World Neighbors
How strategic planning helped an international development organization strengthen its infrastructure
By 2004, World Neighbors (WN) had reached a critical juncture: For more than a half-century, this international development organization had worked closely with marginalized communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America in addressing hunger, poverty, disease and other challenges. But the organization faced numerous challenges of its own, including a shrinking revenue base, inadequate internal communications and an outmoded infrastructure.
Creating a comprehensive strategic plan
The appointment that year of Melanie Macdonald as president and chief executive officer prompted a decision to begin work on a three-year strategic plan. Guided by TCC Group, the planning effort was notable for the high level of commitment and participation by board members and professional staff, and for its far-ranging inclusiveness. All stakeholder groups, including donor organizations, trustees, domestic and international staff and volunteers had a voice in the process, which unfolded over a one year period.
The resulting comprehensive plan incorporated recommendations on virtually every aspect of WN's operations: human resources, financial reporting, resource development, marketing, governance, and technology systems. These recommendations were developed by staff/volunteer subgroups across World Neighbors with critical support and facilitation by TCC. The one area that remained largely unchanged was WN's mission and program objectives. "There was no dissension or concern about our direction or purpose as an organization," says Macdonald. "We had full alignment across our entire team."
Approved unanimously by the board in April 2005, the plan has thus far provided the basis for a number of significant changes:
- Marketing: To raise WN's profile - especially among potential funders - a marketing department was created and charged with developing and strengthening a new World Neighbors brand via new print and other communication materials, along with many initiatives to boost World Neighbors profile across the U.S.
- Resource development: In a campaign to broaden and solidify WN's financial base, WN has heightened its emphasis on long-term giving, creating a dedicated associate vice president level position to oversee that effort. Other staff roles were added to support a range of new fundraising strategies.
- Operations: To address long-standing inefficiencies in its financial accounting and reporting systems, WN has begun the process to roll out new software applications, formats and systems worldwide, as per the strategic planning objectives.
- Human resources: For the first time in its history, WN affirmed the international scope of the vice president of human resources, reflecting a renewed commitment to recruiting and retaining top-tier professionals as well as expanding the organization's volunteer force. In the first year of plan implementation, the number of volunteers was increased from 100 to 600.
Change ensures viability
"It's no exaggeration to say that the problems we faced threatened our viability as an organization," says Macdonald. "TCC's knowledgeable and creative support has helped put us on track to a sustainable future.
One of TCC's most valuable contributions, she adds, "was its ability to help our staff in assessing our weaknesses as well as our strengths and helping us determine what we needed to do to ensure our survival as an organization. TCC's role was central to this highly successful strategic planning process and to our continuing success with implementation of that plan."
