Jim Croft is a Principal with JWC Consulting Group (JWCCG) in Chicago. JWCCG brings leadership and financial management experience to the nonprofit community and is positioned to help organizations meet strategic objectives and achieve their mission. In addition to his work at JWCCG, Jim serves as the academic director for nonprofit finance in the Kellogg School of Management’s Center for Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University, and is a faculty member at Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies. He is also on the MBA faculty in the College of Business at the University of Nebraska. 

From 1984 to 2015, Jim was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for The Field Museum in Chicago. In addition to leading the institution’s financial operations, he was responsible for facilities management and several other operating units. For several years he served concurrently as the museum’s chief development officer, managing the annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, and corporate and foundation giving programs. He was also responsible for a major capital campaign that successfully concluded in 2008. 

Jim has also held several positions in social service administration, serving as a community center executive director, finance officer, and chief business officer. In 2016, he was appointed to the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Nonprofit Advisory Committee (NAC). The NAC serves as advisors to FASB staff as it relates to accounting standards that are used by nonprofit organizations in the United States. Jim is also a member of several boards including, Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Great Lakes Advisors. 

He received a PhD from the University of Nebraska where his doctoral work focused on higher education leadership and nonprofit financial management. He also studied business administration and management at the University of Nebraska, Roosevelt University, and National Louis University.