About Abdale Consulting

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

A world free of hunger, hatred, ignorance, oppression and fear – a world filled with freedom, opportunity and justice for all.

Mission

To help dynamic leaders realize their vision.

Values

Clarity
Provide every client with a written agreement that clearly describes the expectations and responsibilities of all parties.

Diligence
Give each client full value for their hard-earned dollars and always do our best to meet deadlines, keep projects on track and deliver on any promises made.

Discretion
Keep confidential whatever we may learn about a client’s history, present situation or future plans.

Fun
Bring an understanding that having fun together is a key component of creativity and successful relationships.

Integrity
Do our best work, tell the truth as we see it and only make promises that we can keep.

Optimism
Look for the opportunities in any challenge. We believe in the spirit of altruism and the power of love. We also believe that pessimism is faith in failure and that cynicism has no place in a healthy organization.

Respect
Act from the knowledge that beyond every personality is a soul of equal worth.

Frank Abdale speaking with group

“What’s the use of running if you are not on the right road?”

– German proverb

Frank Abdale

Frank Abdale is the principal of Abdale Consulting LLC, whose mission is to help dynamic leaders realize their vision. With 25+ years in the nonprofit sector, Frank is a proven strategist, facilitator, leader, trainer and author. As a consultant, executive director and board member he has helped a wide range of organizations develop successful strategies for sustainability through strategic planning, succession planning and board development.

As a facilitator, Frank is known for his ability to design meaningful agendas, draw out the best thinking of all participants and keep meetings and projects on time, on track and on budget. He has designed and facilitated multiple strategic planning and succession planning processes; board, staff and constituent retreats; funder convenings; city-wide town halls; congressional briefings; and a variety of workshops, webinars and online trainings.

Frank is a BoardSource™ Certified Governance Trainer and a Senior Associate Consultant with the Support Center for Nonprofit Management. He is the former chair of the Association of Nonprofit Specialists (ANS), a premier resource for consultants working in the nonprofit sector. As chair of ANS, Frank helped lead a small organization on extended hiatus into new relevancy.

The former executive director of the Association of Nutrition Services Agencies, Frank transformed a small association into a nationally recognized force. He expanded and diversified the agency’s funding base, built an effective grassroots and national advocacy program, wrote legislation introduced into the House and Senate and launched an international program focused on nutrition and HIV/AIDS in South Africa and Namibia. His publications include Community-Based Nutrition Support for People Living with HIV and AIDS: A Technical Assistance Manual and Practical Abundance: A Comprehensive Guide to Fundraising and Development for Nonprofits which he used as the text for “Fundraising Concepts and Practices”, a course he co-taught at NYU’s School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies.

Frank Abdale

Board Chair

Frank is also the former chair of the Association of Nonprofit Specialists (ANS), a premier resource for consultants working in the nonprofit sector. As chair of ANS, Frank led the transformation of a small organization, on extended hiatus, into new relevancy. He created the organization’s signature program “The Consultants Institute” and carved out a complementary space for ANS among the major management assistance organizations in New York City.

Teaching

Frank offers a series of webinars and workshops on strategic planning and succession planning at Baruch College, The Support Center, Foundation Center Library and New York Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, as well as customized trainings on “The Board’s Role in Development,” “The Board’s Role in Advocacy” and “Diversifying Your Funding Base.”

Executive Director

The former executive director of the Association of Nutrition Services Agencies, Frank transformed a small association into a nationally recognized force. He expanded and diversified the agency’s funding base, built an effective grassroots and national advocacy program, wrote legislation introduced into the House and Senate and launched an international program focused on nutrition and HIV/AIDS in South Africa and Namibia.

Publications

His publications include Practical Abundance: A Comprehensive Guide to Fundraising and Development for Nonprofits that he used as the text for “Fundraising Concepts and Practices,” a course he co-taught at NYU’s School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies.

View a sample of Frank Abdale’s publications and articles >>

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision.”

– Theodore M. Hesburgh

Our Logo

Based on a contemporary Buddhist symbol our logo represents the convergence of altruism and pragmatism and the unstoppable wave of positive energy that occurs when both these principles meet in equal measure.

This concept – the equal balance of altruism and pragmatism – is at the core of all our services. Too much focus on the the altruistic can lead to decisions that ignore financial realities or other necessary components of a healthy organization. Too much focus on the practical can lead to decisions that diminish the soul of an organization’s mission and ultimately alienate donors, volunteers and staff, and institutionalize systems that no longer consider a client’s best interests the primary focus of everyone’s effort. Either path can lead to an organization’s dysfunction and demise.