What We Do
The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.
Solomon Ibn Gabriol
Stability
When confronting multiple challenges simultaneously, we guide you in rehabilitating your organization. Stability in organizations is commonly marked by the indicators noted below. If the reality in your organization is marked by the opposite or lack of several of these, we can help.
Stability Indicators
- Preservation of financial assets
- Budget balance
- Minimal turnover among staff and volunteers
- Minimal grievances from staff and volunteers
- Minimal complaints from clients
- Low rate of loss of fee-for-service clientele and their referral sources
- Low lapse rate among donors
- Minimal negative publicity
- Minimal negative evaluative comments from external authorities (such as accreditation bodies, licensing agencies, and other third party reviewers)
Vitality
When it is challenging just to maintain the status quo, we guide you in stimulating new enthusiasm and loyalty among your organization’s stakeholders. Vitality in organizations is usually evidenced by many or all of the indicators below. If you desire to make these descriptors the reality in your organization, we can help
Vitality Indicators
- Positive operating cash flow
- Dynamic revenue sources: new donors, grants, contracts, social enterprise
- Opportunity for selective and strategic recruiting of board and staff
- High morale among staff members
- On-going staff development (training and advancement)
- Staff members learning about best, better, and promising practices
- Staff and volunteers receiving praise from clients, referrals, or community partners
- Healthy rate of repeat donors
- Increase in amount of average donation
- Positive publicity
- Awards and public recognition from other community leaders and groups
- Recurring program evaluation to support quality improvement
- External staff expertise recognitions: awards, publication, speaking engagements
- Positive evaluative comments from external authorities (such as accreditation bodies, licensing agencies, and other third party reviewers)
Growth
When your organization is hopeful about its future and desires to meet new challenges but is not sure of the best direction to take, we guide you in planning for expansion and change (whether that change be a new focus or a refocusing of the original vision). Or, if your organization is growing but the organizing needs to catch up with the growing, we guide you in putting structures and systems in place to ensure that growth leads to strength rather than instability. Growth in organizations is commonly marked by the indicators noted below. If you seek a future in which these describe your organization’s reality, we can help you realize your dream.
Growth Indicators
- Increase in financial assets
- Increase in size of operating budget
- Increase in operating budget surpluses
- Increase in number of clients served
- Expansion of donor base
- Expansion of volunteer pool
- Increase in name recognition and public visibility
- Expansion of mission
- Enlargement of vision
- Expansion of programs: new locations, acquisition of other agencies, or creation of new programs
 |