Why Marriages Between Charities and Consultants Break Up

“So why do they divorce?” asks the veteran fund-raising consultant Tom Belford on the blog The Agitator

Mr. Belford is not wondering why couples go bust but what causes charities to split less than happily with their hired consultants.

A Chronicle of Philanthropy article got him thinking about the problem. So, too, did some glowing testimonials from nonprofit groups he read on marketing promotions by consultants.

Mr. Belford has his theories on how happy marriages between charities and consultants sometimes go south:

• The organization or consultant gets “intellectually lazy” and stuck in routines.

• The consultant lets service lag, perhaps after a staff change.

• The charity changes leaders and the new head honchos want to “rattle the cage” or bring in a colleague from the past.

• The charity outgrows its need for a consultant, perhaps as the skills of staff members grow stronger.

Do you have any thoughts on what causes charities and consultants to end up in Splitsville? Click on the comments link just below this posting to share your thoughts.