Strategic
clarity today,
mission
achievement
tomorrow.
When critical moments of opportunity arise, we make transformative capacity leaps possible by equipping courageous leaders with the tools and thought partnership to seize what’s before them.
About Us
Hackler Buettner offers a different kind of strategy consulting for nonprofit leaders. We approach the work through a capacity building lens. When the stakes have changed, we help elevate your vision, connect it to a strategic roadmap, and implement it.
Hackler Buettner offers a different kind of strategy consulting for nonprofit leaders. We approach the work through a capacity building lens. When the stakes have changed, we help elevate your vision, connect it to a strategic roadmap, and implement it.
Our Origin Story
Our Better Way
We center our core values and beliefs in everything we do.
These values represent our vision of how nonprofits can show up as their absolute best for those who need them most. We can help you get there.
Courage
The work requires bravery to challenge the way nonprofits have historically operated, to relentlessly pursue justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to listen to those who haven’t had a seat at the table before.
Community
The nonprofit at its best is a community asset that reflects the changing needs of the community. Non-profit leaders are stewards of the institution, but the perpetuation of the institution is not what’s important – it’s how the mission shows up in the community.
The work requires bravery to challenge the way nonprofits have historically operated, to relentlessly pursue justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to listen to those who haven’t had a seat at the table before.
Community
The nonprofit at its best is a community asset that reflects the changing needs of the community. Non-profit leaders are stewards of the institution, but the perpetuation of the institution is not what’s important – it’s how the mission shows up in the community.
People
We believe in the importance of the people who bring the non-profit mission to life. We invest in them, serve them, and recognize their worth and humanity beyond their roles and skills.
We believe in the importance of the people who bring the non-profit mission to life. We invest in them, serve them, and recognize their worth and humanity beyond their roles and skills.
Client Stories
We have worked with hundreds of nonprofits of varying sizes across the country to build capacity, hone strategy, and chart transformational growth.
“Matt and Mark helped provide me with clarity and focus around Second Harvest Heartland’s fundraising program early on in my tenure as CEO. Their detailed analysis of how we were functioning not only led to a restructure of the team but also to a resetting of the team’s horizons in terms of the level of funding opportunity for the food bank. They supported us in a transition from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, matched my leadership style and positioned us to meet the tremendous needs of COVID and beyond. They have been game changers for our organization.”
Allison O’Toole
CEO, Second Harvest Heartland
Who Should Work With Us
Organizations or federated nonprofits whose leaders are experiencing or approaching a key inflection point, open to elevating their sights toward long-term opportunities, or aspiring to make smart, strategic, and sustainable investments.
Organizations or federated nonprofits whose leaders are experiencing or approaching a key inflection point, open to elevating their sights toward long-term opportunities, or aspiring to make smart, strategic, and sustainable investments.
Clients May Be
- Federated nonprofits with potential for growth and historic challenges to working collaboratively
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New executives early in their tenures keen to explore transformational opportunities
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Organizations at a crossroads looking to make the right decisions and investments for the future
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Coalition builders who are eager to address the challenges of trust, strategic alignment, and collaborative fundraising in a network
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Foundations or companies wanting to see demonstrable returns on philanthropic investments in collaborative community contexts
- Growth minded leaders of all stripes who recognize sustainable capacity growth as the path to mission achievement
Who We Are
Matt Hackler
Matt Hackler never thought he’d be a non-profit professional, and even after joining the sector, he never imagined he’d be a fundraiser. Young Matt was destined for the stage, with star turn roles -according to his parents at least - in South Louisiana community theater hinting at a future under the lights of Broadway. But like so many Southern idealists, Matt got the notion in college that he could change the world with the right turn of phrase and elbow grease, so he abandoned one dream for another. In grassroots organizations, mid-sized non-profits, and in large institutions in education, the arts, and human services, Matt found himself with more responsibility than he was ready for and learning faster than he or his ego liked. He promised himself that he’d always help other non-profit folks avoid at least a few unnecessary pitfalls, learn and grow in supportive environments, and dream big, even and especially when there seems to be every reason to hold the line.
Mark Buettner
Mark Buettner spent his early years in the raisin capital of the world with a head full of wavy hair, punk rock lyrics for his band, and a desire to make a difference. In college, he exchanged angsty lyrics for philosophical principles, falling in love with the ordered thinking and the opportunity to play with ideas that his philosophy studies provided. Mark applied his curiosity to a diverse array of work that met his appetite for a challenge – work with refugees, within Chicago public schools, inside anti-money laundering investigations, and in emergency hunger relief. Along the way, Mark didn’t find data and analytics so much as it found him. He was taken by how data married his love of empirical evidence and affinity for compelling storytelling. Mark loves to be part of mission-driven teams with people who collaborate, raise each other’s sights, and show up to the work with courage and humility. These days, he keeps his mind continuously sharpened by his two young sons, truly the best philosophers he knows.
Hackler Buettner
