How We Search for Nonprofit Leaders in New Communities

by Mary Ontko, M.P.A., CFRE
Senior Search Consultant
The Moran Company  “We Find Great Nonprofit Leaders”

The Moran Company is based in Kansas City. When we speak with prospective clients from other communities, they often ask how our search consultants can integrate into their community sufficiently to learn the landscape and players, source candidates effectively, and evaluate the prospects beyond what is presented on a resume. The nonprofit might be skeptical that an executive search firm from outside the community can be as effective as a local firm. We’ve addressed this in earlier articles including “Is a National Search Worth It?” and “Using a National or Local Search Firm”.  At The Moran Company, here’s how we search for nonprofit leaders in new communities.

1. Listen and Learn. As we get to know a new nonprofit partner, we conduct research online and in person to learn more about the organization and the landscape surrounding it. An on-site orientation is part of our search process. During the orientation, we meet with board, staff and other partners to learn more about the community, the organization, and the position. This helps us get a more complete picture of the organization and the environment in which it is working.
2. Build a Network. At The Moran Company, our search consultants have expertise as former executive directors or development directors. We all developed priceless professional networks in these leadership roles, which we maintain today as nonprofit recruiters. When we approach a new search, we use the lessons learned in our work to “go where the best candidates are.” Even if the search is not in a community in which we have direct experience, our consultants have professional ties that can be leveraged in any community. We approach state associations, local professional groups, similarly sized organizations, community foundations and nonprofit support organizations and other groups as peers to build relationships and begin to learn more about respected nonprofit executives in the field within that community. One conversation leads to another, and so on, as we use these relationships to spread the word about the position and we identify respected leaders in the field.
3. Use Our “Fresh Eyes”. While it is true that an outside executive search firm may not be as familiar with decades-old scuttlebutt about an organization or individual the way a local firm might, this can also be an opportunity to take a fresh look at a situation from beyond the trees. At The Moran Company, we use our experience in the field and our listening skills to assess a candidate’s skills, without being encumbered by past innuendo. We bring an unbiased approach to our evaluations.
4. Look for Local Ties. We look for signs of a candidate’s commitment, not only to an organization but also to a community. In our experience, the most successful relocating candidates have a tie to the community, which not only attracts them to that location but also keeps them there. Perhaps they grew up in that particular city or town and wish to get back to family. Perhaps a spouse or loved one has ties there, and that is the push to relocate. Perhaps the candidate attended college in the area and wants to return. Finding links to integrate into the community means a candidate is more likely to be successful.
5. Use our Expertise. All of our search consultants at The Moran Company have experience as leaders in the nonprofit sector. This expertise allows us to speak with candidates and resources as peers, and to evaluate candidate credentials based upon our knowledge of the sector and the skills needed to perform the duties of the position. This sector experience level is both rare in executive search firms and transferrable to any community or locale within which we search for candidates.

If you are interested in learning more about The Moran Company, the expertise of our search consultants or our experience in nonprofit executive search, feel free to contact us. We’d love to tell you how we can help your organization.

© 2018 The Moran Company, “We find great nonprofit leaders.” We specialize in searches for nonprofit executive directors, directors of development/fundraising staff, and other top nonprofit leadership. www.morancompany.com