Mark's book, "We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry," is now available!

Mark is not currently taking new consulting clients. He is helping to launch a new non-profit called RootedGood that helps churches and social entrepreneurs move from seed to solution with tools, training, and experiences. If you are looking for assistance you may find RootedGood's resources helpful for your organization.

Consulting and coaching services

Mark Elsdon, of Elsdon Strategic Consulting, works with nonprofit and church leaders, boards of directors, or organizations seeking support to launch, grow, rebuild, or simply build on existing strength. Mark has particular expertise and experience in bringing together property development, impact investment, and strategic program design for effective and sustainable mission impact. As a seasoned non-profit executive with both theological and business training, Mark speaks, writes, and consults on vital questions of money and meaning facing many organizations and communities today. Mark’s book, We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry is being published by Eerdmans Publishing in spring 2021.

Mark is available to assist with:

  • Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship

  • Strategic planning

  • Business planning and revenue generation

  • Fundraising

  • Impact investing or capital raising

  • Governance, board development, and decision making

  • Coaching for directors and organizational leaders

  • Other organizational needs. Just ask!

Mark can be reached at mark@elsdonstrategy.com.

“Mark’s keen sense for ministry is matched by an intuitive grasp of entrepreneurship, and his heart for mission is bolstered by a profound commitment to social innovation. Mark is a true “imagineer”—he has both the capacity to envision what change looks like, and the engineering chops to get it done.” - Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean, Professor, Princeton Theological Seminary and Co-Founder of Ministry Incubators

"Our organization did not have a historic focus on fundraising, but our needs changed last year, and luckily we had Mark Elsdon on our board to help guide us. Not only did Mark help us think strategically about the the medium and long term vision for our fundraising program, he also had many tactical tools to help us in the short term. Because of Mark's help, we had a profitable year in a very critical moment. I would recommend Mark to any non-profit or religious organization looking to take their fundraising and strategic planning to the next level." - Will Harris, Executive Director, Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN)

Mark provided an invaluable assist to our efforts to develop a focused strategy for the church over the next five years. His process gave the us a structured framework to consider the strength's and resources of congregation, match them with the needs of the congregation and the surrounding communities, and develop specific congregational initiatives. Mark is an excellent meeting facilitator for both small working groups and larger groups, skilled at explaining his recommended processes, and keeping even congregational meetings on task and excited about the process he is advocating. - Future Focus Committee, First Presbyterian Church, Oregon, WI

Mark Elsdon, MBA, M.Div - Founder and Owner

Mark Elsdon is the owner of Elsdon Strategic Consulting and the Executive Director at Pres House, a faith-based non-profit serving students at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. In fifteen years of executive leadership at Pres House Mark led major programmatic, financial, and organizational growth, and transformed a dormant non-profit into a strong, vibrant, multi-million dollar organization. The revitalization of Pres House and development of the Pres House Apartments has been featured more than 30 times in national and local print and television media including CBS Nightly News with Katie Couric and the New York Times.

Mark is also Co-Founder & Lead Builder at RootedGood, which helps institutions and social entrepreneurs succeed by providing tools, training, and experiences that help create more good in the world. Mark brings business skill, fundraising expertise, organizational leadership, and effective strategy together with focus, commitment, and passion for non-profit mission success. Mark has a BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

Mark is a regular faculty member for the Madison area BoardWalk Academy hosted by United Way of Dane County where he teaches on mission, vision and strategic planning. He has written and taught on non-profit and entrepreneurial leadership for Princeton Theological Seminary, the national Presbyterian NEXT Church Conference, Madison Non-Profit Day, and for other gatherings and organizations. Mark serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Working Capital for Community Needs, a Madison-based impact investing fund that provides micro-finance funding to the working poor in Latin America. Mark was funded by the Louisville Institute to write on impact investing with a particular focus on exploring how church-owned investment assets and property can be put to work for mission impact in the world.

Born in the Midwest to immigrants from England, Mark has also lived in the southern, western, and eastern parts of the United States. When he wants to take a break from non-profit leadership and consulting Mark can be found training and racing his bike, brewing beer, or enjoying all that Madison has to offer.

Mark is available for consulting and coaching with nonprofit and church leaders, boards of directors, and organizations seeking support to launch, grow, or rebuild.

Contact

Mark Elsdon, MBA, M.Div

mark@elsdonstrategy.com

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