Jean Adams has a passion for helping the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors be their best. To do that, she works with teams to help translate foundation vision and strategy into department plans and performance targets.
As a consultant for The Stevens Group (now part of CliftonLarsonAllen), she worked with nonprofit leaders across the country to develop strategic plans, taught workshops on financial principals, and managed nonprofit loan funds. She then ran the Charities Review Council of Minnesota, helping donors make impactful giving decisions through public speaking and evaluations of charities fundraising in Minnesota. Jean then worked for both private (Northwest Area Foundation) and community (the Minneapolis Foundation) foundations, leading all operational functions including Human Resources, Finance, Grants and Contract Management, Facilities and Information Technology. One of her most significant contributions in these foundations was been creating impact investment strategies, using both publicly-traded strategies and program related investments in targeted communities. She has helped other foundations do similar work same by speaking at various meetings and conferences around the country.
Outside of her work, she also has an extensive history of volunteer service on boards, including the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, Propel Nonprofits, College Possible Minnesota, CF Leads, CFInsights, and the Fiscal and Administrative Officers’ Group.
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Adams earned her B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management as well as a mini-MBA from the University of St. Thomas. She has also completed the Minnesota Management Institute at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
Jean and her husband are now empty-nesters (except for the four-legged kind), taking full advantage of living on the Mississippi River in the Minneapolis metro area. They have two daughters pursuing their dreams in medicine and environmental engineering—making for a range of interesting conversations at the holidays!
ABOUT
Who we are
JMAdams Advisors: Helping mission-driven organizations innovate & align resources to drive impact. We develop strategic operating plans for private and community foundations that align all business units with the organization’s mission,
vision and values.
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We’re here to help people who have dedicated their lives to enhancing communities develop the systems, tools, and processes that
catalyze impact.
Who we serve
Imagine if our organizations were like a skein of birds flying in formation--maximizing the strength and power of each part so that the organization can reach new heights.
Together.
That's what JMAdams Advisors is all about: helping private and community foundations reach their goals by aligning all parts of the work, through clear direction and measurable results.
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How we work
We start every consulting relationship with an exploration of the challenges the client faces. Sometimes the client has a clear idea of what they need—a business plan, a performance measurement framework, a leadership transition—and sometimes we use the inquiry phase to determine what sort of process is needed. We leverage our past experience and work to meet our client’s needs, but each project is uniquely adapted to the
client’s circumstances.