Building Nonprofit Leadership
Over the last twenty years, Ingrid has served in a wide variety of roles in nonprofit organizations. This includes eleven years as the executive director of a food system nonprofit, where she built the fledgling organization to be a community institution. She has worked for multiple human service organizations. She has served as a board member and board chair and also had three interim executive director roles.
Starting in 2017, Ingrid built a consulting practice that focuses on strengthening nonprofit leadership, especially during transitions. Her popular Successful Transitions cohort program has helped many organizations plan for the development of future leaders through comprehensive succession planning. Ingrid’s consulting work has served organizations in the areas of domestic violence, advocacy, social services, the arts, immigrant rights, and many more.
Ingrid has been involved with all of the parts of executive director transitions from her own departure as an executive director to hiring and training a new director. That means she can help boards through the difficult process of finding a great candidate to lead their organization. Her executive search services are comprehensive, covering the entire transition process from a thorough assessment to screening, interviewing, and onboarding.
Positionality statement: “I bring a commitment to social justice to my work. I am always looking for ways to learn more about other people in the world and understand things from their point of view. I understand that I have inherited a wealth of privilege, including being a woman who is cis-gender, white, middle class, and able-bodied. I look for ways to use my privilege to lift other people’s voices and experiences. I want to help organizations do their best work in the world.”
Check out all of my available services.
Contact me at ingrid@ingridkirst.com or (402) 730-2532 to talk about what you need.
“Ingrid’s knowledge and expertise is vast, but the most memorable part about her time as our Interim ED was her passion and dedication to nonprofits. We feel special to have contracted with her as long as we did and would highly recommend Ingrid Kirst Consulting. You will truly be learning from the best.” – Ashley Frevert, Community Action of Nebraska Executive Director.
Additional Experience
I was Executive Director of Community Crops, a local community garden nonprofit, for over eleven years. During this time, I grew the organization from a small program to an independent nonprofit organization employing twelve people with an annual budget of $400,000. I developed strong organizational procedures to manage complex funding requirements from over 20 major funders per year, and also maintained strong working relationships with dozens of local non-profits, businesses, churches, and community groups.
In 2019, I completed a year-long project with Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders County, overseeing their Healthy Food Access grant. Read more about this project and my role.
In addition, I am a board member and past board chair of the Southern Heights Food Forest, a local nonprofit focused on food-growing education. In this role, I have raised funds, organized events, and helped with program management. I have volunteered for many organizations in the community and am an experienced facilitator. In my free time, I enjoy vegetable gardening, cooking, and traveling.
Contact me at ingrid@ingridkirst.com or (402) 730-2532 for a free hour consultation to optimize your nonprofit anywhere in the US. Let’s see how I can help you.
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