Confidential Peer Advisors for Non-Profit Leaders
Working for charity in Door County can be challenging.
The non-profit organizations of Door County work with some of the most savvy and sophisticated donors around. Our volunteers and board members are far more experienced than in most counties of our size. Our seasonal community presents unique challenges.
There are some questions that Google just can’t answer for you. We need colleagues and networks to advise us and keep us on track.
While many of Door County’s non-profit leaders turn to their boards or even the Community Foundation for counsel, sometimes you need a confidential outside perspective from someone who’s been there. Someone like a retired leader of a Door County non-profit organization.
Door County Non-Profit Senior Leadership Advisory Council
The Community Foundation periodically convenes a group of experienced non-profit professionals to provide advice and guidance to our organization. What quickly became clear is that the talent in the room could be useful to charities all across our community.
All of the members of the Non-Profit Senior Leaderhip Advisory Council have three things in common:
- They previously worked in a leadership position at a Door County charity
- They are willing to help you
They are talented and experienced charitable professionals
Confidential Peer Advisors for Non-Profit Leaders
A Confidential Peer Advisor is a retired executive from a Door County charity that is willing to provide confidential advice and counsel to a current Executive Director or President/CEO. This isn’t a mentoring program. It’s not a training program for volunteers. It’s an opportunity for the paid staff leadership of Door County’s charities to have private, confidential discussions with someone who’s been there.
Perhaps you have a board member who’s brought expectations from the big city to your charity in our little community. Or maybe you’re not sure how to deal with staffing a small office. Or perhaps you just want to talk about building a fundraising strategy in a seasonal community. Whatever your issue, you also want your conversation to remain confidential.
That’s why we created the Confidential Peer Advisors program. It’s your opportunity to talk quietly and privately with someone who knows the Door County landscape and can provide you with an outside perspective on an issue you’re facing.
How We “Match” You to a Confidential Peer Advisor
The Community Foundation facilitates the “match,” but our involvement ends there. What you discuss, and when you discuss it, is between you and your Confidential Peer Advisor. All the volunteer Advisors will sign a confidentiality agreement with you upon your first meeting. That might seem awfully formal, but we believe it is important to stress that your conversation with your Confidential Peer Advisor should be shared with no one.
The match process itself is simple and confidential as well.
First, send an email and a short one or two paragraph description (in general terms) about the issue or opportunity you’d like to discuss.
Second, the Community Foundation sends your description (but NOT your name) to the Senior Leadership Advisory Council to seek volunteers that are willing to talk about that issue.
Third, the Community Foundation gives you the names of the volunteers who are willing to chat. This gives you the opportunity to decline to work with a volunteer that you might know too well personally, or the chance to select the volunteer that you think would be most helpful. If you don’t know any of the volunteers, we’ll help you make a match.
Fourth, we connect you and your new volunteer Confidential Peer Advisor, and you folks take it from there. Schedule a cup of coffee, a lunch, or whatever works best for you. The other volunteers with whom you were NOT matched will NEVER know it was you who is seeking counsel.
Where do I sign up?
If you’d like to be matched with a Confidential Peer Advisor, send an email and a short one or two paragraph description (in general terms) about the issue or opportunity you’d like to discuss to match@givedoorcounty.org. We’ll reach out to volunteers and get you set up with someone who can help.
If you’re a retired senior executive from a Door County charity and you’d like to get involved with the Senior Leadership Advisory Council, send an email to match@givedoorcounty.org or call (920) 746-1786. We’d love to have you join us.
