Our Story
Kolibri Associates officially incorporated in October 2019. Our story starts back in 2014 when Heather as the new Executive Director of a struggling nonprofit, brought Dave on to oversee daily operations. Quickly, the two identified how to play off of each other’s strengths and developed a strong partnership. Within nine months of joining forces, their organization ended the fiscal year in the black for the first time in more than five years.
While working together, Dave and Heather had numerous conversations about creating sustainable impact in the nonprofit and education sectors. With almost forty years’ experience in those sectors between them, the two had quite a long list, including a wide array of skills and resources from strategic planning, program development, program evaluation, fund development, staff recruitment and evaluation, board training and evaluation, and marketing. After a couple of years, Dave left to go to work for the state department of economic development where he further refined his skill sets. Heather continued the upward trajectory of the nonprofit, doubling the staff size, expanding and developing new programs, and increasing income over 62% during her tenure.
The two remained in touch and continued their conversations about ideas that would be beneficial to nonprofit and educational institutions. Often those conversations evolved into a dream of developing a centralized source consulting business that supported nonprofits organizations in all aspects of operations. During the summer of 2019, the conversations changed from “in the future, we should” to “why not now”, and Kolibri Associates became a reality. The vision, mission, and belief statements of Kolibri Associates which you can read below are a reflection of those numerous conversations about the needs of nonprofit, education, and government organizations.
Vision
That all nonprofits regardless of size have access to the training and information necessary to fulfill their mission.
Beliefs
Innovation drives energy and expansion. Best practices offer stability and sustainability. It’s at the intersection of the two that organizations thrive.
Nonprofit leaders and staff need a trusted, comprehensive source of training and information.
The nonprofit sector is vast. Bringing together thought leaders from across the field is the best way to drive forward progress for the sector as a whole.
Mission
To provide nonprofits with access to the knowledge and skills of industry experts representing all areas of organizational functions.
Our Name
You may wonder about the origin of our name. Kolibri means hummingbird. In many cultures, hummingbirds are considered to be messengers. Our company’s passion is serving as a centralized source of the information your organization needs to be successful. The hummingbird’s flight pattern involves forward and backward movements, hovering in one place and quick bursts of speed. This pattern is symbolic of the need to step backward to closely examine a situation, along with the ability to act quickly and agilely in emergent situations. By sharing the wealth of knowledge our consultants have with you, it’s our aim to help your organization successfully analyze your current strengths and needs, then equip you with the skills to flourish in the future.
Heather Dimitt-Fletcher
Co-Founder and Principal Consultant
With over 20 years leadership experience in the nonprofit and education sectors, Heather is a solutions-oriented change agent guiding organizations in developing strategic plans and systemic thinking that advances their programs, marketing and communications, fund development, and sustainability. Heather’s clients appreciate her creativity in bridging the gap between the ideal and the practical in planning and implementation. You can contact Heather at heather@kolibriassociates.com.
“I believe the nonprofit and education sectors are an ideal place to make a positive difference in the world. Unfortunately, the numerous challenges the sectors face often impede or slow down their ability to make an impact. It takes a great deal of time for staff and board members of individual organizations to develop the vast array of knowledge and skills necessary to overcome those challenges. That’s time many of our clients can’t afford. By matching consultants who have already developed the necessary knowledge and skills with those organizations’ staff and board members, we can help move the sectors as a whole forward, making a positive change in our communities, and throughout the world.”
Dave Overfelt
Co-founder and principal consultant
As an analyst, Dave supports nonprofits in evaluating programs and processes to make better decisions. With experience from diverse industries and a focus on the data, Dave has helped numerous teams improve the organization and execution of their day to day activities. Dave’s clients have found that data driven focus to be crucial in communicating their organization’s impact. He can be reached at dave@kolibriassociates.com.
“With more information available around every corner, understanding an operating environment gets more challenging every day. There are more decisions to make and more to review about every decision, which ultimately leaves less time to spend on any given topic. Through helping organizations better understand, structure, communicate, and implement their work, we can truly create a more sustainable and effective workflow that increases impacts.”