Project engagement
For a defined goal with a start and finish date.
- Opportunity analysis or sponsorship program redesign
- Launch of a new partnership or underwriting initiative
- Facilitated strategy sessions and planning
- Systems and metrics setup
Partnerships that hold weight.
Great Stone Consulting helps member associations, nonprofits, and companies build relationships that pay off for both sides. We find the opportunity, shape the offer, and stay on to make it work.
Solving problems, driving impact, and building community through productivity and positivity.
- 30+years leading partnerships in business, nonprofits, and associations
- 2015the year Great Stone Consulting opened as an independent firm
- $1Mraised in the first year of GA Gives Day, the statewide giving program Lynne launched
We work both sides of the table.
Most partnerships stall because each side speaks a different language. Lynne has led partnership programs from the nonprofit side and sold to companies from the business side, so she builds offers both parties say yes to.
Associations and nonprofits
You have an audience, a mission, and programs that companies want to be part of. You need that value packaged and priced so it sells.
- Sponsorship and underwriting programs that renew year after year
- Non-dues revenue that doesn't depend on one annual event
- Corporate partners whose goals match your mission
Shared goalsClear terms, measurable return, and a relationship worth renewing
Companies
You want community engagement and visibility that reach the right people and show results you can report on.
- Sponsorships matched to the audiences you need to reach
- Collaborations that put your teams in front of the community
- Clear reporting on what each partnership delivered
Our clients include member-based associations, nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and companies that want their partnerships to produce bottom line results.
What we do
Five services, used on their own or together. Select any service to see what it covers.
We review your programs, audiences, and current relationships, then identify the partnership and sponsorship opportunities with the strongest return. You get a stakeholder engagement plan that says who to approach, what to offer, and in what order.
- Audit of current sponsorship and partnership materials
- Inventory and valuation of what you can offer partners
- Prospect lists matched to your mission and audience
- Stakeholder engagement strategy with clear priorities
Lynne is an experienced sales executive who has sold programs, sponsorships, and services consultatively for decades. We build the offer, open the doors, and lead the conversations through to a signed partnership.
- Sponsorship and underwriting packages built around partner goals
- Proposals and pitch materials
- Outreach, discovery meetings, and negotiation
- Renewal and upgrade strategy for current partners
Signed agreements only matter if the work gets delivered. We plan, launch, monitor, and support programs and projects so commitments to partners, members, and funders are met.
- Program planning, timelines, and budgets
- Implementation and day-to-day management
- Partner benefit fulfillment and reporting
- Retained support for ongoing programs
Collaborations between organizations, and between teams inside one organization, depend on trust and clear roles. We facilitate the planning, set the ground rules, and coach the people involved.
- Multi-organization collaborations and coalitions
- Facilitated planning sessions and retreats
- Team coaching and leadership support
- Partner stewardship and relationship care
We design the processes, tracking, and metrics your team needs to run partnerships on its own. The goal is a self-sustaining system, not a dependency on us.
- Partnership pipelines and tracking tools
- Metrics and dashboards that show return
- Roles, workflows, and accountability plans
- Training so your staff can carry it forward
How an engagement works
Every project is built around your goals, but the path stays consistent. Each step sets the foundation for the next one.
- 1
Listen
We learn your goals, your audience, and what has or hasn't worked before.
- 2
Assess
We measure what you can offer partners and where the best opportunities are.
- 3
Build
We create the strategy, the offer, and the materials to take to market.
- 4
Deliver
We lead outreach, close agreements, and manage the work that follows.
- 5
Sustain
We track results, report return, and hand your team a system that lasts.
Two ways to work together
Bring us in for a defined project, or keep us on as an extension of your team.
Retained services
For organizations that need senior partnership leadership on an ongoing basis.
- Ongoing sales and sponsorship development
- Program fulfillment and partner reporting
- Project management support
- A steady advisor for leadership and staff
Lynne Norton
President, Great Stone Consulting
Lynne brings more than three decades of experience blending the worlds of business and nonprofit. She has led within corporations, nonprofits, social enterprises, and associations, and she delivers bottom line results through strategic partnerships, program planning and monitoring, project management, and team leadership.
She is an accomplished sales executive with a proven track record of consultatively selling programs, sponsorships, and services. Clients hire her for the relationships she builds and keep her for the results those relationships produce.
- Marketing, sales, and stakeholder engagement strategy
- High value, high yield relationships
- Strategic partnerships and collaborations
- Human experience and community building
- President, Great Stone ConsultingIndependent consultancy serving associations, nonprofits, and companies
- Director, Corporate Partnerships, Career and Alumni Services, Year UpLed corporate sales on the senior leadership team of this national workforce nonprofit. Grew 40 corporate partner accounts with 96% customer satisfaction, hosted engagement events for more than 350 C-level executives, and reached an 85% renewal rate.
- Director, then Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Georgia Center for NonprofitsDirected association membership, outbound sales, community partnerships, and statewide giving programs. Built more than 50 community partnerships and launched GA Gives Day, which raised $1 million in its first year.
- Senior Sales Executive, United Business MediaFourteen years of corporate sales experience she brings to every partnership program
A Decatur resident, Lynne is an active gardener, a chicken keeper, and an all-around appreciator of nature.
Why Great Stone
The name honors Lynne's maiden name and her parents, Ed and Gloria Stone. Their entrepreneurial spirit and hard work shaped how she does business: show up, do the work, and build something that lasts.
Tell us what you want to build.
Whether you're launching a sponsorship program, looking for the right corporate partner, or need help delivering on agreements you already have, start with a conversation.
Email Lynne- Contact
- Lynne Norton, President
- Phone
- 678-310-9842
- lnorton@greatstoneconsulting.com
- Location
- Decatur, Georgia