How to take advantage of your Consultant Collaborative membership
Written by Kerstin Rust, United Way NEXT Membership & Engagement Coordinator
Psst... Have you heard of United Way NEXT’s Consultant Collaborative, yet? This growing network of mission-driven consultants brings together individuals with specialized expertise in areas like strategic planning, fundraising, board development, DEIAB, executive coaching, and more!
Now, over 70 active members are helping strengthen the United Way movement by supporting local teams and leaders across and beyond the network.
Whether you’re new to the Consultant Collaborative or considering joining, here are a few ways you can make the most of your membership.
7 Easy Actions to Take Today
1. Check out the Hub
The Consultant Collaborative Hub is the first stop to learning about your benefits, discovering new opportunities, and familiarizing yourself with the resources available to you. This space will serve as your home base for engaging with peers across the network and registering for exclusive CC events.
2. Complete your profile for the directory
Local United Ways and individual members can search the UW NEXT Consultant Directory to find speakers, facilitators, consultants, and coaches to support their work. Ultimately, increasing your visibility and helping us connect you with relevant opportunities. Plus, it showcases your expertise to fellow CC members that may be interested in collaborating with you or sending referrals your way.
3. Connect with fellow consultants in our LinkedIn Group
In addition to our members-only Facebook group and our UW NEXT LinkedIn group, we created an exclusive CC LinkedIn group just for you! Giving Consultant Collaborative members a dedicated space to share updates, opportunities, resources, and more while connecting with peers and staying informed. Remember, the more you engage in this group, the more opportunities you’ll create.
4. Apply for available RFPs
Whether you’re looking to take on a new project or interested in speaking at a regional conference, we keep an ongoing list of current and expired RFPs in the Consultant Collaborative Hub. Some are sent to us from across the network while others are submitted through our RFP form. But our team always reviews them in order to provide you with any relevant details, deadlines, links, and contact information.
5. Position yourself as a subject matter expert
Interested in sharing your expertise and United Way experience with our members? We’d love to highlight the work you’re doing. As a Consultant Collaborative member, you can apply to be a UW NEXT Guest Speaker, submit your work to be included on our Member Voices page, or write articles for our website & newsletter.
6. Register and attend an upcoming event
In addition to the 35+ virtual events we host each year, Consultant Collaborative members also have access to exclusive events built by consultants for consultants. You can register for upcoming orientations, networking socials, and learning sessions via the Hub. Plus, your membership includes access to both our public and private past events libraries.
7. Keep an eye out for exclusive discounts
Not only do UW NEXT members receive 30% off of Third Sector Company’s Interim Executives Academy, but your CC membership may include other sponsor, affiliate, and referral discounts as well. Make sure to check the hub for active offers and maybe even consider promoting your own!
Screenshot of the exclusive Consultant Collaborative event recordings (August 2026).
Looking for More Information?
If you’re interested in learning more about the Consultant Collaborative, you can watch the launch party replay (September 2025) or register for our NEXT New & Prospective Member Orientation.
If you’re ready to join, we encourage you to check out our CC member expectations before signing up. Members of the Consultant Collaborative pay an annual participation fee of $200, in addition to maintaining an active United Way NEXT Membership ($35+). To make things easy though, there’s an option to set up annual subscriptions for both of your memberships.
And if you need any help navigating the registration process, accessing the hub, or exploring your benefits, we welcome you to reach out to Kerstin Rust at Kerstin.Rust@uww.unitedway.org 💙
PS. We also record each of our orientations and you can find them on our YouTube Channel.