A hidden gem: LGL Consultant Network

If you ever need dedicated assistance on an extended project in your Little Green Light account, the LGL Consultant Network may be the hidden gem you’re looking for. While our support team is able to offer guidance and help troubleshoot issues in your account, the Consultant Network can assist you with longer term projects like migrating data to your Little Green Light account or setting up and mapping a variety of donation forms.

Since the launch of the LGL Consultant Network in 2015, there have been over 250 projects completed with LGL customers. Most have been data migrations for new customers moving into their LGL accounts. But LGL consultants don’t only work with new customers. They also help existing customers with LGL forms mapping and with general process improvement.

Satisfaction rates among customers using LGL consultants are through the roof, with 94 percent of surveys returning a “very satisfied” mark!

Who belongs to the LGL Consultant Network?

The 20 consultants who are part of the LGL Consultant Network are all independent consultants, not employees of or contractors for Little Green Light. They are based across North America, spanning 15 states, including one in Canada. They work remotely, so location shouldn’t be an issue. All of the consultants love working with nonprofit clients on data and process improvement projects, and they have many years of experience working with nonprofits. Most run single-person operations, though several work through small consulting firms.

With demand growing steadily, we recently expanded the consulting program in two ways:

We added three new consultants to the group:

• Rick Eaton, Sacramento, CA
• Anna Patty, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Kristin Whipple, Pawcatuck, CT

We’ve added Integrations as a fourth project type that customers will be able to request. Several of our consultants are poised and ready to help you with your LGL integrations with MailChimp, Constant Contact, PayPal, and QuickBooks Online.

If you are considering a consulting project, you might be interested to hear a bit more from our consultants. I recently asked some of them to share their learnings on what makes for a successful project. Here is what they said:

Learnings from the field: What makes for a successful consulting project?

Being ready for change is very important. This means an enthusiasm for some new systems, as well as a shift in perspective around what a new CRM means to the organization. … The biggest ah-ha moments for clients have been the discovery of the full functionality of [LGL] appeals and events. You should never need any external spreadsheets full of data related to your event or appeal living outside of LGL. Everything has a place in LGL; it is just a matter of setting it up correctly. The amount of time saved by housing all of your event details in one place is significant. – Carrie Grote

Clients that have had several staff turnovers, therefore many hands in the pot changing the definition of campaign vs appeal vs fund, have data that tends to get messy. Those most satisfied are the ones who seem to understand their data best and have clearly defined processes. – Kim Carlson

Properly placed and consistent data supports effective use of LGL. It’s important to work with the client during the project to show them options within LGL so they can make decisions on data placement and formatting that will fit the way they work and cultivate donors. … We defined how the client will use the gift fields (Gift Type, Gift Category, Campaign, Fund, Appeal, and Event) and adjusted existing gift data to place detail in the proper field for better results when creating appeal lists and segments based on prior gifts to specific campaigns, appeals, or even specific categories of gifts. – Karen Schaller

An important priority for me is getting names right. I try to make sure correct prefixes, middle names or initials, suffixes, and nicknames are imported. I make sure they have the correct salutation and addressee in the import data. Sometimes this requires checking with Emily Post. It might be harder nowadays when not everyone wants to be put in gender boxes, and forms of address tend to be informal. But I think it’s still important for organizations to think about. – Melinda McBride

If you’d like more information about the LGL Consultant Network or if you’re ready to place a request, please visit www.littlegreenlight.com/consultants.

If you are a consultant and would like to join the LGL Consultant Network, we’ll be happy to add your name to our list of prospective consultants. We are not planning to add new consultants in the near term, but the program is always evolving and we will likely include additional consultants in the future. Please contact us at info@littlegreenlight.com.