Services / Strategic Consulting

Strategy Development

If you have new opportunities ahead, are facing change, or want to be sure your nonprofit is addressing real community needs and challenges in an effective way, it’s probably time to invest in strategy development.

Our strategic consultants will work with both your staff and board to create a financially informed strategic framework so your organization can be adaptive and prepared to meet your strategic goals.

Whether we engage with you for a one-time strategy retreat, facilitate a strategy refresh, or partner with your nonprofit for a full strategic planning process, our focus is not just on creating a guiding document, but also on providing a practical, financially informed roadmap for how to build capacity and processes to carry out your mission and plan.

Questions?

Not sure what approach is a good fit for your strategy needs? Reach out to Amanda Duhon to start a conversation about what approach could work for your organization.

Amanda Duhon
612-249-6686

Benefits & Outcomes of Strategy Development

  • Create a financially informed strategic framework that supports your organization’s mission, vision, and values
  • Identify key organizational insights and opportunities
  • Engage your board in clarifying your organization’s future direction
  • Create an adaptive framework that can be revised in the future
  • Engage in generative conversations to create shared understanding, greater connection, and a wider range possibilities
  • Develop stronger interpersonal relationships
  • Build healthier board and staff partnerships
  • Gain a stronger understanding of the connection between your organization’s strategic framework and its business model

Levels of Strategic Development

1. Strategy Retreat

Our strategic consultants will work with your board and staff to plan and facilitate a one-day retreat to develop a high-level strategy for your nonprofit. This engagement is typically part of a larger strategy process; we’ll assist with one specific part. We’ll work with your organization to think through its overall process and assure that this retreat helps advance what you are trying to accomplish. Typically, a strategy retreat is a 4-10 week process centered around a singular retreat event.

2. Strategy Refresh

We’ll work with your nonprofit to update your existing strategic plan. The strategy refresh updates both high-level strategies and other organizational strategies. This engagement includes a review of your past financials as well as a business model analysis. We’ll work from your goals and our financial review to make sure that your strategic next-steps are informed by a deepened understanding of how your strategy and business model are connected. Typically, a strategy refresh is a 4-6 month process.

3. Full Strategic Planning Process

Our strategic services team delivers a robust planning process that includes an environmental scan; historic financial analysis to develop financially informed strategic goals; and the development of high-level strategies paired with operational and organizational strategies. Typically, the full strategic planning process takes 6-7 months.

From our clients

“There have been so many eye-openers along the way, particularly with finances where I went, ‘Oh yeah, that’s not going to work if we don’t figure this other part out.’ I don’t think I appreciated enough that this good work we’re doing – let’s say in the construction area – can be done in such a way that it can help us financially if we do it in a planful way. I felt so much more resourced at the end of the year.”

Jody Nelson, Executive Director, Change Inc.