First the Principal

I had no idea what I was getting into when the words of a recruiter for a brand new federal agency entranced me. He intoned that the organization's mission was to eliminate poverty in this country, and that was enough for me in 1965. My touchstone it was, because I have come to know that consonance between my core values and my work is a rare privilege. And, my deepest held value is that of unimpeded opportunity to help others help themselves when they are looking for such help. Thus, my dedication to the nonprofit sector.

On my Testimonials page I have posted the opinions of others about my work; they appear to think I do good work ...and for the most part, I am bound to agree. Here's a representative example, from one of my training workshop participants: "Thank-you, Harvey. You are a true class act, a real person, and a teacher beyond excellence in this world of abstract and sometimes nonsense world. My heartfelt appreciation... Student, Cari." I am proud to have earned such respect.

What's front and center in my work these days is the challenge of reorganizing and re-sustaining a local men's sober living facility in my own backyard, along with helping the board and staff of a rural-based family resource center build up its capacity as a community asset.

After a host of good years, the résumé is stuffed, so here are a few highlights.

My well-regarded resource development training has taken me from the Navajo Nation to the Life and Peace Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, with many stops in between. This has included a dozen past years with The Grantsmanship Center, where I got my start as a trainer, and continues my longstanding relationship with the Nonprofit Resource Center in Sacramento.

There were six years as a Program Officer at the California Community Foundation in Los Angeles where I also led the operations of the Funding Information Center for grant seekers.

I was a faculty member at The U.S. Navy Race Relations and Human Goals Program, training and certifying personnel as Race Relations Education Specialist.

A great career so far; upon reflection, I am deeply honored by my many, many professional assignments helping others help others.

Now the practice

I created the FTF Group as a sole proprietorship to add a sense of distinction to my training and consulting, as well as occasionally embracing others with whom to work. People now and then ask what the initials represent, and I enjoy responding that they stand for First Things First - as applied to nonprofit resource development. This theme runs through my approach to consulting and training, and is epitomized by the title of the new book, First the Organization, Then The Money.

Here are some notions about how my work through FTF can help you strengthen your outfit.

Whether yours is a grant making or grant seeking organization, if your representatives believe it would be beneficial to seek outside help about procedures and communication among staff, board members, other volunteers and participants in your mission-driven efforts, these are areas of FTF competence.

If you are looking for assistance in funding alternatives and resource development, FTF has practical experience and skills to share. This includes funding proposal development under appropriate conditions. If you want to pay a reasonable, negotiated fee to have proposals rigorously analyzed and annotated, this is an area of my longstanding proficiency.

And, finally if you want the benefits of training in a powerful and singular approach to securing resources while also strengthening your organization at the same time, let's see if we can find a way to work together and mount such a program in your part of the world. You might find the information on the Workshop tab useful in this regard.

The Tree Of Experience

Many branches climbed on the tree of professional experience since stumbling into the nonprofit sector in 1965.