fa·cil·i·tate (verb) To make an action or process easier.

 
 

Since 2007, I have been the principal consultant at M Smith Consulting. I work with grantmaking foundations and their grantees to facilitate strategic thinking, cultivate multi-stakeholder collaborations, and develop organizational readiness to work for racial, gender and economic justice.

Before working as a consultant, I worked in the social sector creating innovative, data-informed public AIDS funding partnerships; organizing for cultural change among LGBTQ people of color in the conservative Midwest; and developing a community organizing model to increase food security in rural New England.  

While doing this work, I saw that many groups found it hard to deliver results for the people who needed them most. Some of these challenges arose from the mistaken belief that paying attention to concrete outcomes is somehow inconsistent with creating inclusive, relationship-building processes. My consulting practice brings a balanced approach: I create inclusive, well-planned ways of working together that also produce political wins and measurable program outcomes.

Whether skillfully facilitating both large and small groups, or coaching leaders through transitions, I draw on a deep bank of executive and technical skills to make planning, strategy, partnerships and collaborations move forward with ease. I enjoy working with networks, contingent collaborations, co-directorships and other nontraditional ways of sharing institutional power. My work style always engages race, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity as sources of generative power.

In addition to my consulting, I direct the narrative research-based Black/Land Project, and write essays and fiction. A graduate of Smith College, I hold an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Administration from New York University. My scope of practice is national, but my community service is local and rural, as a member of the City of Oberlin Community Improvement Corporation. I am a member of the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, and philanthropic groups that have worked with me include: 

  • AIDS United Foundation

  • Arcus Foundation

  • The Boston Foundation

  • The Collaborative Future Fund

  • The Commonwealth Fund

  • The Communities First Fund

  • The Connecticut Health Foundation

  • Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund

  • The Ford Foundation

  • Gender Funders CoLab (formerly PAWHR)

  • Global Trans Initiative

  • Greater New Orleans Foundation

  • LGBTQ Racial Justice Fund at Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice

  • Louisiana Department of Public Health

  • Massachusetts Department of Public Health

  • Michigan Council on Foundations

  • The Ms. Foundation for Women

  • Philanthropy New York

  • Proteus Fund

  • Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund at Borealis Philanthropy

  • Ruth Mott Foundation

  • The Surdna Foundation

I often work with co-conspirators whose expertise makes it easy for your group to do excellent work. 

 

Mistinguette Smith