We build the systems that
power high-performing nonprofits
About Us
Aries Consulting is a strategic advisory firm dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations operate with greater clarity, alignment, and impact. We partner with nonprofit leaders and boards to strengthen the core infrastructure of their organizations—from strategy and governance to fundraising, operations, and leadership structure.
Our Approach
Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business plan.
Aries partners with mission-driven organizations to build the governance, leadership, fundraising, and operational systems that turn strategy into execution — and execution into lasting impact.
Every engagement is structured, scoped, and sequenced. We are a senior strategic partner, not a task-based vendor. And we measure success by one thing: what your organization can do without us.
Services
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Senior leadership deployed strategically — not as a stopgap, but as a catalyst for organizational transformation.
Outcomes:
Stable, decisive executive function during transition, growth, or leadership gaps
Board and staff aligned around a clear direction and operating model
Organization exits the engagement stronger, more structured, and ready for its next leader
Fractional leadership is most effective when it's integrated — not isolated. We use every executive engagement to assess and strengthen the governance, operational, and development systems underneath the leadership layer.
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We don't build plans that sit on shelves — we design the strategic architecture organizations need to grow with intention.
Outcomes:
A strategic plan that connects mission to financial sustainability, not just programs and aspirations
Organizational design that clarifies structure, decision-making authority, and cross-functional accountability
A multi-year roadmap that is phased, measurable, and sequenced for real-world execution
Strategy is the starting point, not the solution. Every planning engagement is designed to surface the structural, operational, and governance gaps that would otherwise prevent execution — and to sequence the work that closes them.
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A high-functioning board isn't recruited — it's designed.
Outcomes:
Board structure, committees, and policies aligned to the organization's stage and complexity
Directors who understand their role, engage meaningfully, and govern with clarity
Governance infrastructure that supports — rather than slows — executive leadership
Governance doesn't operate in isolation. We design board structures that are explicitly connected to financial oversight, executive accountability, and long-term organizational sustainability.
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Fundraising is not a department. It's a system — and most nonprofits haven't built one.
Outcomes:
A diversified revenue strategy that reduces dependence on any single funding stream
Development infrastructure: the pipeline, the relationships, the processes, and the tools
A fundraising function that is strategic, staffed appropriately, and integrated with programs and communications
Development strategy is only as strong as the organizational systems around it. We connect fundraising to governance, financial planning, and programmatic impact — so the case for support is built into how the organization operates, not just how it communicates.
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Most nonprofits are held back not by lack of vision — but by the absence of the systems needed to execute it.
Outcomes:
A clear operational model that defines how the organization functions, makes decisions, and allocates resources
Systems and infrastructure — technology, workflows, staffing structures, and processes — aligned to strategic priorities
An organization that runs with clarity and consistency, not just the effort and instinct of its people
This is the connective tissue of everything Aries does. Governance, leadership, fundraising, and strategy all depend on a functional operational core. We design systems that integrate across every function — so the organization moves as a whole, not as a collection of disconnected parts.
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The nonprofit sector is asking more of its leaders than ever before — greater accountability, fewer resources, and faster change across every function. Yet most leaders navigate these pressures without consistent access to practical guidance or trusted peers who understand the trade-offs.
The Impact Network was built to change that.
Launching in spring 2026, with Aries Consulting as the founding member, the Impact Network is a curated leadership and peer learning community serving executive directors, CEOs, and senior nonprofit professionals across the region. Through expert-led workshops and intentional convenings, the Network offers both the strategic insight and the peer connection that nonprofit leaders need to lead well — and sustain themselves in the work. Follow us on LinkedIn for information on upcoming events.
Our Methodology
Sustainable organizational change doesn't happen all at once. It happens in sequence. Organizations that try to scale before they are stable, or grow before they are structured, consistently find themselves rebuilding from the same broken foundation.
The Stabilize → Structure → Scale framework provides a clear, sequenced roadmap for moving from crisis or stagnation to durable, high-performance operations.
01 - Stabilize
Get the organization on solid ground. We address the immediate conditions — financial clarity, leadership gaps, operational challenges, governance issues — that prevent forward movement.
03 - Scale
Grow with intention. Once stable and structurally sound, we position organizations to expand impact through revenue diversification, strategic planning, financial forecasting, operational alignment, and leadership development.
Design the systems required to execute. Governance, operations, development infrastructure, and organizational design.
02 - Structure
Meet the Founder
Anna Assenmacher, Founder + Principal
Anna Assenmacher is an experienced leader in the social impact sector with deep expertise in nonprofit management, interim and fractional leadership, board governance, fundraising and development, organizational development, and operational strategy.
Over the past 15 years, Anna has served in a variety of leadership roles across the nonprofit sector—as an executive director, board president, board member and trustee, and trusted strategic advisor to numerous mission-driven organizations. In 2023, Anna founded the North Shore Network, an executive women’s leadership community that fosters collaboration, connection, and innovation among female leaders across business, philanthropy, and civic life. In 2026, she launched the Impact Network, a platform that brings together nonprofit executives and social impact leaders for peer learning, professional development, and collaboration to strengthen the nonprofit ecosystem across the region.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Calvin University and a Master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from DePaul University. She is a current member of the Fractional Leadership Alliance and serves on the Women’s Board of the Joffrey Ballet.