Skip to main content
Nonprofit

Organizational Planning

By 01/05/2011August 29th, 2018No Comments

Need:

This nonprofit had become recognized as an effective organization in helping at-risk students be successful. The budget had doubled in two years and the staff was working at a level that was beyond sustainable capacity, yet many opportunities were still presented to the organization.

Service:

Warren Whitney provided short-term consulting (3 months) staffed by a team of three professionals with backgrounds in board and organizational management, accounting, and development.

We worked with the management team to create an organizational plan that spanned the next four years and aligned their stated priorities for expansion with the organizational structure to support their goals. The engagement included a review of the accounting function and the development office, and included the financial implications of organizational changes.

The process included:

  • Interviewing the management staff and representatives from the field staff to understand the way the organization functioned.
  • Interviewing board members and key community leaders to learn about their vision for the organization.
  • Interviewing representatives from the public school’s central office and principals of several schools.
  • Creating a list of possible opportunities for the organization and reviewing them with the CEO to establish priorities.
  • Mapping organizational changes that would help meet the expansion goals.
  • Determining the economic impact of the changes.
  • Recommending a path for the development department to increase capacity in order to raise the necessary funds.
  • Recommending changes in the accounting function to provide more helpful and timely reporting.
  • Presenting recommendations to management and the board.

Result:

The organization has made changes consistent with recommendations for the first year. Warren Whitney provides monthly oversight of the accounting function, roughly four to six hours per month.

Notes: This engagement was funded through a capacity-building grant from a local foundation. A Warren Whitney advantage was being able to field a team that included experience in organizational planning, board development, accounting, and fund development.