Our members are primarily experienced consultants representing dozens of areas of expertise, who serve as sole proprietors or leaders of specialized boutique firms. ACN members are:

Experienced. Our consultants’ practices represent the full range of functions and skills needed by nonprofits of any type, age, or size to thrive. The typical ACN member works with five clients per year on engagements ranging from day-long commitments to year-long projects. 

Committed. ACN members represent the best of what it means to be committed to helping people. With an average of 10 years in their current consulting practice and 22 years working in the nonprofit sector, our consultants have weathered countless storms alongside their clients – and gotten them safely to shore.

Collaborative. ACN provides its members the opportunity to collaborate with clients and colleagues alike, in order to provide exceptional service throughout the nonprofit sector. ACN members consistently report collaborating with another member in the prior year. From hosting relevant, timely programming to facilitating networking through pop-up events and online forums, ACN strives to promote the highest caliber of collegiality across sectors.

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About Our Nonprofit Consultants:

ACN Partners

Please join us in thanking these resources and partners that help make ACN better for our consultants!

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