Karen Johnson's Karing Solutions helps non-profits secure funding and make a lasting impact.
As a freelance consultant, Karen Johnson works with groups who have the best of intentions for their communities. But good intentions only go so far. Without smart strategies for growth, grassroots groups can buckle under the weight of their own passion.
Johnson helps these organizations find the right ways to accomplish their goals, and to do so for a long time. “It’s one thing to want to do good,” she says, “it’s another thing to make it sustainable.”
When a community or church group seeks Johnson’s help, she sits down with its leaders to figure out what the group needs. Often, she says, groups can increase their impact by following a few simple steps: Making connections with government agencies and like-minded allies, creating a structure for their own organization, and measuring the outcomes of their work. Doing this, she says, allows them to raise more funds and serve more people.
One of Johnson’s most recent projects was helping to organize a health fair in Plainfield, New Jersey. A group with whom she worked wanted to let members of their community know about the health care resources available to them. The problem was that the group had no money and little manpower. With Johnson’s help, they reached out to local hospitals and corporations to have the event. Ultimately attracting 400 attendees, the fair was a smashing success.
Along with issues like education and gang-awareness, economic development is close to Johnson’s heart. Several years ago, she worked as a consultant to the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, a multi-million dollar project to revitalize Harlem. Johnson was in charge of making sure 2,000 neighborhood residents received job training. It wasn’t an easy task, but getting it done helped Johnson learn to manage the intricacies of large-scale projects, a skill she brings to the table in helping smaller, local groups.
In New Jersey, Johnson has helped organizations that provide anti-gang seminars, G.E.D. education programs, and affordable housing.
Johnson can be reached at (732) 648-3645. Her prices vary by organization.
