Diagnostic Assessments

Sustainable Orgs LLC conducts assessments for community development organizations to provide leaders with an objective look at operations and systems, diagnosing needs and identifying opportunities to consider. When asked to conduct a comprehensive assessment, our analyses take a deep dive into fundamental issues related to nonprofit management: financial health, governance, personnel management, planning, and policies and systems. But unlike most nonprofit assessments, we don’t stop there. Uniquely, our assessments also take the next step and evaluate an organization’s community development lines of business that may include:

 

  • Real estate development

  • Home ownership promotion and preservation

  • Asset management

  • Property management

  • Resident services and community building

  • Lending and loan portfolio management

  • Economic development

  • Other related lines of business

​The Diagnostic Assessment Process

​Sustainable Orgs LLC has developed its assessment methodology based on years of experience in analyzing nonprofit community development groups across the nation that have varying needs and areas of focus. Our approach prioritizes responsiveness to an organization’s needs in serving its community and pursuing sustainability. Highly experienced consultants conduct the assessments, interacting with the nonprofit’s staff and board leaders. Because our assessments may vary in focus based on need, Sustainable Orgs LLC principal Jeff Baloutine works with the organization’s senior leadership at the outset to set the direction and scope of the assessment. If requested, Sustainable Orgs may conduct a more limited assessment, analyzing certain aspects of an organization’s operations or lines of business. Among several independent consultants, Jeff then identifies one (in most cases, but more if needed) whose skills and perspectives best fit the task. He works with the selected professionals throughout the process, refining the analysis and recommendations and editing the assessment report.

 

  • Discovery: At the start of an assessment, consultants request for analysis key documents from the organization and engage leadership in remote conversations. For comprehensive assessments, where feasible, consultants go onsite for two to three days; they meet with staff and board members, view any developments, and interview key partners, all in communication with nonprofit leadership. From the engagement of consultants to a site visit, the discovery phase typically takes up to 60 days.

 

  • Assessment Report: Following discovery and site visit, the consultants then prepare a written draft with analysis and actionable recommendations in each report section, working in collaboration with the Sustainable Orgs principal. In addition, the report identifies the highest priority recommendations. The draft report then goes out to the organization for review and comment. Within days of receiving written comments and any requested factual corrections, Sustainable Orgs finalizes the report and sends it to the organization as well as a sponsor, if one is part of the process.

 

Engaging Sustainable Orgs

A third-party supporter of the organization may engage Sustainable Orgs for the assessment with the nonprofit’s consent and buy-in. In those cases, we will share the final report with the sponsor/funder and the organization. The report is proprietary, so we share it with no one else. A nonprofit may engage Sustainable Orgs directly for an assessment, providing the fee itself, in which case only they would receive the report. The fee may vary based on the complexity of the task, its scope, and whether a sponsor asks us to assess multiple organizations.

 

If an organization has particular needs of a more limited scope, where applying aspects of our assessment approach may be helpful, discussion with our principal could be worth pursuing. This could involve assessing a particular line of business or one or more aspect of managing a community development organization.

 

Please contact Jeff@SustainableOrgs.com to explore the potential value and scope of an assessment for your organization or to discuss fees or any other questions.