Advancing Care for Seniors Through Strategy
with a culturally-grounded senior’s residence & service agency
Where should we focus? This was the core question facing a seniors-serving non-profit as they embarked on a strategic planning process—one that would mark a half century of culturally-grounded senior’s support, through housing and community services, while looking to a stronger future.
The thoughtful, reflective strategic planning process I led as Strategic Planning consultant began with an interactive and exploratory Visioning Day with the leadership. I designed and facilitated creative and interactive activities for leaders to imagine the future, identify and discuss critical changes, opportunities and challenges and explore potential directions. Building from here, I then coached a team of Masters-level students in the Discovery Phase, advising them on research design for focus groups and surveys to surface diverse perspectives of clients, staff, supporters, external partners and the Board. Their insights report, identifying strategic themes, became a key input into the process.
In the final phase of strategic planning, I wove all the insights, themes and ideas into a draft set of strategic priorities and related actions, working closely with the CEO. Facilitating a Board Strategy Day I then led the Board through a series of interactive discussions, digging deeper at every stage, and culminating with the collective refinement and agreement on core strategic priorities. The final Five-Year Strategic Plan I wrote articulated the story, the rationale, the priorities and high-level next steps.
This engaged, iterative process has resulted in a strong five-year Strategic Plan that resonates with staff, clients and supporters and one that the Board is aligned on and ready to implement. Grounding strategy in community voice, deep reflection and strategic foresight were critical to the success of this process. Building on the organization’s legacy of compassion, resilience, and cultural pride, they are not simply preserving what exists—they are strengthening, evolving, and preparing for the next generation.