Steve Zimmerman

Steve Zimmerman is the Principal of Spectrum Nonprofit Services where he provides training and consulting in the areas of finance and strategy for community-based organizations, foundations and government agencies throughout the country. He is the co-author of two books on nonprofit sustainability published by Jossey-Bass, the award-winning book, The Sustainability Mindset: Using the Matrix Map to Make Strategic Decisions and the best-selling book Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability. The books highlight Spectrum’s integrated approach to nonprofit business models which balances mission impact and financial viability. Steve also was the contributing author on strategic planning for Nonprofit Management 101 published in 2019 and financial leadership for The Jossey Bass Handbook on Nonprofit Leadership and Management edited by David Renz and published in 2023. His writing has also appeared in Harvard Business Review, The Nonprofit Quarterly, and various BoardSource publications. In addition to writing Steve is a frequent keynote speaker and presenter at nonprofit conferences around the country.

Steve’s extensive nonprofit experience includes serving as a Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, Development Director and Associate Director at community-based nonprofits where he performed turnarounds resulting in increased financial sustainability and programmatic reach. Additionally, he previously was a television business reporter for ABC NewsOne and ABC affiliates in New York, Houston, Chicago and San Francisco.

Steve serves his community on the Board of Directors of Jewish Museum Milwaukee and Black Arts MKE as well as being a member of the Leadership Council of the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. He is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a BA from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from Yale University.