Nature and Conservation Consulting
You do not need to know exactly where to begin. Start by identifying what matters most and the next practical step.
We help nature and conservation organizations understand what is happening, make responsible choices, and turn those choices into work that boards can govern, executives can manage, and staff can carry.
Services
Sirianno & Associates provides the eight services shown below. Choose the area that matters most to your organization.
What
Start where the need is greatest
Understand · Reveal · Choose · Build · Learn
Every assignment has a clear focus. We also take a 360-degree view of your organization—considering the connections among leadership, governance, funding, communications, and mission that influence the work. Our recommendations address your chosen priority with the whole organization in view.
Eight consulting areas
Explore the service areas in detail. Each one is a distinct area of expertise and a clear place to begin.
“We need a clear direction and a practical plan that our board, executive director, and staff can use.”
Clarify present reality, make consequential choices, and build a substantial working plan with priorities, owners, measures, and first actions.
“Too much depends on too few people, and our systems, staffing, or daily practices are limiting what we can accomplish.”
Assess leadership, operations, programs, stewardship, revenue, and organizational capacity, then sequence what to protect, repair, or build.
“Our board cares about the mission, but we need clearer roles, better meetings, stronger decisions, and a more productive partnership with the executive director.”
Clarify authority, expectations, structure, and governing routines so the board can focus on mission, strategy, resources, risk, and executive support.
“We need more reliable revenue, a stronger fundraising plan, and a clearer connection between financial choices and mission priorities.”
Connect financial reality, donor relationships, earned revenue, grants, membership, sponsorship, and leadership responsibility to a practical revenue strategy.
“I need a confidential, experienced perspective on a consequential decision, leadership pressure, or what should happen next.”
Support executive directors, board chairs, and senior leaders with practical counsel, role clarity, priorities, and disciplined follow-through.
“We need to prepare for a new executive director and make a responsible choice about the leadership our next chapter requires.”
Clarify the next leader’s mandate, prepare the board and search committee, and support a thoughtful transition from readiness through onboarding.
“People do not understand us as clearly as they should, and our communications are not building the recognition, trust, participation, or support we need.”
Begin with audience understanding and institutional choices, then clarify the story, promise, messages, and communications work required to build recognition and trust.
“We need to make responsible decisions about our nature center, preserve, programs, trails, interpretation, or visitor experience.”
Connect place, stewardship, programs, accessibility, audience, revenue, governance, and capacity so leadership can make responsible investment decisions.
How we work
Alignment is something a well-designed process creates.
Gather the evidence and perspectives needed to see the situation accurately.
Make strengths, constraints, differing perspectives, and underlying causes understandable.
Frame the real options, tradeoffs, priorities, and decisions.
Create the agreed working documents: a substantial plan or roadmap, decisions, responsibilities, required resources, measures, and first actions.
Use the working documents to review implementation, test assumptions, and make necessary adjustments.
We create a trusted process that transforms uncertainty, competing perspectives, and unrealized possibilities into clarity, shared direction, and practical action.
Organizational Strength Review
The Organizational Strength Review gives board and executive leaders a trustworthy account of the organization as it operates today. It is especially useful when priorities compete, board and staff perspectives differ, the executive director is carrying too much, financial pressure limits ambition, or a significant opportunity requires decisions before a full strategic plan can be completed.
Connections across the whole organization, with detailed assessment focused on the areas agreed in scope. Evidence may include documents, financial and operating information, confidential interviews, visitor experience, and relevant external conditions. This is a developmental review, not an audit, accreditation, personnel investigation, or scientifically validated index.
Usually six to eight weeks. Typical fixed-fee investment: $15,000 to $22,500.
Four ways to work together
The eight services identify where help is needed. These four options establish the depth and breadth of the work. Every assignment considers the connections across the whole organization, while detailed work stays focused on the agreed scope.
Independent Leadership Counsel is prepaid when the engagement is booked. For larger engagements, the standard schedule is 40% on booking, 30% after the evidence and listening stage, and 30% on delivery. The final schedule is stated in the written proposal.
Travel or specialist expenses are included only when agreed in the proposal. There are no surprise charges. Major fixed-fee engagements include eight hours of implementation counsel during the 90 days following delivery.
A focused engagement may address Fundraising & Sustainable Revenue or Brand, Communications & Public Trust, as well as any other service area. Full executive search, facility design, campaign execution, brand redesign, and other specialist responsibilities are defined and priced individually in the written proposal.
You do not need to choose an engagement before contacting us. We’ll help establish the right scope.
Review the $2,500 Independent Leadership Counsel offerQuestions
Start a conversation
A complimentary 30-minute conversation helps establish your situation, fit, and a sensible next step. Detailed analysis and written recommendations begin with a paid engagement.
Or reach Edward J. Sirianno directly at ed@sirianno.org · 518-526-5492
