M-J Consulting Fees and Costs

McConkey-Johnston International is often contacted by organizations that desire help with fundraising and partner communications strategies. If that is your concern, you are also, undoubtedly, concerned about the costs for our services. This page is designed to help you understand what you might expect.

Our desire is to help you achieve significant income growth through strategies that focus on strong returns on your investment. When it comes to pricing of M/J's services there are many variables that need to be considered. Here are just a few:

What is the objective you want to achieve?
What is the time frame to accomplish the objective?
What schedule of consulting and services is required to help you accomplish your goals?
What type of internal staff resources are available to help with the tasks?
Which of our consultants do you wish to hire? The founding partners provide services at a higher rate than senior consultants, for example.
Does the project or program require a consulting and services team, rather than a single consultant? (We have worked with some clients that required three of our staff to be involved)
What is the budget available for the work that needs to be done? This is often a determining factor for the questions above. For example, we can "package" the right combinations of services, consultants, and schedule to fit your budget. This permits us to provide help to ministries and organizations of various sizes and capabilities that might otherwise assume "we can't afford help."

These are the reasons that we don't publish a "rate card" per se. As a means of understanding how our clients have worked with us, however, here are examples of services we provide in a tiered system:

1. Coaching -- We can provide regular coaching to help with problem solving, strategy discussions, basic training, etc. This is typically done via telephone and is a huge help for small organizations that simply cannot afford on-site consulting help. Coaching rates start at $100 per hour and are typically scheduled in advance to accomplish your purposes.

2. Consulting -- Consulting typically occurs on-site at your location and is usually based upon a daily rate that varies with the individual hired for the job. In some cases this has occurred based upon half-days because the client was in close proximity to the consultant and consulting visits didn't involve more than an hour's travel. Our typical contract might include one or two days per month, two days every other month, four days each month, etc., scheduled to meet your needs throughout the term of service. In some cases, in extended periods of service, this has meant an aggressive schedule early in the engagement, scaling back over time as "things get running." An example is an engagement with a missions sending agency that had no development program and wanted our help to create the strategy, build and train the team, and implement and regulate the strategy. This was a three-year process. It involved two days per month in the first year, two days every other month in the second year, and two days every quarter in the final year. Add that all up and you have 44 consulting days plus work done in our offices between visits.

With this model for consulting we have worked with clients that have paid as little as $500 per month up to rather substantial four and five figure monthly fees, again, based upon the parameters described above. The most significant variables are services desired, consultant(s) desired, and schedule desired. These are typically the issues that inform our proposals to prospective clients. As a ballpark figure to help you know more about costs, for the three-year example above, the client paid $3,600 per month in year one, $1,800 per month in year two and $1,000 monthly in year three.

By the way, M/J does not typically charge for travel time. We consider that to be included in our fees. We do bill clients for travel expenses at actual cost.

3. Project -- This is the third tier. We are often called upon to help ministries on a project basis. For example, we have helped a number of organizations with re-branding projects. Others who wanted a Web site strategy. Others who desired to create a partner program, a capital campaign, etc. In these instances, we consider the services required, the completion schedule, and we craft a specific proposal for the project. This is typically offered as a "project price" with payments to be made in increments after an initial deposit. Sometimes we work out monthly payment plans with terms that extend beyond the planned date of completion in order to make the project more affordable to the client. This approach is often used to eliminate the variables of consultant time, "add-on" services (such as professional copywriting, design, etc.) and provide the ministry with an easy, affordable one-stop-shop way to meet their needs. Project pricing varies broadly, obviously, with the type of project. We can create and produce a simple brochure, or help plan and execute a multi-million dollar capital campaign, and everything in between.

Overall, the best way to understand the costs associated in hiring McConkey-Johnston is to provide the details of what you desire to accomplish and to request a proposal. Whether you contact M/J or another firm, realize that there are lots of consultants and firms with a VAST degree of difference in experience and expertise. Investigate thoroughly the credentials of those you'd like to approach, request references, look at their client list and talk with them about how they would approach your problem. So much of a successful consultant/client relationship is dependent upon a) Liking each other, and b) Working well together. No written proposal can offer clues in that important arena. You simply must "get close" to see if there's the chance of a "good fit."

SUGGESTED FIRST STEPS:

A very good initial step may be to hire M/J to conduct what we call a "Development Assessment." Here is what is entailed:

 Comprehensive Donor File “Audit” – Utilizing a combination of your organization's software reports and McConkey-Johnston’s proprietary reporting formats, we will work with you to develop a comprehensive “audit” designed to inform management of both donor file performance and development program performance. We examine and analyze trends, identify statistical benchmarks and performance criteria to act as a guide for future evaluation and to provide insights for management to make strategic decisions. We also suggest ways to optimize segmentation strategy, as well as coding and reporting strategies to improve understanding and usage of donor and development information. This information may be used as a baseline of performance in the coming years for strategy and management.

 Development Income Programs – including new donor acquisition strategies, income thrust programs, donor retention and renewal strategies, core, key and major donor programs. Our assessment evaluates performance and /or potential of each income program and includes strategic recommendations for implementation and/or improvement.

 Major Donor Cultivation and Solicitation – Our assessment and consulting process evaluates the potential for major donor/major gift development and provides insights into the evaluation of individual donor potential, caseload assignments and prioritization. Ultimately, the Assessment helps determine the most appropriate recommendations for expansion of the major donor/major gifts income thrust within the comprehensive development strategy.

The Development Assessment generally takes place in two stages: 1) the "discovery" process in which we spend two-to-three days on-site to collect information, observe your program(s), interview a variety of your staff, work with you to gather data and reports, etc., and 2) work done in our offices to analyze information, generate reports, develop recommendations and prepare a final report with observations, analytics and recommendations. The process usually takes about 9-10 weeks to complete. Our typical fee for the Development Assessment is between $9,000 - $15,000, based, in part on the size and scope of the organization and the complexity of its existing database and development program. The fee is generally payable in easy, monthly installments.

Why Not Give M/J a Call?

Whatever your specific objectives, McConkey-Johnston may be the perfect partner to help you achieve them. Contact us... We'll be glad to discuss your needs, share ideas about how to meet them and provide a proposal that is customized to YOUR specific situation. We specialize in creating custom AFFORDABLE solutions for nonprofit organizations and ministries. Let us create one for you.

McConkey-Johnston International

The most recognized and experienced consulting firm for nonprofits, helping you chart the course to continued growth...