Habitat for Humanity - New York City
Defining the Path Forward for a Leader in Affordable Housing
It was no surprise when Habitat for Humanity International recognized Habitat-NYC as one of its leading urban affiliates. In just five years, Habitat-NYC had completed nearly 100 homes and was moving fast to build more.
However, as the organization's leaders looked to the future, they wanted to ensure that Habitat-NYC continued to grow while maintaining focus on its mission. "We realized that we needed a strong realistic strategic plan to serve as our path forward," says Executive Director Roland Lewis. "That was a real challenge for a group of very busy people, especially on the accelerated schedule we needed to meet (six months)."
Based on past experience, Lewis knew that hiring objective consultants would hasten the process and lead to the best outcome. So Habitat-NYC engaged TCC Group to facilitate its strategic planning process.
Situational Analysis and Future Vision Delivers Strong Strategic Plan
Working under tight timeframes, TCC consultants analyzed and interpreted Habitat's organizational assessment findings. In doing so, they expanded upon, rather than duplicated, existing work, filling in gaps with additional interviews and surveys. In short order, Habitat possessed a succinct situational analysis.
"Based on their expertise, the TCC consultants were able to clearly outline stakeholder perceptions of our strengths and weaknesses in a way we never could have done ourselves," said Lewis. "As a result, our board was able to clarify our future vision."
Based on this new vision, TCC Group and Habitat convened a large retreat of over 100 internal and external participants, from staff members to Habitat-NYC borough leaders. The group tested the feasibility of the vision and related goals so that Habitat would be certain that its new strategic plan was firmly rooted in very specific desired outcomes. TCC Group led additional refinement of the plan through several working group meetings of board and staff members that focused on specific issue areas--from advocacy and outreach to governance and board development.
"The TCC team was a good fit with everyone in this diverse group," Lewis commented. They had a unique capability of hearing everyone's opinion, which was vital."
Sharper Focus, Increased Buy-In
Habitat-NYC approved and launched its new strategic plan in a record six months. TCC Group's work bringing the strategic plan to life has generated significant results: increased revenue for Habitat-NYC (through a corporate giving program and an annual gala) and the launch of a new program area-advocacy. Habitat-NYC has succeeded in engaging over 100 faith institutions in the region in the new advocacy effort.
Lewis reports that the strategic plan also served as a vital framework for staff and board decision-making. He recalls a recent board meeting where a board member questioned Habitat-NYC's emphasis on advocacy work (an agenda outlined in the strategic plan). Another board member was able to immediately point to the plan where the advocacy focus was reinforced, moving focus back to key current issues.
"The plan is owned and used by staff and board alike, because of TCC Group's role in the process. Stakeholders bought in and remain engaged. We just couldn't have done that without TCC," Lewis commented.
