Clients

do good Consulting works primarily with small to medium-sized non-profit organizations. They specialize in grassroots-type groups who are poised to expand their capacity. Here are a few highlights of do good Consulting's work.

 

Common Ground Food Co-op

Common Ground Food Co-op is a 34-year-old community-owned grocery store specializing in natural, organic, and local foods. The Co-op features local produce, meat, eggs, dairy, honey, and grains, as well as natural and organic grocery items, frozen foods, an extensive bulk selection, health and beauty products, and home cleaning products.Staff meticulously research products for their health and environmental impact so shoppers can buy guilt-free. In response to increased consumer demand for healthy, organic, and local foods, Common Ground moved to a new, larger location on the east side of Lincoln Square Village in downtown Urbana in August. Featuring a new deli and a wider array of healthy, local foods, the Co-op is now open to the public 8AM-8PM daily.

do good Consulting is working with the Common Ground Food Co-op on planning, fundraising, and publicity for their move and expansion.

 

Mervis Industries, Inc. / Advantage Recycling

Mervis Industries is a 75-year-old family-owned business based in Danville, Illinois. The company specializes in cutting edge recycling solutions for a wide variety of materials, accepting and processing both pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. The innovative company employs nearly 400 individuals and has facilities across the Central Midwest, Texas, and Mexico. In addition to the company’s work in the recycling field, Mervis Industries also offers training, waste audits, transportation services, and brokerage services.

do good Consulting is working with Mervis Industries on business growth opportunities and community outreach projects.

 

McKinley Presbyterian Church & Foundation

McKinley Presbyterian Church & Foundation, located in the heart of the University of Illinois campus, was the first church set up expressly for students at a U.S. state university. The multi-purpose building houses a church and foundation building and nearly covers a city block. The theologically progressive, dynamic, and growing church and student ministry – which is celebrating its centennial year – offers educational, fellowship, and dining opportunities for the community and student population.

One do good Consulting team is working with McKinley representatives to conduct a Capital Campaign Readiness Study in advance of the organization’s planned capital campaign. Another team is working with the organization to prepare a strategic plan.

 

Cunningham Children's Home

Cunningham Children's Home, nestled in north Urbana on 32 rolling acres of land, dates back to 1894. It has grown from an orphanage and deaconess house to include a residential treatment center, a special therapies program, independent and transitional living program, a special education school for residents, specialized foster care, spiritual counseling and support, and a special education therapeutic day school for young people who live in Champaign County. Cunningham was started by Methodist Episcopal women who were given the home and its surround acres by Judge Joseph and Mary Cunningham for the purpose of opening a home for children. On any given day, Cunningham serves 167 youth, with 48 of them living on its main campus. The children range in age from infants born to young mothers in their independent living program up to  21 year old clients.

Children at Cunningham each have an individual treatment program with goals designed to prepare them for successful daily interactions and life outside of a structured facility. The goal is for young people to transition to less structured programs such as foster care, an independent living program, or returning to their family or public school.

do good Consulting is working with Cunningham Children’s Home to assess the Home’s public relations, marketing, and development department staff structure for effectiveness and continuity.

 

Champaign Urbana Theatre Company

Founded in 1991 by 10 local theater buffs, the non-profit Champaign-Urbana Theater Company (CUTC) is the resident company of the Historic Virginia Theatre. The Theater’s mission is to provide residents with opportunities to experience and participate in all aspects of the performing arts by presenting high-quality theatrical productions, volunteer opportunities in theater trades, education, and leadership through the promotion of theater arts to the community.

Regularly embarking in joint ventures with other community organizations, the Company produces four Broadway-style musicals each year, offers educations courses, and supplements productions through Singing Valentines and Seven Corpse Murder Mystery Dinners. In 16 years, nearly 600 volunteers have taken part on stage or behind the scenes for CUTC and nearly 12,000 community members have attended a wide range of CUTC productions, mostly held at the Virginia Theater.

do good Consulting is working with the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company to create plans for fundraising, community outreach, and future growth.

 

The Reading Group

Based in Champaign, The Reading Group is a non-profit learning center providing services for youth with unique learning needs and providing support and education for families and school personnel. For over 35 years, The Reading Group has been offering highly specialized, one-on-one instruction in most subject areas and skill levels for people with special needs such as dyslexia, speech and language developmental delay, ausperger's syndrome, autism, or gifted learning needs.

Through their work, the professionals and volunteers at The Reading Group enable learners with unique needs to take charge of their differences and become their own best teachers, educate the community about learners’ needs and approaches to learning, and inspire appreciation of unique learners, and promote literacy among young learners of all ages and abilities.

do good Consulting is working with The Reading Group on a series of board development trainings.

 

Campus Middle School for Girls

The Campus Middle School for Girls (formerly Home Hi), founded in 1993, is the only single-gender middle school for girls in Central Illinois, offering a unique educational setting unlike anything else offered in the community. The independent school was started with nine girls, three professional teachers, and many parent volunteers. Through a combination of small class size and a carefully developed curriculum emphasizing the development of academic skills, the school – now in a more formal school setting – promotes confident, enthusiastic, and responsible young learners.

The school currently covers grades 6 through 8. The school’s size (25-40 girls) allows educators to provide students with individual attention and strong, diverse course offerings. The school welcomes girls of all races, colors, nationalities, income levels, and ethnic heritages.

The safe and challenging environment provides the girls with the opportunity to develop their creative and intellectual powers, a love for learning and a passion for excellence, and a sense of emotional and physical well-being.

do good Consulting is working with Campus Middle School for Girls on developing their fundraising potential, community outreach and recruitment plans, and systems upgrades.

 

Lincoln Trail Librairies System

Lincoln Trail Libraries System is one of nine multi-type Library Systems cooperating to provide vital services to the citizens of Illinois. They envision a future where collaboration between libraries and organizations results in easy access to information anytime, anywhere. Lincoln Trail Libraries System serves over 431,229 people and 122 libraries across nine central Illinois counties. Members include academic, public, school, and special libraries. The organization supports the following services: Interlibrary Loan, Consulting, Continuing Education, Training, Delivery, Reciprocal Borrowing, Shared Cataloging, Shared Online Catalog (LINC), AskAway (Virtual Reference), MyMediaMall (e-books/downloadable audiobooks), Digital Gems (digitized materials), PolyTalk Interpreters Network, and Communications Services. Founded in 1966, Lincoln Trail’s work connects the people of East Central Illinois to information through cooperation. They are headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

do good Consulting is working with Lincoln Trail Libraries System to create a logo for their new Digital Gems programs as well as to establish an organizational management training program for library staff members, trustees, and volunteers in their network.

 

Embarras River Management Association (ERMA)

The Embarras River Management Association (ERMA) was formed in 1993 by local landowners concerned with protecting and enhancing the natural resources within the Embarras River Watershed. The organization is focused on preserving and restoring the natural character and resources of the Embarras River and its watershed. The Embarras River (pronounced 'ambraw') begins on University of Illinois campus and runs generally southward for 192 miles through rural and agricultural land until it converges with the Wabash River in Lawrence County. The watershed encompasses approximately 1.5 million acres and is home to over 130,000 Illinoisans.

do good Consulting is working with ERMA on a major website development project, made possible by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation, and on fundraising planning, image enhancement (including a logo redesign), and marketing and outreach work for the organization.

PAST CLIENTS

Grand Prairie Friends

Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) is an all-volunteer, non-profit, conservation organization committed to preserving and restoring tallgrass prairie and woodlands in East-Central Illinois and to promoting an understanding and appreciation of these natural resources. The group is active in acquiring and managing prairie and woodland remnants, conducting prescribed burns to maintain healthy prairie, propagating and planting indigenous prairie and woodland species in reconstructions and generating interest in prairies and woodlands through a variety of educational programs.

do good Consulting worked with Grand Prairie Friends on a donor-based fundraising campaign to raise $40,000 to acquire nine additional acres of land surrounding one of the few un-tilled, original prairie areas in Illinois near Loda. The campaign wasa major success, raisign all the money needed, and more. The new acreage will be planted with locally collected seeds to create a 12-acre tallgrass prairie haven complete with educational signage for visitors.

 

Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH)

Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH) is an award-winning non-profit organization specializing in vibrant, historically-informed performances of music from the 17th and 18th centuries. Members and supporters seek to teach, learn, and perform music of the Baroque era. The group is the only professional ensemble in Illinois outside Chicago solely dedicated to live performances of Baroque composers. The group hosts a variety of music-related events throughout the year for the community.

do good Consulting worked with BACH to create plans for fundraising, volunteer involvement, board development, and community outreach.

 

LifeQuest Center

LifeQuest Center is a non-profit educational organization providing individuals and families with the information, training, and support needed to break free from behavior that causes strained, broken, or abusive relationships, turning this negative behavior into positive growth. The program helps people learn to rebuild and improve their self-images and increase their capacity to function in healthy relationships. By uncovering root causes for behavior, the group helps people establish healthy foundations for living and loving.

do good Consulting worked with LifeQuest on board and organizational development issues, including mission and vision setting, goal establishment, and program planning.

 

Mattoon Public Library

The Mattoon Public Library is a resource to area residents, providing them with life-long learning and discovery opportunities. The Library continually seeks to expand their collections of traditional reading  and resources materials by acquiring new technologies to make the “sea of information” more accessible to the nearly 20,000 people that live in the community.

do good Consulting worked with the Mattoon Public Library to develop content for their website, including photos, on-line giving options, database search opportunities, events calendars, stories, and much more. A grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation made this work possible. The site should be live in mid-2008.

 

Willow Tree Missions

Willow Tree Missions is a nonprofit, faith-based, non-denominational ministry working to improve the quality of life for those in crisis in the greater Piatt County region. Their goal is to prevail over domestic violence by providing safe shelter and a comprehensive support system of well-trained, caring volunteer advocates equipped to help persons with domestic violence in their lives. Out of an historic downtown Cisco building, the organization runs a resale shop and a Food SHARE program. The group is renovating the second floor space into a safe, peaceful shelter for victims of domestic violence. With no other such shelter in Piatt County, it is the only organization of its kind serving people who feel trapped and helpless.

do good volunteered time with Willow Tree to help them develop a support base, train their board and volunteers, and raise funds to support their work.

 

Wee Love Music!

Wee Love Music! is an interactive, intergenerational music appreciation program for babies and children ages six months to five years, and their parents, grandparents, and caregivers. Through the art and power of music, Wee Love Music! enhances children's physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development while strengthening their bond with their caregivers and peers.

do good Consulting worked with Wee Love Music! to develop a logo.

 

A&O Development Corporation

A&O Development Corporation is a new development organization in Champaign County founded by the members of Alpha & Omega Church in Champaign, Illinois.

do good Consulting worked with A&O Development Corporation on a feasibility project to develop a four-acre parcel of land in north Urbana, just off of Goodwin and Bradley Avenues, into an affordable housing neighborhood.

 

Champaign County Aquatic Education & Development Corp.

The Champaign County Aquatic Education & Development Corporation (CCAEDC) is focused on raising the awareness of the health and psychological benefits of competitive and life-long swimming in the region. The organization seeks to develop a multi-million dollar aquatic education facility to serve the entire Champaign County community. This state of the art competition, training, and water fitness center will benefit many groups including currently organized aquatic programs as well as the community at large.

do good Consulting worked with the Champaign County Aquatic Education & Development Corporation to develop an organizing strategy and tactics and to create marketing and fundraising plans.

 

Crisis Nursery

Founded in 1983, Crisis Nursery is the only 24-hour, 365-days a year child abuse prevention and family support agency of its kind in Champaign County. The Urbana-based organization is committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect through the provision of emergency intervention, respite care, and support to families in crisis. Crisis Nursery serves children aged 0-5 years whose families are experiencing a crisis or emergency and have no support resources available at the time. The agency also provides family support programs, parent-child interaction and parent support groups.

do good Consulting worked with Crisis Nursery to enhance its connections with local, state, and federal legislators, ensuring long-term support for their important work.

 

Central Illinois Dental Education & Services

Central Illinois Dental Education & Services (CIDES) provides free or low-cost comprehensive oral health care and education to underserved rural children and their families in Champaign County. It is the only program of its kind in the state. Founded in 1993, the award-winning program grew out of the Champaign County Board of Health’s Child Dental Access Program. CIDES brings preventive dental services to over 3,500 children each year at schools, day care facilities such as Head Start, community oral health fairs, and private clinical dental offices. The organization also provides oral health education and supplies to an additional 3,000 people. Restorative and specialized dental care – including oral surgery, pedodontics, and orthodontics – are provided to low-income children by program providers in clinical settings.

do good Consulting worked with Central Illinois Dental Education & Services on an image enhancement campaign, some electronic communication upgrades, as well as on fundraising.

 

Children's Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois

The Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois provides an array of the initial services needed by child victims of sexual assault and severe physical abuse. The serve a seven county area in south-central Illinois. The Center works to minimize the trauma experience by child victims by identifying community agencies to assist families in times of crisis, providing support in the criminal justice system, promoting the prosecution of those responsible for such crimes, and promoting the prevention of child victimization through education.

do good Consulting is working with the Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois to develop an organizational website, including stories, reporting opportunities, downloadable resources, links to other groups, and much more. A grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation made this work possible.

 

Community Shares of Illinois

Community Shares of Illinois represents over 70 non-profit organizations working to end homelessness, fight discrimination, preserve the environment, empower women and promote peace and human rights. Community Shares of Illinois gives employees expanded choices in workplace giving programs, enhancing their awareness of local grassroots organizations, generating critically needed support for these organizations, and raising the level of workplace philanthropy in communities across Illinois. By linking people and their passions, Community Shares of Illinois connects caring donors with local organizations that are changing people's lives - and Illinois communities - for the better every day.

do good Consulting worked with Community Shares of Illinois to expand support of its work through an enhanced business donor campaign supporting its annual Share-A-Meal event.

 

Fox Development Corporation

Fox Development Corporation specializes in developing and leasing of office and retail property in the Champaign-Urbana area. In addition to its business development and property management work, Fox Development Corporation has a strong interest in support the local community and local schools through charitable initiatives such as equipment subsidies, grants, and facility makeovers. With four adopted elementary schools in the Champaign-Urbana region, Fox Development is making a difference in the lives on thousands of area school children by providing them with the equipment, resources, and learning environments they need to excel.

do good Consulting worked with Fox Development Corporation and FDC Chairman, Peter Fox, to develop a strategic giving plan for the company, developed action plans for the four local adopted schools (including securing two grants for local schools worth over $10,000), and leveraged expanded giving opportunities from other businesses in the community.

 

BRIDGE

BRIDGE (Building Relationships, Integrating Differences, Gifting Everyone) is a new central Illinois-based organization that emerged to involve local young people in rebuilding lives and communities in damaged towns in the Mississippi Delta region. Through community development projects, BRIDGE helps young people to forge relationships with individuals from all walks of life and provides them with the opportunity to bridge their economic privileges and communal strength with communities needing these resources. Four founding members of BRIDGE – Chelsea Grady, Ahbleza Hurd, Asa Hurd, and Bianca Zaharescu – will invest 10 months of their lives later this year, postponing their college careers, to build an after school program in southern Mississippi and to work with Habitat for Humanity in the Mississippi Delta.

With 99% of its students living in extreme poverty, Sherard Elementary School can’t afford to run an after-school program. Through BRIDGE, Ahbleza and Bianca plan to raise the money needed to support such a program to help 100 under-privileged students. The program will focus on those students with the strongest behavioral and academic needs, combining both recreational and academic activities.

Working hand in hand with volunteers from across the globe, Chelsea and Asa will join forces with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate to build homes for some of the most underprivileged families in our country.

do good Consulting worked with BRIDGE members to develop a fundraising campaign, a media promotion plan, and outreach materials.

 

HomePlanet

HomePlanet is a non-profit environmental education organization new to the local scene. Picking up where the Illinois Student Environmental Network left off, the group plans to educate citizens about Earth care actions and provide practical ways to make a difference. Planned programs include topics such as healthy air at home, salvaging discarded items safely, setting up home/business re-use and recycling systems, and creative re-use ideas. Through HomePlanet’s Art RE-Source Center, “waste” items will be accepted, then made available for re-use by people of all ages who enjoy the creative challenge of working with unusual but appealing materials.