Strategy

Organizations can only make progress on their mission and make deep, lasting social impact if they have a focused strategy. Strategy is not only a plan of action for the organization, but also the identification of the skills and resources necessary to execute that plan. M+S consultants work directly with client to articulate impact, to achieve mission focus, to align organizational resources and to increase effectiveness.

Services:

Strategic Planning

A strategic plan should state intentional changes to an organization, via measureable outcomes, that the Board and senior staff will strive for over a specific timeframe. The plan should be focused and developed with an explicit understanding of the resources available for implementation. A successful strategic planning process requires the highest quality data to inform planning, skilled and flexible facilitation to push current thinking and models, and customized deliverables to clearly communicate this focus to stakeholders. M+S excels at this process. 

There is no “one size fits all” approach to strategic planning. M+S works with your organization to develop an approach appropriate for your organization that ensures:

  • An informed and inclusive process
  • A strategic plan based on focused, intentional changes
  • Practical implementation and measurement strategies
  • The confidence to achieve results

M+S consultants are strategy practitioners, not theorists. M+S begins with an organization’s mission and guides the development of a focused strategic plan and implementation approach whose improvements are measureable. Our name reflects our philosophy – a mission with a focused strategy accelerates social value: Mission + Strategy Consulting.

Resilience Planning/Sustainability Analysis

Nonprofits are constantly striving for financial and organizational stability. M+S consultants work with organizational leadership to examine critical partner and funder relationships, program evaluation and impact results, board engagement and structure, financial management and business planning, and the philanthropic, political, and social issue arena. M+S consultants support organizations to identify strategies for growth, scale, and depth through targeted analysis and research. The results support organizations to build a resilient future that includes leadership, resources, structure and core programs. 

Implementation

Organizations may create a great strategy, but if they do not have a plan on how to implement the strategy, it is challenging to make progress. Implementation planning is a management tool that illustrates in detail the critical steps, staff and resources necessary to succeed on the strategy. M+S works directly with staff teams to create implementation plans, and then execute on these plans with accountability and measurement. 

Program Planning & Evaluation

M+S consultants work directly with organization staff and leadership to develop effective and efficient programming for constituents and clients, as well as create the methods to collect, analyze and use impact data to answer questions and hold programs accountable to your mission. 

Organizational Alignment 

To reach full impact, organizations must align mission, strategy and culture. M+S consultants work directly with organizations to bring together these elements and examine internally organizational structure and alignment and identify the necessary positions, skills, and leadership. Our work ranges from staff structure and management analysis to resource analysis and operational alignment, all with the goal to deepen an organization’s social impact.

External Relations & Power Mapping

When organizations embark on tackling a social issue, they must have an understanding of the political and social structures in play. M+S consultants help identify critical power networks and relationships. We work with organizations to help them identify the best individuals and organizations to target in order to promote mission and drive social change, as well as to map out potential ways to influence these networks to accelerate social impact.