A good consultant is like finding a good marriage partner if it’s hard; it’s not working. If it is working, it not hard. A good consultant doesn’t make you do all the work; they pick up their fair share. Karen is one of my three favorite consultants I’ve ever worked with, and I like obtaining consultants’ expertise.
Martine Meredith Collier
Executive Director
Arts Council of Hillsborough County
I highly recommend her. I appreciate Karen’s professionalism, knowledge, research, and planning. We got eye-opening feedback we never would have gotten on our own. Her understanding of our organization, donors, and income streams gave us confidence. We got high value from the event. It was easy to work with her.
Sarah Pallone
Executive Director
Highland County Habitat for Humanity
If you really break down what you are looking for in a consultant, it is someone who can listen well, who can correctly and effectively evaluate your situation and your needs, who can develop a plan that makes sense, execute on that plan-including connecting the dots and empowering the colleagues and supporters needed to put the plan into action, who can take all of the information and knowledge gathered and form it into ideas that capture their essence (whether it be the truth, ideas, action items), communicate those ideas effectively and then deliver an end product that is understandable, useful and helpful to the organization or the community it serves. In my experience, it is easy to find people who can do some of these things, and extraordinary to find someone, like Karen Eber Davis, who can do them all. She is the real deal. And excellent to work with.
Barbara St. Clair
Executive Director
Creative Pinellas
If you have development staff and need someone to give you feedback and advice on how to enhance your work, call Karen because that’s what she did for us.
Kathleen M. Tunney, MS
President and Executive Director
Associates for Human Services, Inc.
Karen’s mentoring has been extremely valuable. Our conversations always led to practical, applicable recommendations thanks to her gift of immediately generating great ideas. Working with Karen boosted my confidence and helped me think outside the box when approaching new problems or issues. Most importantly, our organization’s revenues increased by 84 percent over the same time last year.
Barbara Richards
President/CEO
Project 180
Working with Karen exceeded my expectations. Karen’s personnel manner, positive attitude, and relationship skills are excellent. We built trust and it allowed me to be vulnerable and lean on Karen.
The Rev. Dana Horrell
Executive Director
Faithful Citizen
Karen is unique in her field and highly professional in her industry. Working with her on a recent project proved all the good things I’d heard about her to be true. She’s got the experience, the intelligence, and most of all, the heart.
Brett Morris
Momentum
Karen is a spark plug! Her unique insights and clear communication style make an impact in every group with which she is involved. I thoroughly enjoyed Seven Nonprofit Income Streams and highly recommend it to those looking to achieve sustainability for their cause or charity.
Karen Bogues
Executive Director
Community Youth Development
Not only is Karen a subject matter expert, but she also helped us formulate ideas, provided insights, and made herself available. Karen is passionate, helps get it done, and is a great resource to get you to the next point in your revenue diversity process. We have a ton of consulting relationships, Karen’s at the top.
Leonardo Alvarez
CareerSource Central Florida
Working with Karen helps me to stay focused on our priorities. Beginning an annual giving society was high on my to-do list. Karen quickly helped me hone in on our options and get the program underway. We’ve quickly closed multi-year commitments.
Stacey Y. Reynolds-Carruth
Early Learning Coalition of Orange County
We have worked with Karen for over eight years. I personally have worked with her for the last two and a half years. We are truly grateful for Karen’s input and assistance. Karen has been a great partner.
Maribeth Phillips
CEO
Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee and the Foodbank of Manatee
I have an incredible amount of good, actionable ideas here from our meetings. I can’t thank you enough for your ideas and guidance.
Mark Lee
Co-Founder
Denise Amber Lee Foundation
Karen, you are a deliberate, innovative, and insightful thought leader, which is so apparent in identifying issues and your approach to resolutions of those issues. I truly welcomed and appreciated your counsel and guidance in developing a model to improve the effectiveness of our board.
John Hawthorne
Executive Director
Highlands County Habitat for Humanity
Karen has an uncanny ability to convene nonprofit stakeholders–board members, donors, staff leadership, clients–and help them discover the common thread that galvanizes a fresh commitment to a mission they can all share. With a deep understanding and respect for each person’s point of view, she brings clarity to sticky situations and breaks through barriers that seem to be insurmountable.
Laura Breeze
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County
We made amazing progress.
Leslie Glass
Founder-Co-Chair
Reach Out Recovery
Karen facilitated our CEO Forum and did a fabulous job engaging the participants in an enthusiastic and substantive conversation. She asked insightful questions that made everyone think. One of the CEOs said to me with feeling, “This was SO great!” Karen elicited a sense of collegiality from the group that had been missing on other occasions. I hope Karen joins us again to work her magic.
Grace Armstrong
Chief Executive Officer
Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay
As always, you are a great help and a definite treasure.
Colleen Cuervo
Executive Director
Bright Beginnings
Our staff was really positive about the Staff Day you helped to organize and lead. Since it, they have been providing names of potential donors, organizing more presentations, and feel empowered to take an active role in helping to close our budget shortfall.
John E. Dubrule, Esq.
Interim Executive Director
Gulf Coast Legal Services
Karen knows more ways for nonprofits to make money than anyone in the world.
Alan Weiss
President
Summit Consulting Group
You are the most reliable and responsive… More specifically, your ability to strategize and your insightfulness have been invaluable…
David E. Potter
Executive Director
Family Partnership Center
She possesses an excellent character, exhibiting compassion, persistence, intelligence, and graciousness. She gives people permission to dream.
John Syster
Senior Pastor
First Congregational Church
Karen lives her values. She is always looking for the optimum outcome for all concerned. I can’t think of anybody I feel I can so strongly recommend as the finest sort of human being.
Rebecca McMurry Garcia
Founder
Bhakti Life
Karen is one of those rare people that listen to others well and can problem-solve and respond with just what is needed.
Irene Flynn
Florida-Bahamas Synod
Whether the task is research-based, conceptual or rote, her attention to detail, intellectual curiosity, positive attitude, and personal integrity ensure that it will be done well.
Elaine Wright
President
Florida Planning Group, Inc.
I have always found her to be highly competent in the various tasks she undertakes. She provided us with excellent service.
Mary Helen Kress
Executive Director
Suncoast Workforce Board
Your excellent facilitation directed us to a clear path to a successful team effort.
Drew Clearie
St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church
Board Chair
Thank you for all you did to make this happen. You did an excellent job.
Sister Gilchrist Cottrill
Dreams are Free
Founder
Karen helped develop and implement a very successful plan which was essential for a newly founded organization.
Mary Lee Richey
Executive Director
Animal Rescue Coalition
We have found Ms. Davis to be highly competent in various tasks such as presenting workshops for participants to examine opportunities to increase programs, prioritize options, and how to approach growth for programs.
Wendy Resnick
Executive Director
United Cerebral Palsy
It was excellent! I could tell you spent a lot of time on it and it showed. I thought we ended up in a great spot…
Ev Walk
Rector
St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church
…our most heartfelt thanks for the wisdom, knowledge, and enthusiasm that you have contributed to the right sizing group over the last year.
Michelle Greanias
Executive Director
Grants Management Network
. . .we are indeed pleased with our investment.
Jay Lockaby
Executive Director
The Wellness Community
Karen does a great job finding out what an organization needs, and then helping them go out and get it! Not only is she good at what she does, but she also makes her clients feel good about their missions, too. I highly recommend her for your next retreat, project, or re-organization.
John Van Zandt
Island Real Estate
Karen provided invaluable help as I began working with nonprofits. She helped me as a business leader understand their uniqueness, benefits, and characteristics.
Gary Patterson
President
FiscalDoctor, Inc.
When we first met Karen, we had already planned to donate a portion of the proceeds from our Growth Igniters Series (TM) of live events to a nonprofit. Karen helped us to expand our thinking. After listening to our goals, she identified nonprofits that exemplified innovation and helped us vet the list. We’re now exploring a relationship that we would never have found without her.
Pamela S. Harper
Founding Partner & CEO
D. Scott Harper, Ph.D.
Sr. Partner
Business Advancement Inc.