Industry
Foundations
Our Role
- Design and facilitation of a single-day planning retreat
- Organization of retreat outcomes
- Advice on action planning and operations
- Advice on bylaws and infrastructure to support two separate but aligned county-focused foundations
Situation
The Community Foundation of the Northern Alleghenies is comprised of the McKean County Community Foundation and the Elk County Community Foundation. CFNA has 223 charitable funds, has given over $4 million in Community Grants, and over $2 million in scholarships. The common mission of ECCF and MCCF is to enhance the quality of life in the local area as they strengthen the region through development, stewardship, and grant making. CFNA engaged The Hill Group to reimagine its vision for the future, build its capacity, both from a financial standpoint and a staffing standpoint, determine a plan for storing and systemizing institutional knowledge, and manage its funds in a more concrete and sustainable way.
Solution
To meet the organization’s budget and time constraints, The Hill Group designed and deployed a single-day strategy development blitz informed by key stakeholder input gathered in advance through interviews and surveys.
Results
- Leveraged the planning retreat as an opportunity to engage with donors, grantees, and professional advisors throughout the multi-county region
- Engaged the board in a immersive single-day retreat to gain consensus on mission, vision, values, and key priorities for the next several years
- Helped to prepare the organization for eventual succession of its long-serving Executive Director
- Helped to identify and budget for key infrastructure improvements for successful plan implementation
Behind the Scenes
The Hill Group worked closely with CFNA staff to devise a process to balance budget constraints and desired outcomes. The three phases of strategic planning typically deployed by The Hill Group over a series of months was condensed to a single-day retreat with activities and exercises designed to quickly illicit key priorities and articulate goals critical for the future of the Foundation.