Succession Planning and Reimagined Governance

Like many established non-profit organizations with veteran leadership, CHEP, a non-profit that provides transitional housing for veterans and hosts educational programs for healthcare providers, was at a pivotal moment in its history. Its long-time CEO was ready to retire but the organization faced fiscal and staffing challenges with a small, unengaged Board of Directors at the helm.

Overview

Following one on one interviews with board members and employees, we discovered dozens of operational, governance and fiscal concerns that were impacting the sustainability and growth of the organization:

Discrepancies in Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
No finance or nominating committees
No strategic plan
No communications/marketing strategy
Restrictions and expenses associated with Perrypoint/VA; minimal bandwidth to facilitate acquisition of property/space to move off Perrypoint
Slow progress with technology upgrades
• CEO, COO and Finance Director retiring/departing
CEO is hands-on, task-oriented, sole source for approvals – no time for strategic work; Heavy on mid-level experience; light on administrative and executive roles
No fund development or marketing staff
Lack of diversified funding; specifically general operating support
No endowment
Weak relationships with community/civic organizations and leaders

Recommendations

We presented to the Board of Directors and CEO a set of recommendations:

Align Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
Implement Board Terms
Expand Size of Board; add key areas of expertise
Legal
Marketing
Fundraising
Non-Profit
Re-launch Key Committees – finance, nominating
Review Conflict of Interest Policy; annual completion of acknowledgement/disclosure form
Develop 3-year strategic plan
Create fundraising strategy to include private/corporate grants, individual giving for general operating support
Work towards creation of endowment for long-term sustainability
Develop public affairs strategy to increase awareness, lay groundwork for collaborative partnerships; develop relationships with key industry, business and civic organizations and leaders
Develop communications/marketing strategy to improve brand awareness among all stakeholders and the community

Due to the small size of the board and its lack of engagement, we worked with the CEO to develop a plan for implementing these recommendations and laying the groundwork for a successful leadership transition.

The Solution

We created new executive leadership roles and job descriptions so that the CEO could focus on strategic forecasting, fund development, board development and government relations. These new roles included a Chief of Staff and a COO. In addition, we committed to the hiring of a Director of Marketing and Development that could help drive brand recognition and fundraising.

With the successful hiring of a COO, the organization was positioned to build the capacity to not only survive the retirement of the long-time CEO but develop strategies and key relationships needed to grow the board and increase fundraising.

Key Takeaway

A non-profit organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission is rooted in strong governance. While an organization should never be top-heavy, a CEO can not effectively lead an organization without key leadership support to manage day-to-day operations. A long history does not always mean an organization is functioning well – regular audits of staffing, programming, funding and board leadership is critical to ensuring the non-profit is generating meaningful impact and strategically planning for the future.

C3 Visionary Strategies completed the work in a professional and knowledgeable manner meeting every timeline and milestone identified at the time of the initial engagement.

Tough discussions were facilitated with expert guidance and detailed explanations were provided whenever needed to ensure that the Board and leadership team were on the same page. Thanks to Kristi, CHEP is moving forward with a plan that would have taken months to develop internally.