Civicus Consulting Group recently worked with a nonprofit organization that provides human services, with the main goal of promoting self-reliance.

We helped the nonprofit conduct a self-analysis, involving key staff members, and created a strategy it could use to improve itself as an organization so it could see even greater success in the next five years, and lay a foundation for long-term effectiveness. This case study illustrates what we did for the organization and how we helped it implement a customized plan.

The Organization

The nonprofit has served its community for 50 years, and is a leader in local human services, working to build self-reliance in individuals, families, and communities. It provides things like home buyer mortgage counseling, food distribution, and more to three neighboring counties.

With a staff of about 40 employees, the group does an excellent job of meeting community members’ needs. It also has excellent leaders that have personal relationships with elected officials, funders, business leaders, and other stakeholders.

The Nonprofit Alignment and Risk Assessment

We worked with this organization to conduct an agency assessment to gauge areas for possible improvement. This assessment was accomplished through our proprietary Nonprofit Alignment and Risk Assessment—an instrument that analyzes 10 broad areas of agency functionality, with nearly 100 specific evaluation points.

We used online surveys, in-person interviews, and a document review to determine how aligned the organization was with its purpose and mission.

The results of the Alignment Audit were good, but not strong. A number of areas were identified as possible avenues for organizational improvement in order to be more effective and achieve more significant outcomes.

As a result of this assessment, the organization’s board and staff leadership embarked on a number of efforts to improve its organizational structure, systems, accountability, client feedback, strategic planning, and clarity of purpose. Civicus Consulting Group assisted with these efforts.

The nonprofit had previously conducted a three-year community assessment and planning process and had annual work plans, which is was using to their full potential. However, it had no long-term, multi-year strategic plan for the agency as a whole.

The Results we Brought

We worked closely with leadership to make plans to address the weaknesses our analysis found. By addressing these issues, we strengthened the organization as a whole.

Restructuring for Staff Accountability

One of the biggest things our research uncovered was that the organization’s structure was inhibiting staff accountability, so we recommended modifying it.

At the time, the structure looked like a traditional pyramid with staff members reporting to managers who then reported to directors. This structure created a silo effect, with some staff members performing their work, at times, without considering other staff member responsibilities or the effect their work had on achieving the organization’s vision.

With our help, the nonprofit restructured itself into a team model, rather than a program or department model, which decreased the number of direct reports to the executive director and increased accountability.

Strategic Planning for Improved Success

Once the foundation of a new, more effective structure was in place, we began working on a strategic plan to identify objectives, define roles for team members, and include measurable activities.

The plan we put together was simple to implement and communicate, so it could easily be used in day-to-day operations.

We worked with the new leadership team to identify a common, strategic objective: “within five years, 1,000 families will move out of poverty and become self-reliant.” We also created strategic goals for various aspects of the organization.

With the goals and outcomes set, we created logic models and measurements that included inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. In essence, we created a plan to accomplish those goals and measure success.

Plan Implementation

As part of the strategic plan we designed, we included key performance indicators (KPIs), which were tracked and reported on using a customized spreadsheet. Every quarter, the organization compiles the data and provides a report to the board of directors.

One of the goals the organization wanted to meet was to become more client-centered. To achieve this, we created a Rapid Feedback System that uses touch-screen stations to survey clients in both English and Spanish to gather real-time customer feedback.

We’re pleased that this organization found the Nonprofit Alignment and Risk Assessment so helpful that it will be repeating it every two years to measure progress and identify new areas for improvement.

With our help, this excellent nonprofit organization became even more successful and had a plan that aligned with its mission. It knew exactly what it needed to accomplish and had the structure and systems in place to be successful, which in turn has helped it make an even bigger impact on its community.

To find out how a Nonprofit Alignment and Risk Assessment can help your nonprofit, contact us at 815-985-6794.