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Enhancing Your Board's Performance
Growth Strategies
Tools and Frameworks
Improving Programs and Services
Strengthening Your Organization's Performance
Launch Models

Enhancing Your Board's Performance

Extending the Planning Horizon to Inform Board Room Decisions

Even in the heady days of the 1990's, trustees at a leading liberal arts college were worried that their desire to invest in new programs would only lead to future deficits. They remembered how challenging it had been historically to eliminate a structural deficit and didn't want to repeat that experience.

Working with the vice president of finance, we helped develop a five-year budget model so the board could determine whether future revenue growth would cover the increased expenses for proposed additional faculty and new classroom facilities. Based on this forecasting tool, the trustees proceeded to approve the recommendations, comfortable that the college would remain financially healthy.

The five-year budget model proved to be even more important with the recent stock market decline. The board and staff grasped the multi-year impact of the endowment's fall in value and moved early to make needed expense reductions. As their perspective shifted from the current year to the medium term, trustees discovered that they had more options available and were making better decisions for the college's long-term health.

Instilling a Marketing Culture to Raise Visibility Without Raising Costs

The board chair of a national early childhood school readiness program was complaining to two new trustees that funders and other possible partners overlooked the agency in spite of its successful and cost-effective program, substantiated by 35 years of research.

The trustees recognized that the agency needed to raise its visibility and position itself as an early childhood literacy expert. But they knew it had limited resources --- financial, human, in-house marketing skills and experience. The trustees talked to the executive director and decided to establish a new board marketing committee comprised of experienced trustees and staff. Together we designed the organization's first marketing strategy and action plan. We identified key constituencies, relevant messages and prioritized targets. We produced a media and promotional kit in modules that could be adapted for different purposes or constituencies and published an annual report. We also introduced a marketing training course for local sites at its annual conference so that the staff could use the materials effectively in reaching their local constituents and ensure that the organization's message was consistent from region to region.

To increase awareness of the organization, we redesigned an existing newsletter, increased its frequency of publication, broadened and sharpened its editorial focus and then linked it with an ongoing fundraising strategy. As a result, the newsletter's readership grew 60% within 18 months and donations solicited through each new issue underwrote its printing and production costs from inception.

Today, both the executive director and the board understand the importance of a consistent message and actively seek opportunities to convey it in every organization communication. Press coverage has increased locally because local staff now understands how to work with local media with the tools we developed and the importance of collecting and using local program statistics to strengthen their stories.

"We knew we were an organization with a great story. We learned how to leverage resources like our board members with marketing experience so we could strengthen our marketing material and public relations efforts in a very cost-effective way. The board realized how valuable these efforts were...building the program's visibility."

Executive Director, Early Childhood School Readiness Program

Laying a Foundation to Build Leadership Capacity

A national early childhood school-readiness organization needed to transform what had been a founder's board into a more professional group that could support a lasting institution. It was actively recruiting new trustees and wanted to reshape the board committee configuration, then recruit additional directors to strengthen the board.

We worked together to develop a new board governance plan and committee structure. We drafted general committee guidelines and defined each type of committee (standing, ad hoc and even advisory). We suggested suitable standing and ad hoc committees as well as each committee's mission, roles and responsibilities, appropriate composition, meeting frequency and communication protocol. We also redefined the 'job description' for all directors. Based on clearer roles and using the committee structure as a guide, the organization could identify the types of new board members needed, recruit them and integrate new directors more effectively. The process will help unite the executive director and board around a shared mission and understanding of how they could best work together to achieve their goals.

"Barbara was able to take a board that had been accustomed to functioning as an advisory committee and provide the construct it needed to begin its evolution into a governing board. Board members now have a proper understanding of their role and there is a committee structure designed to increase productivity and utilize expertise."

Executive Director, The Parent-Child Home Program

Small Intervention, Big Impact: Improving Board Fiscal Literacy

The executive director of a well-known social service agency wanted us to lead a discussion at the board's day-long retreat to educate board members about the organization's financial reports. You'll have an hour, she said. The board doesn't understand the statements, doesn't read them, and I can't get them to grasp how we're doing. See what you can do.

After reviewing the agency's monthly reports, we returned to the director, confessing that we didn't understand the statements, either. We suggested this might be the perfect opportunity to revamp and introduce some new reports. Together we agreed on their purpose and the key information that should be conveyed.

We presented the initial draft reports at the retreat. After a long silence, a board member tentatively raised her hand to ask what a certain item meant. With that the ice broke, more questions followed, first to understand the individual programs, then to discuss the larger, more strategic implications raised by the report. The proverbial light bulb went off: Now I understand why our fund-raising is so important -- none of our programs are self-sustaining on government money alone, one board member said. And look at how much available capacity we have, said another. We either need to reduce our space or bring in new programs to fill it and cover more of our costs.

Within sixty minutes the board's comprehension about the agency's financial health had increased geometrically, and the level of discussion reached a height never before seen in a board setting. Even more significant, the board asked for additional financial information and education. Now the executive director and the board were partners actively engaged in planning and building the agency's financial strength.

"In just one hour the board grasped the key financial issues we face and became active partners in deciding how to move forward."

Executive Director, Inwood House

Tools and Frameworks

Coaching throughout the Transition to Ensure Success

Nonprofit boards often turn to us for assistance when recruiting a new executive. With our affiliate, Leadership Recruiters, we help boards ensure a successful leadership transition by "book-ending" the traditional search process. We start by helping the board articulate the skills and competencies the new leader needs to enable the nonprofit to achieve its goals. Then once hired, we coach the new executive and the board over several months to ensure a successful transition.

When a board asks for help in a search, we urge the search committee to step back and consider where it wants the organization to be in five years and what impact it wants to have. These answers dictate what kind of leader is needed to achieve its goals, and the skills and competencies required. We focus not only on a candidate's experience and functional expertise, but also on how the individual works with others to carry out a task. The search committee can rank potential candidates, using the "what" and the "how" identified as criteria. Clear decision-making criteria become invaluable when we work with clients who have both internal and external candidates and need help in making their selection.

With several clients, we coached the new executive to help him/her succeed in their new role, usually over the first six months. We met together with the board chair and new executive to clarify expectations, to help set near-term goals for building relationships with the staff, funders, and key stakeholders, and to begin moving the organization forward. We discussed how they wanted to communicate with each other and established a regular schedule for doing so. Over the coming months, we talked frequently and regularly with the new leader, acting as a sounding board and providing advice on issues as they arose. Quarterly, we met again with the board chair and executive to review progress and provided an opportunity to surface and address concerns.

Our clients have found the pre-search preparation and post-search coaching to be invaluable. Boards have greater confidence that the new leader is indeed the person they need and breathe a sigh of relief in knowing they have an effective executive who will be with the organization for years to come. The new leader is also delighted in having the board's support and help in making a successful, smooth transition to his/her new home.

Five-Year Budgeting: A Tool to Inform Management and Board Decision-Making

Even in the heady days of the 1990's, trustees at a leading liberal arts college were worried that their desire to invest in new programs would only lead to future deficits.

They remembered how challenging it had been historically to eliminate a structural deficit and didn't want to repeat that experience.

Working with the vice president of finance, we helped develop a five-year budget model so the board could determine whether future revenue growth would cover the increased expenses for proposed additional faculty and new classroom facilities. Based on this forecasting tool, the trustees proceeded to approve the recommendations, comfortable that the college would remain financially healthy.

The five-year budget model proved to be even more important with the recent stock market decline. The board and staff grasped the multi-year impact of the endowment's fall in value and moved early to make needed expense reductions. As their perspective shifted from the current year to the medium term, trustees discovered that they had more options available and were making better decisions for the college's long-term health.

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Using a Dashboard to Measure Progress Against Goals

The president of a community development lender turned to her staff and asked, "I know we're meeting our funders' requirements, but how are we doing against our own goals for the organization? What really matters for our success?"

We worked with senior management to identify the key 'success drivers' for programs, financial health, and fund-raising. Then we developed appropriate indicators, for example, a funding pipeline from request-for-proposal to grant commitment and a cash availability measure for expenses. After testing and refining the measures with the managers, we created a monthly 'dashboard' of progress year-to-date and against goals. We also devised a way to prepare the report automatically from existing databases.

Shortly after each month-end, the president and senior management met to examine the dashboard results and discuss why the nonprofit was doing well or not so well. They agreed on any adjustments to be made and actions necessary to improve performance. Responsible for different programs and functions, the directors developed a better understanding of the organization as a whole and became a stronger team as they worked together to achieve common goals.

Growth Strategies

Delivering More Services to a Broader Community

At a key funder's urging, two long-standing childcare organizations and a third, new initiative, came to us for help. The funder wanted them join together to form a new, fourth entity that would be "larger than the sum of its parts".

"We believe that the combined organization can offer new and expanded services that will better meet the needs of the changing client population," the funder said. There were three goals: first, help the leaders and their boards understand their community's unmet needs and why a new organization was the solution; second, create a vision for the new organization that could be embraced by all three parties; and last, develop a combined program array, staffing and organizational structure, multi-year budget, and transition plan.

We began our work by analyzing the current situation: the programs, people served, key strengths, financial condition, and organizational structure and staffing of each agency. We researched the impact of the childcare industry's changing demographics and funding to learn about the challenges that confronted our clients. We explored other service delivery models to identify new approaches that might be applicable. In talking with the executives and their boards, we surfaced and debunked critical myths that each held about the other, raised their awareness of the issues they were facing and communicated funder concerns.

We worked closely with the leaders of each nonprofit, singly and together, to help them define the goals and work of the new organization. We elicited their and their boards' concerns, particularly around leadership, staffing, and program continuity. We worked with the executive directors to address the concerns they had voiced and to design the new entity -- its program array, each executive's new leadership role, organizational and governance structures, etc. Together we developed a three-year budget, including the start-up investment required, as part of an overall business plan. Finally, we attended a joint board meeting where one of the executives presented the results of her colleagues' work for review and discussion. Ultimately, each of the boards approved the concept and committed to moving forward.

Expanding One Agency's Programs Keeps Vital Services in the Community

The executive director of a large settlement house already had his hands full. Besides running a large, complex set of programs at multiple locations, he was renovating a fully-occupied housing complex for seniors and multi-program neighborhood center. Then a board member of a neighborhood center a few blocks away approached him to take over its 5 programs, a move that would ensure their continuation. "We have decent programs," the trustee told him, "but frankly our board is worn out from the pressure of constantly worrying about sustainability."

The executive director of the larger organization was interested: the two agencies had similar programs, a similar mission, and served adjacent neighborhoods. Explaining the situation during our initial meeting, he asked whether he really needed our help. Couldn't he handle a merger by himself? His board was already willing, and the other party had approached him. While he could do it alone, we pointed out that we could provide him with additional resources to assess the opportunity, freeing him and his staff to concentrate on existing projects and ongoing programs. As outsiders, we could ask the thorny questions during due diligence without risking damaging ill will, represent him, as appropriate, to distance himself, and provide critical quality control to the decision-making process and partner integration, based on our range of experience in forming alliances.

He was also concerned -- he knew the agency had financial problems. So we provided the additional skills and resources the executive director and board wanted. We conducted due diligence of the potential acquiree, assessing its operational strength, financial health, funding sources, management capabilities, and cultural fit. We supported both nonprofit heads as they worked through the unexpected challenges of fiscal improprieties and staff turnover at the smaller organization. We worked with the acquiring agency's executive director and board to analyze options and risks before recommending the best strategy for combining the two agencies. And we acted as mediator in negotiating lease agreements and myriad other acquisition details.

The two leaders decided to keep the programs separate initially, partly because they wanted to make sure the program quality was maintained and the neighborhood well served, partly because they didn't want to take on the integration effort at that time. Two years later, they were ready to bring the programs together into a more cohesive whole.

The boards of the two agencies agreed to join and completed the transition to a combined entity. The merged organization had the operational and financial strength to continue to deliver quality programs to the entire, larger community. The board and staff became even more engaged by the opportunities created by the combined entity. Funders supported the combination because it preserved good programs and provided a respectful resolution for a weakened agency. And the organization's reputation grew; it had acted decisively to maintain good programs, aid a sister and serve its community, all while staying true to its mission.

"The real benefit provided was that they had the same strategic perspective as the board and I did."

Executive Director, Goddard Riverside Community Center

New Programs to Serve Clients Even Better

"I want to merge," the executive director of an HIV/AIDS organization told us when we first met with him. "I've stabilized this agency now and we could continue as is, but over the long term our clients would be better served if we had more resources."

A few months later, the director called to ask us to meet again, this time with the executive director of the agency that was to be his merger partner. The two leaders shared a strategic vision: together they could offer a broader continuum of services to meet the needs of their clients in more areas of the city. Equally critical their agencies shared important values, similar mission, dedication to quality service, and an unwavering focus on their clients.

Knowing they wanted to partner, they now wanted to move quickly and complete the merger within six months, so the transition could occur at the beginning of their new fiscal year.

We worked closely with the two executives to create a transition team with representatives from both agencies and develop a work plan to meet the shortened timeframe. We completed the due diligence already underway and helped the team design an integrated organization and service array. We worked hard to ensure that boards, staffs, and funders from both agencies were kept informed throughout the process, critical during this period of uncertainty and change.

Together we established a new inter-locking governance configuration and an enhanced management structure to support the larger, combined organization. To meet funders' contractual requirements, the two leaders decided to keep the acquiree's name and some programs separate, but strengthened them by linking them to resources and services the acquirer could provide. Within this framework the transition team worked hard to combine both entity's programs, leveraging their strengths to provide even better services to their clients.

At the end of the fiscal year, both boards approved the merger. Completed on time, the real integration had begun, and staff from both organizations began to think of themselves as one. The two boards and staffs celebrated their accomplishment. They had worked hard to create a combined entity within a very short timeframe. More importantly, staff and leadership from both organizations were excited about the new resources that they could provide their clients and how their services could continue to improve their clients' lives.

Outsourcing to Focus on What You Do Best

As the number of loans it made grew, a national lender to community development organizations found itself mired in paperwork: billing and collecting payments, adjusting repayment schedules, following up on overdue payments, etc. It didn't have the quality of staff and supervision it needed to handle the loan administration.

We compared the potential cost of using an outside administrator to the nonprofit's projected expenses, then interviewed and selected a company to take over the processing of the organization's loans. The transition was challenging: each loan amount outstanding, terms and payment schedule had to be verified before the handover, and then reconfirmed to make sure that the servicing company had recorded the information correctly. Both entities continued to administer the loans in parallel until all the problems were eliminated.

Outsourcing the loan administration worked. As loan volume grew, the administrative costs dropped below what the nonprofit would have had to spend. The organization could shift its attention to developing new services to expand its loan program.

Outsourcing also encouraged greater standardization of loan terms, reduced the time it took to complete a loan and freed up lenders' time to offer loans to more nonprofits.

So Many Choices - How Do We Decide Our Future Direction?

A local Asian cultural organization was bogged down in a strategic planning process. It had identified a long list of options it could pursue, the culmination of a lengthy series of visioning exercises, interviews and survey work with key stakeholders. There was no consensus among the board members, and now they had just hired a new executive director and new artistic director who both wanted a clear vision that they could begin to implement.

We facilitated a day-long retreat with the board and new executive team. The board wanted to make some realistic decisions about the services the organization wanted to provide, the role it wanted to play in the community, and how those choices would ensure greater sustainability in the next 3 to 5 years, all the while staying true to its mission. To prepare for the retreat, we worked with the executive director and the board s executive committee to establish the criteria the board would use to evaluate over twenty different ideas that had surfaced. Then we grouped the ideas thematically. Did the board want to focus its efforts on their existing audience or seek new participants? Did it want to expand existing programs or institute new ones? What combination worked best?

Ultimately the board focused on two divergent options, teaching or performing. After exploring the implications of each alternative -- its benefits to the organization, the audiences it could attract, funding possibilities, and the resources and costs required in achieving their goals -- the choice quickly became evident. The board coalesced around a common and now clearer mission. Board members were energized and excited about their decision and the work ahead, and the executive director was relieved that she could communicate a clear course for her staff with the artistic director by her side.

"I really appreciate KrasnePlows' guidance at our board retreat in focusing and clarifying our wishes and intentions. Now I am very excited, there is so much that we would like to accomplish!"

Executive Director, New York Chinese Cultural Center

Strengthening Infrastructure to Support Growth

A leading social services agency with multiple locations found itself in an uncomfortable position: its very successes had led to rapid growth over the past few years. The long-standing, highly respected executive director was concerned that the agency could not continue on its present course without shoring up its infrastructure and giving the staff some relief, all of which would cost money.

We spent considerable time interviewing staff, board members, key funders, and other experts to understand the current organization, its broad service array, strength and reputation, and the challenges it faced. We also interviewed heads of similar and larger size organizations to identify best practices that our client could apply to its situation. The consistent findings from our extensive interviews helped the leadership understand the critical issues the organization faced.

At our recommendation, the board chair and executive director decided to form small work groups of board and staff to address specific, critical issues. As the groups became more engaged and took more ownership of the planning process, we stepped back into more of a facilitative role. The groups presented the results of their work at a board and staff retreat. It became clear that the board, although engaged, still did not feel informed enough about the many program areas to make decisions about the agency s future programmatic direction. A consensus emerged: develop and test criteria to be used in starting, continuing, expanding or ending programs; gain a greater understanding of program profitability and the resources needed for quality delivery; and begin work to expand and diversify funding to invest in and sustain the agency over the long term. The board also approved additional staff to add support in areas that needed it most.

The work groups continued their efforts while we analyzed each program area's profitability to aid the board and staff further in focusing on key programs and managing their growth. Ultimately, the board and staff had a new, shared set of tools to understand the agency's programs separately and together, their contribution to the organization and the clients they served that could be used over time. Board and staff understood more fully the need to invest in resource development and how they could each support that effort long term.

What to Do When a Key Funder Goes Away

"We've been told by our major funder that they won't renew our grant after next year," remarked the director of a national health care organization. Supported fully for the first five years of its existence, our client now needed to develop a business plan for the coming five years that would further its mission and enable it to sustain itself. We joined forces with a resource development firm to work with the nonprofit's leadership to set the entity's strategic direction and develop a business plan to implement and fund it.

Besides attending their annual training conference, we conducted a series of interviews with the leadership team, consultants and partners, key funders and experts in the field to learn how its programs were perceived, clients' needs, and changing trends in the field.

We also interviewed the heads of other organizations that had made the transition from a start-up to become a leading force in their field. We identified the key factors critical to making that shift successful, including different governance, management and legal structures. The results of these interviews provided our client with tested models to consider in moving forward. Based on our findings, the leadership team chose the most pragmatic option that would allow them to achieve their long term strategy.

We turned our attention to developing the business plan to achieve the organization's stated goals within a five-year strategy. We researched options to broaden its reach to new audiences and strengthen its resource development effort, discussing alternatives with the leadership team. We incorporated our results into a cohesive business plan that described how the organization could leverage what it had already established: grow its existing programs and services, organize itself to support its activities and the leader's expanding role as advocate and external spokesperson, and raise the funds necessary to support itself. We worked with the nonprofit to prepare a five-year business plan and developed a timeline for executing the plan, including a multi-year budget, major milestones, key individuals to be hired, and responsibilities and deliverables.

As a result, the executive and leadership team got a clear roadmap for moving forward, including next steps in exploring and testing potential funding and public relations opportunities. They had a cohesive, realistic business plan that they embraced and could take to potential funders to garner additional support.

Improving Programs and Services

Transforming a Program to Serve the Community Better

An umbrella organization for community services agencies was under fire from its funders to improve its capital grant-making program. It turned to a national nonprofit lender for help.

The two leaders met over several months, encouraged by leading area foundations. Together we worked to design a joint program that combined each organization's capital programs into a cohesive whole. We drafted a memorandum of understanding to establish the program and outline each partner's responsibilities. We developed a business plan for the new venture including a multi-year budget with each partner's contribution, staff requirements, timeline, and annual goals for the services to be delivered. Once agreed to, we coordinated the hiring of the first director, preparation of information brochures, and the needed technology links between the two organizations.

The partnership proved to be a win for everyone: The agencies served received technical assistance to prepare better capital project plans and had access to grants, loans, and matching grants to carry out their projects. The umbrella organization had stronger funder support and was highlighted as an innovator in its field. The national lender expanded its array of services to more nonprofits without having to bear all of the start-up costs of a new location.

Strengthening Your Organization's Performance

Building Infrastructure: When Outsourcing Makes Good Sense

The incoming executive director of a social services organization came to us for help with her fiscal department. The CFO had left and the controller was trying to hold the department together. Government funders' reporting was inaccurate and late. The agency's financial and cash situation was unclear. And it had become impossible for the executive to get her arms around the problems. Meanwhile, other critical issues demanded the executive's time and attention.

As we began to analyze the nonprofit's cash position, we found that indeed the fiscal department was in bad shape. For a host of reasons, it was almost impossible to keep up with the agency's day-to-day operations, let alone reduce the backlog, establish a strong team and a develop a well-run operation with the right controls and procedures, at least in the near-term.

We suggested two possible solutions to address the fiscal department's needs: we could lead a team of additional, external resources to rebuild it over the coming year, or outsource the entire function to a skilled provider at least for the next year or two. Ultimately, we recommended the latter: outsourcing would be cost-effective, given the additional resources required. The executive would get reliable, timely reports much more quickly, and could comfortably devote her attention and expertise to delivering quality programs, furthering the organization's mission and goals.

KrasnePlows really has the client's best interest at heart -- why else would they recommend using another provider and not them?

President, social services organization

Moving to Performance-Based Contracting

Shifting from contract-based reimbursement to fee-for-service is difficult for any social services agency. America's oldest African-American foster care agency was no exception. Pressed by her lead funder and state-mandated regulations, facing resistance from her division heads, and already financially strapped, the executive director wanted help in making this transition so the agency could continue to receive funding and survive. After meeting with the management team and interviewing each person separately, we worked with the ED to form a series of all-day planning sessions based on the key issues the staff had highlighted. Through their discussions, and using graphs illustrating how well each division was meeting the required outcomes, the team began to unite around a shared commitment to improve their performance. Together they outlined the major changes that needed to be made and identified the steps needed, who would be responsible, and when each step needed to be completed. Since then, the agency has been able to satisfy the state requirements and its financial situation has improved. The division heads have taken on more responsibility for supervising and training their staffs, freeing up the ED to address other strategic issues.

"The process of engaging each manager around the issue being discussed allowed each time to vent or make a real contribution to the discussion.... They were able to see the agency as a responsibility of each person, not only mine as executive director."

Executive Director, Women's Christian Alliance

Restructuring to Match Operational Needs after Significant Program Growth

A national lender to community development organizations was at an impasse: it had grown too big to be supported by its financial, reporting, and technology systems, yet the president wanted to take advantage of opportunities for even greater growth.

We worked with the president and senior management to develop an overall game plan for improving the organization's administration and operations. First came the hiring of new financial staff and instituting a clear, timely budget and monitoring process that involved the program directors. A new human resources manager clarified responsibilities, raised expectations, and reinforced a team culture among the administrative staff. We worked with consultants to expand technology capacity, standardize software and create a way for all locations to access and share common files. And we designed regular reports to monitor performance against goals.

With stronger, more efficient operations in place, the organization could establish a national presence across its locations, serve more clients, and shift resources from administrative matters to its programs.

Strategic Assessment: Repositioning to Remain Relevant in a Changing Environment

"We'd like your help," commented the new board chair of a leading national nonpartisan advocacy organization. "Our executive is leaving - the second in six years. We're having cash flow problems and the board is only beginning to understand our financial situation. I'm assembling a team to undertake a SWOT analysis for us. Will you join us?"

We teamed with three other consulting firms to assess the organization's situation over an intense five-month period, with each firm bringing specific expertise to the engagement. Like many similar nonprofits begun in the 1970's, its early successes bred a complacency that made it less able to adapt to a changing environment. The impact of the Internet and new grass roots movements led by a younger generation made the organization seem irrelevant to some.

The consulting team identified three key challenges: to have the board and its national and state staff around a clear, focused and shared purpose; to rebuild its communications, direct marketing, and major gifts development effort; and to develop a sustainable financial plan that built on its core strengths and reflected a more focused, disciplined and leaner organization.

Our findings and their implications prompted much and sometimes heated discussion as board and staff considered the degree of change required, the uncertainties ahead, and whether they wanted to take up the challenge. Some board members stepped up, one trustee serving as interim executive, and another ultimately selected as the next CEO. Others became less engaged and left. So, too, with the staff: some left to pursue different options, while others came together in shared purpose under the clear, capable guidance of the organization's new leader. Within months, the board and staff together were embarking on a new direction, repositioning itself to be an important, relevant voice for democracy.

Launch Models

Applying Business Concepts to Create the Right Products and Services

A national organization serving aging populations wanted to start a new center that would speed the spread of effective, research-based programs for the elderly. With support from a leading health care foundation, they turned to us to prepare a business plan to achieve financial sustainability for its new initiative.

It soon became apparent that the new center's services were still in the concept and initial testing stages and were not ready to be offered widely. We introduced our client to an established business concept, the product development cycle. It helped the leadership team understand where they were and the work they needed to do before they could formally launch the center and its products.

We conducted a market assessment to research two critical factors: how potential consumers perceived the proposed services and if they wanted them. We worked with the director to develop a one-page description outlining the new center's purpose, proposed services, and their benefits. We interviewed individuals from organizations that had used the center's early-stage products, current and potential funders, and other experts in the field. Using the concept description, we tested our client's assumptions about the underlying need for the new center and gauged the interest in other possible services that were still in the concept stage.

The findings helped our client revise its proposed services to make them more attractive, articulate their benefits more clearly, and better target the organizations and funders most likely to use and fund the center.

Respondents also pointed out the importance of testing and validating the center's products as soon as possible, and the leadership team recognized that they could not be successful until they did. Demonstration projects would provide the necessary results so the organization could refine their services and better meet the needs of potential clients. These findings could also help describe the benefits in a more compelling way. Ultimately, our work buttressed the client's proposal to gain funding for this next, crucial testing phase of the center and its products.

"Our work with KrasnePlows really helped us shape our next steps."

President, National Aging Organization

Launching a Critically Needed Membership Association After 9/11

It was six months after 9/11 and many small service firms in lower Manhattan were facing impending bankruptcy. Proprietors weren't interested in more loans or grants. Those programs were considered a bridge to nowhere. They knew the only way they could survive was to rebuild their client base. A colleague suggested that we band together and solicit work on behalf of the group, starting with the big firms that wanted to support downtown's rebuilding effort.

Along with several other business owners, we came together to found a business services membership association to raise the profile of small businesses downtown. We developed and executed a plan to establish a business development network with limited resources. Using a three-pronged approach to launch the organization, we created a website to announce our presence, established an advisory board comprised of community and business leaders, and developed a corporate partnership program. Members were solicited through the new website.

Within a few months the organization was covered in Crain's weekly business magazine, had hundreds of new members and several new public and private sector contracts for its members.

"Barbara Krasne provides the backbone to any organization that is lucky enough to have her on their team. She has the rare ability to identify and attract the right types of people to either create an advisory board and/or a steering committee. Then she is able to structure and drive those individuals in a program that produces early and anticipated results. She can deliver results with practically no resources, providing organization and focus in the ever-changing environment so typical of a new under-capitalized initiative. These are key elements to building any successful organization."

Genevieve Reichle, Co-Founder, Downtown Business Network

Turning a Vision into Reality

The board chair of a new foundation turned to his charismatic colleague: "You have a terrific vision for a university to educate talented women in Asia. But we need someone who can manage the effort to make it happen."

We worked with the founder, board, and a worldwide network of consultants and volunteers to identify the areas the foundation needed to address to achieve the goal of creating a university in Bangladesh. We established a realistic project plan that identified, prioritized, sequenced, and coordinated the critical activities, and prepared a multi-year budget.

Using the action plan and budget as a roadmap, we worked closely with consultants and board members to set market research parameters, oversee the design of the undergraduate curriculum model and develop and execute a fund-raising strategy for the initial planning monies. Armed with an articulate case for support and a coherent implementation plan, we helped raise additional funds to continue the planning effort, sometimes receiving more funding than originally requested from key foundations.