“Never waste a good crisis.” Every crisis represents an opportunity to improve an organization for the better, and Jim uses these transitions to achieve transformational change.
Jim is a nonprofit executive who is deeply committed to an effective, equitable nonprofit sector and who excels at solving complex organizational problems that unlock mission potential. As an interim executive director, he’s revitalized six struggling nonprofits back to fiscal strength and programmatic vigor, helping them to emerge stronger with more clarity and optimism.
In his last role, Jim was the interim CEO of a $17M homeless service organization with 300 staff in 20 different cities. There, he strengthened funding streams, redesigned the business model, settled legal disputes, improved the culture, and streamlined operations. Highlights include:
- Increased revenues $3M in one year while winning $7M in multi-year contracts. Reduced aging accounts receivables by 80 percent. Reduced payroll cash flow issues from bi-weekly to zero.
- Redesigned an aging businessmodel. Using design thinking, worked with 10 directors to revise core programmatic offerings to maintain effectiveness but increase legal compliance.
- Improved employee morale. Reduced concerns about favoritism by instituting a new transparent promotions and performance management system. Hired a DEI manager to improve recruiting efforts, affinity groups, and cultural awareness.
Jim has led organizations across multiple sectors including social services, the environment, and education. Jim has also served in other chief roles including as as the Chief Communications Officer for the American Red Cross in Colorado, the interim Chief Operating Officer for More than Me (an international nonprofit for girls in Africa), and the Chief External Relations Officer for the Minnesota Zoo.
In addition to nonprofit work, Jim was the VP of Strategy at CivicMakers, a San Francisco government innovation consultancy. There, he co-facilitated a three year strategic roadmap for the City of Hayward and designed process improvements for over 40 internal procedures for the City of Berkeley.
Jim holds a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from the University of Pennsylvania.
Find out more at https://jimrettew.com.
