At Giving Tree, we know that the most successful organizations are built by the best teams. Over the past six years, we have taken that to heart as we expanded our executive search and interim leadership offerings.
It all began with our clients.
Our hands on approach to consulting and coaching has given us a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and visions. When it’s time to hire a new staff member, clients often ask us to step in. We know them best and can serve as an on-the-ground partner, guiding every step. Sometimes this means we help build job descriptions, in other situations we conduct organizational assessments and develop new staffing models. Each client needs different levels of support, and we are able to customize our approach to ensure the best hires are made in a reasonable timeframe.
Giving Tree is familiar with the unique challenges facing small to midsize nonprofits, and we help our clients tackle the hiring process in a customized, culture-sensitive manner. During the past few years, we have expanded our search business to include C-suite searches for larger organizations and grown our candidate base to support recruiting projects for executive director, fundraising, finance, operations, and communications positions.
As we kick off 2020, we are thrilled to dedicate ourselves even more fully to the staffing needs of our clients with the hiring of Jamie Perry, who will oversee our executive search and staffing services. With almost 10 years of nonprofit experience, Jamie brings a wealth of knowledge in nonprofit management, volunteer engagement and board development to her role at Giving Tree.
“Jamie recently helped my department at JUF find the perfect fit for a new fundraiser to join our team. With the help of Jamie and Giving Tree Associates, the interview and hiring process were seamless. Giving Tree Associates kept me apprised of the status of each candidate and partnered with me along the way to find the ideal candidate for the position. Jamie’s professionalism, reliability and calm demeanor were crucial in our hiring process,” says Lindy Dembowitz, Director of the JUF Professionals Network at the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Giving Tree Co-Founder and Principal, Amy Schiffman, is excited about growing this part of the firm’s service offerings. “Our search business continues to expand and thrive as a result of our dedication to talent development and a commitment to building strong, capable, skilled teams to lead our clients’ sustainability efforts. We could not be more pleased to welcome Jamie Perry to our team. She has an amazing network in the nonprofit space, particularly in Chicago and Atlanta. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to serve our clients and the nonprofit sector by helping them find their most valuable assets – their employees!”
We sat down with Jamie to learn more about her vision for expanding the search services at Giving Tree Associates.
Hi Jamie! We’re so glad you’re here. I wanted to start with the question that might be on our readers’ minds: Why should nonprofit organizations be excited to work with you on their next search?
I am a believer that nonprofits have the power to change the world, which is why I have worked in the field for so long and continue to spend my free time volunteering for causes here in Chicago. These experiences have given me a deep understanding of what it takes to be a successful member of a team in that environment. Talented team members are essential to driving the work of mission-driven organizations, and I am incredibly passionate about finding the best of the best to build effective teams.
I also have deep relationships in the nonprofit sector across the U.S. My diverse network of contacts and ability to connect with professionals in many different environments will allow me to source excellent candidates for clients’ positions. I am a strong consensus builder who takes a hands on approach to getting the job done. I can promise that I will do the same for our clients’ searches because your team deserves the best.
What can clients expect when they hire Giving Tree Associates for their next search?
Giving Tree’s search service is hands-on and customized to each organization’s needs. To kick off the process, our search team spends a great deal of time speaking to every client to deepen our understanding of their mission and the role this position will play in the future. We also guide them through the process of creating an appropriate position description and help you determine a competitive salary and benefits package so that you attract the best possible candidates for this job. With Giving Tree, our clients gain access to our team’s expansive networks of professionals in the sector as well as our database of more than 1,000 pre-screened candidates. Then we take the legwork off your plate: my team performs the phone screens, reads resumes, and conducts the first round of interviews to ensure our clients only connect with the most viable candidates. Organizations will receive a slate of vetted candidates to move to the next stage of the process.
Based on the client’s specific needs, we will determine the next steps together. Whether that is transitioning the whole process back to the organization or positioning our team to continue communicating with candidates, I am here for our clients every step of the way.
Thanks, Jamie. We’re excited for our clients (old and new!) to get to know you and benefit from your excellent service. Where can people reach you if they want to learn more about how you can help them?
Please email me at jamieperry@givingtreeassociates.com to set up an introductory meeting. I am looking forward to helping mission-driven organizations find high-potential candidates as they look to grow their teams! Plus, if you’re interested in learning more about search and staffing, stay tuned for details on our February webinar coming soon.