ERM Advisory Services

Does your team need a trustworthy, experienced facilitator in your journey to explore, validate and refresh key strategies and associated risks? We can support your goals to evolve and integrate investments in risk management to achieve the ultimate purpose of enterprise risk management. Since 2009, NRMC has been helping nonprofit leadership teams design and implement Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) frameworks and custom, mission-centered ERM programs. 

We work with leading U.S. and international environmental, humanitarian, advocacy, philanthropic, health, research, and community-serving nonprofits across a wide spectrum of missions. Our team welcomes the opportunity to help nonprofit leaders get started with ERM or provide an external perspective, address pain points, and ‘extra set of hands’ to support ERM goals and efforts that are underway. 

Our team’s strengths include bringing fresh and creative ideas to build on an organization’s goals for a more holistic approach to risk management. We take great pride in our sensitivity to the unique mission, history, and culture of each nonprofit we support, and we are committed to offering multiple pathways around common ERM implementation obstacles and challenges.

Many NRMC clients elect an ERM Assessment with Capacity Building. Each of the engagements described below can be scaled up or down. 

Enterprise Risk Assessment:

• An independent analysis of the external, strategy-related and operational risks facing a nonprofit with candid commentary about the relative urgency of specific risks
• Interpretation and qualitative analysis of data gathered through one-on-one stakeholder conversations and our team’s careful review of documents and materials provided by client teams
• Detailed, custom, practical recommendations for strengthening internal risk management capabilities, with an emphasis on the priority risks identified during the engagement
• Presentation of assessment findings to staff and governing teams
• Follow-up interaction with risk leaders in the organization to support evolving capabilities

ERM Capacity Building:

For nonprofit organizations that have already begun an ERM journey, we offer hands-on coaching and support, such as:

• Review of existing ERM materials, risk registers, and frameworks to identify ways to make these tools and resources more impactful, practical, robust and easier to integrate into existing planning and decision-making process
• Development of new graphics and other tools to support ERM work, such as risk dashboards, ERM accountability frameworks, ERM handbooks, system maps, Key Risk Indicators, and compelling board risk reports that link strategic priorities to risks
• ERM 101, Risk Assessment, Risk Appetite and Risk Oversight workshops for staff and governing teams
• Risk leadership coaching for team members responsible for leading or facilitating ERM initiatives

Strategic Risk Engagement:

• Facilitation of an accessible strategic planning and risk appetite workshop that will reconnect your governing board or senior leadership team to your nonprofit’s mission, while eliciting productive conversation about your nonprofit’s risk appetite and strategic opportunities
• An independent analysis of your most pressing strategic risks and opportunities, delivered in a written report that includes NRMC’s analysis of workshop results, stakeholder interviews, and your strategic plan (and any related documentation)
• A framework for vetting strategic risks and opportunities, as well as a plan and/or metrics for evaluating your nonprofit’s strategic risk management capabilities
• Engagement briefings to key leadership, management, and oversight groups
• Post-engagement coaching and support, including implementation assistance for new or revised strategies and risk management activities

For nonprofits teams new to ERM, we offer:

• ERM workshops and briefings for staff teams, board teams, ERM committees and other stakeholder audiences
• Custom risk assessment, risk management and risk reporting resources developed by NRMC for myriad organizations across a wide spectrum of missions
• ERM maturity models that showcase the evolution of an organization’s risk management program over time
• Assistance creating organizing materials for evolving ERM capabilities, such as frameworks, process diagrams, and documents explaining the program’s purpose, objectives and deliverables

Although preventable risks often garner the greatest attention of risk professionals, risks related to strategy are potentially more significant. The strategic risks or ‘big bets’ your nonprofit embraces are directly linked to your ultimate success, impact, and sustainability. Effective risk management empowers your nonprofit to take on higher-risk, mission-advancing ventures with confidence and skill.