Overview

501 Commons, one of the leading nonprofit Management Support Organizations in the United States, is seeking an inclusive, business savvy Executive Director. 501 Commons provides a wide range of management support services to more than 2,000 mostly nonprofit organizations, including 1,000 client engagements with organizations in the Pacific Northwest including many based in BIPOC communities. The organization supports the following primary functions for the nonprofit sector through consulting and provision of other technical assistance and resources: Financial Services; Technology Services, including IT infrastructure, data solutions, and cybersecurity; Human Resources; and Management Consulting / Leadership Development. 501 Commons also engages 25,000+ community members in providing millions of dollars of support to nonprofits through GiveBIG WA, Giving Tuesday and its year-round WA Gives fundraising site, and its services extend far beyond Washington to over 25 states across the US. The new Executive will manage an annual budget of nearly $5M, with 45 staff.

Mission and Values

501 Commons serves nonprofits as experts, innovators, and partners. It’s passion is to amplify the strengths of nonprofits so all people and communities flourish.

501 Commons provides expertise to nonprofits through a range of 30+ consulting and other technical assistance resources, including Financial Services; Technology Services, including IT infrastructure, data solutions, and cybersecurity; Human Resources; and Management Consulting / Leadership Development.

The organization also provides a year-round fundraising platform that includes 1500 organizations in Washington State, hosts GiveBIG, a Washington State fundraising event that raised $13 million in donations, match, and in-kind contributions in 2023, and promotes participation in Giving Tuesday.

Of the 2,000 organizations 501 Commons serves annually, 1,500 participate in Washington Gives, 1,000 people attend trainings, and its nearly 1,000 client engagements include 656 organizations in the Pacific Northwest and around the US. More than 70% of these organizations have budgets below $1.5 million, with half having budgets of less than $500,000. This reflects the characteristics of the nonprofit sector, where most organizations are small and have few, if any, paid staff. 501 Commons serves about 90 organizations that are based in BIPOC communities, and offers a cohort program for community-based organizations focused on BIPOC communities.

501 Commons is guided by six values: Respect, Integrity and Transparency, Inclusion, Accessibility, Partnership and Results. In particular, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) has been a foundational competency of 501 Commons for almost a decade. The organization is guided by IDEA principles and helps to build nonprofit organizations’ IDEA capabilities through IDEA Pathways, training, networking, and leadership development.

Programs

501 Commons helps nonprofits achieve sustainability and growth by providing access to HR, finance, fundraising, and technology professionals for the hours they need each month to efficiently and effectively manage their organization in a compliant and secure way. The organization also provides project-based consulting to help organizations in such specialized areas as development of a strategic plan, HR policies, emergency planning and setup of a chart of accounts.

Consulting & Subscription Back-Office Services

501 Commons has provided consulting and support services for over 10,000 organizations. While most of these have been nonprofits, we also serve unions, educational organizations, and government agencies anywhere in the United States.

Consulting and back-office services as listed above give nonprofits access to ongoing professional expertise and as needed quick consults, advice, coaching and other consulting services. Nonprofits using our ongoing services pay only for the hours of service needed, at a fraction of the cost of a professional staff position.

Nonprofit Advisory Services

501 Commons also provides free Nonprofit Advisory Services through its website, related links, referrals and free 30-minutes advisory sessions, including:

• Tools, resources and best practices
• Recommended consultants & service providers for a wide range of nonprofit practices
• Help solving a problem

Training offerings include:

• Governance and leadership
• Technology & Cybersecurity
• Human Resources

For a more comprehensive look at 501 Commons’ programs and services, and the values and philosophies upon which the organization operates, please see https://www.501commons.org/

About The Organization and the Position

The successful candidate will inherit a 501(c)3 organization with 45 staff, a budget of nearly $5M, and a very strong reputation, evidenced by customer survey results showing that 96% of clients “would work with 501 Commons again.” The budget is comprised of 83% earned income, predominantly from providing outsourced bookkeeping, IT and HR services to nonprofits who lack the capacity to sustain their own staffing for these services. 501 Commons is proud of its track record and is committed to continuing to provide a high caliber of services and quality for the nonprofit sector.

501 Commons’ 11-member board currently employs a Policy Governance model, informally known as the Carver model. The new ED will succeed long-time leader Nancy Long, who has played a large, formative role in building the organization, and have an eight-person management team, with a Director of Finance, Director of Human Resources, and managers for each program area.

Key Priorities

The new leader should initially spend time listening and learning, understanding the organization’s internal dynamics and community needs, and building relationships and trust with the staff, board and partners, as they better understand the organization’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities. Building upon these foundational relationships, the new ED will need to address the following key priorities in their first 18-24 months:

1. Organizational Assessment & Strategic Plan: Develop an objective assessment of the financial and operational sustainability of 501 Commons’ service lines for the nonprofit sector. Based on the analysis, implement a collaborative planning process to make any indicated adjustments to current services, pricing, structure, priorities, etc. to optimize financial and operational sustainability and foster growth. Include an environment scan of the changing needs of the nonprofit sector, and lessons that can be learned from the trajectory and current status of other Management Support Organizations in the US.

2. Strengthen Business Development: Based on #1 above, adjust and strengthen current business development activities as necessary to bolster the organization’s financial position, in order to sustainably fund 501 Commons’ strategic priorities. Place high priority on growing the largest portion of the budget – earned income from increasing the number of clients engaging the organization’s professional services. Also pursue opportunities for continuing 501 Common’s track record of advocating for public funding for the nonprofit sector at the county and state levels, and growing mission-aligned philanthropic funding. To strengthen business development, the new ED may need to add a new member to the Management Team to help share the leadership role in generating increased revenue.

3. Increase Board Engagement: Work with the board to develop greater engagement, specifically focused on the strategies necessary for organizational success. Such increased engagement can be structured by modifying or changing the governance model in collaboration with the board.

4. Community and External Relationships: As the public face of the organization, build on existing and develop new connections with the community organizations, leaders and donors to strengthen relationships, seek potential new programs, services, donors and partnerships as feasible to increase the organization’s impact.

5. Strengthen the Organization, Internal Relationships and Communications: Build trust with the staff members by listening and learning, taking time to understand the organization, and establishing collaborative working relationships and an increasingly cohesive team.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Attributes

• At least eight years of executive level experience and success, preferably at a similar nonprofit organization, but will also consider candidates with extensive experience managing a consulting or other professional service practice; or a combination of both nonprofit and professional services experience.

• Demonstrated success in business development, ideally in the nonprofit sector, specifically including marketing of professional services to potential new clients, and secondarily advocating for government funding at the state and local levels.

• Strong business management skills, including financial analysis, management of multiple lines of business with varying margins, evaluation of pricing of services, etc.

• Experience with responsibility for human resources in an organization or company or supervising the person responsible for HR

• Demonstrated experience evaluating and managing organizational systems to optimize the efficiency and success of the enterprise.

• A track record of collaborative leadership. Experience in fostering an environment of mutual accountability and collaboration, and inclusivity among organizational staff and board in order to maintain a positive and collaborative work environment.

• Track record of leading and managing a diverse workforce and a demonstrated commitment to leading on diversity & inclusion practices, principles, and policies.

• Demonstrated experience managing a hybrid and remote workforce.

• Demonstrated understanding of how to best utilize current technology to support nonprofit clients.

• A college degree, preferably in public, nonprofit or business administration or management, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Job Requirements

• Ability to travel locally and nationally.

• Must be able to pass a criminal background check.

Compensation

$160,000-$180,000 depending on experience. Benefits include 26 days PTO, 100% coverage of employee medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k with a discretionary 1% annual employer contribution, health reimbursement arrangement, life and long?term disability insurance, access to a flexible spending account, and dependent daycare account, and options to purchase additional insurance. Relocation assistance available as needed.

Application Process

501 Commons has retained Glick Davis & Associates, LLC to facilitate this search on their behalf. To apply, interested candidates should e-mail their cover letter and resume as a single pdf file to: 501Commons@glickdavis.com

The position is open until filled.

Inclusiveness

501 Commons is an equal-opportunity employer and seeks to recruit people of diverse backgrounds and support the retention and advancement of diverse persons within the organization. We believe that having a board, staff, and volunteer corps with diverse personal and professional backgrounds enhances our ability to meet our mission.

501 Commons is committed to providing an inclusive workplace that includes people of diverse backgrounds and fully utilizes their talents to achieve its mission. We are committed to fostering and supporting a workplace culture inclusive of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, marital status, age, physical abilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other non-merit fact, so that all employees feel included, equal, valued and supported.

About 501 Commons

This employer has retained Glick Davis & Associates, LLC to facilitate this search on their behalf. To learn more about the organization, please visit their website listed above.

Connections working at 501 Commons