Nonprofits Need Strategic Plans and Board Retreats – and SCP Delivers
Nov 22, 2019 | Success Stories
The SCP team delivers practical business knowledge and expertise to nonprofit organizations, gained through hands-on experience from many years of service on nonprofit boards and from having facilitated more than 100 strategic planning projects for nonprofits since the company’s founding in 1994. Over the past five years, SCP has grown exponentially, expanding its nonprofit practice to provide support for up to eight nonprofit strategic planning clients at a time. We specialize in working with nonprofits whose missions are focused on healthcare, disabilities, and women’s rights and advocacy. Among recent projects completed include the following:
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
NIWRC contracted with SCP to provide strategic planning services for the second time. The previous strategic plan completed in 2014 resulted in the first National Hotline for Domestic Violence supporting Native Women and their families. In November 2019, Monica Gould, SCP President, and Ariel Gould, JD, facilitated a two-day retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with NIWRC board and staff to define priorities and strategies for the next five years.
“Strategic Consulting Partners has been an amazing partner for NIWRC. They positively engaged with our staff and board in such a respectful way that I couldn’t imagine moving forward with our work without them in our corner. We are so thankful for their guidance in our strategic planning and organizational evaluation work.”
~Lucy Simpson, NIWRC Executive Director
Project SHARE
Two years ago, Project SHARE hired SCP to develop a strategic plan, one result of which was a leadership reorganization. In addition to facilitating the strategic planning project, SCP provided interim management for Project SHARE for six months during the executive search for a new CEO. The board ended up hiring SCP’s interim manager, Bob Weed, and Project SHARE is now stable and growing. Most recently, SCP facilitated a one-day retreat with the board to review the organization’s accomplishments over the prior year and to set priorities for the year ahead.
“SCP has played a critical role in the current strength of our organization and its positive future. With expertise they provided an assessment of our organization, guided us in the development of a strategic plan based on the assessment, and moved us to implement best practices. SCP exceeded our expectations and provided above and beyond the criteria of the contract. They guided us in developing a vision and mission for our organization that we enthusiastically embrace and that shaped and informed the strategic plan. There were issues with our organizational leadership; SCP identified those areas and guided the Board and organization through a challenging transition. They walked with us through the entire process, providing wise counsel, skill, a positive demeanor, and effectively troubleshooting unanticipated issues. We contracted with them for additional hours as we implemented the early stages of the strategic plan and moved forward with changes in leadership. SCP has played an important role toward Project SHARE being a stronger and more effective organization.”
~Diane Baltaeff, Board Chair, Project SHARE
United Cerebral Palsy of Central Pennsylvania
In November, 2017, UCP awarded SCP a contract to develop a five-year strategic plan for this 100-person, multi-million-dollar organization based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. SCP delivered the plan after extensive data gathering and analysis; facilitating individual and group meetings with key stakeholders (including members of the board, executive and leadership teams, and program managers) to gain a complete and thorough baseline understanding of UCP’s opportunities and challenges; and completing a SWOT analysis in close collaboration with UCP staff.
“Strategic Consulting Partners were our PARTNERS – in every sense of the word – throughout our strategic planning process. After working for many years in the business of managing organizations – with Accenture, BDO and various other consultants on similar projects – I can say SCP’s work is far and above the rest in every capacity. I could not give a more confident recommendation.”
~President and CEO Judith McCowan
Susquehanna Greenway Partnership
SGP engaged SCP to develop a short-term (two-year) strategic plan to guide leadership as it endeavored to set a new course for the future of the organization. After two facilitated board and staff retreats, the organization defined strategic goals, which included revising their staffing and governance structure. Since implementing the plan, SGP experienced positive organizational changes that have positioned the organization for additional funding and increased internal capacity. Visit www.susquehannagreenway.org for more information about SGP.
“The Partnership was at a critical point within our organization’s history. We were at a crossroads in which we needed to evaluate our past work and strategically position ourselves for moving forward under new leadership and direction. The need arose to organize a guided experience in which we reflected on our successes and challenges, deepened our understanding of our important work and the regional need, and realigned the organization back under the mission and vision of the Partnership. We were thankful for the objective help and facilitation that both Monica and Bob provided our leadership in addressing this need and collaboratively producing our two-year strategic plan.”
~Corey Ellison, Executive Director, Susquehanna Greenways Partnership