CS 3 - Program Development
The Scenario: After widely reported controversy, an advocacy group needs to rebuild its program and its reputation.
Organizational Profile: A start-up organization with a mission but no programs or infrastructure.
Outcomes: Positive board relations, fully-funded budget, multiple programs in multiple locations, and visible in the community-at-large.
Re-starting from Scratch
When I was engaged by this faith-based advocacy organization, I knew that the former Executive Director had left amidst a fiery burst of negative publicity and controversy. What I did not know was what else had been accomplished in terms of building this new program.
Walking into the program’s office for the first time, I literally found an empty room: no files, no furniture, no tangible items of any sort. And that literal emptiness was indicative of the state of the program over all. There was only a tabula rasa. Even the start-up grant was about to expire.
I eventually realized, however, that what was a challenge was also truly an opportunity. The program could be redesigned in a manner that fit the swiftly shifting landscape of ecclesiastical sexual politics. Working with the group’s board as well as a team of other influential allies recruited for the purpose, we started the exciting, albeit daunting, project of rebuilding the program “from scratch.”
An ambitious schedule of educational and social events was planned and implemented. Public speaking invitations were cultivated and accepted. Printed promotional and educational materials were produced and distributed. Collaborations with other organizations were arranged.
Within two years, the senior board member remarked in a public meeting that he had begun to see the impact of the organization on those it served practically every week on his travels crisscrossing the state. By the end of my work there, the budget for the program had been fully funded and a coherent yet multi-faceted program was operating in five locations.
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