Heritage Consulting Collaborations
Advanced Organization Academy Organizational Services
Stephanie Redman, a nationally known revitalization expert, and Donna Ann Harris have teamed up to create “Advanced Organization Academy Organizational Services” a series of three, multi-day, customized consulting programs on essential revitalization topics.All Advanced Organization Academy Organizational Services are jointly conducted by Stephanie and Donna and provide thoughtful, specific and actionable projects for downtown organizations. Our services are designed to meet your specific needs. Prior to starting work, we agree on clear objectives with our clients so that we can provide excellent quality service and follow up. Both of us have extensive experience working with revitalization organizations at all stages of development and utilize that knowledge to provide advice, and to offer solutions in a “diplomatic but frank” manner that respects the local volunteers, staff and Board, and thus enables to the organization to improve. Here are our offerings for 2010.
NEW! Main Street Fundraising Audit and Development Plan
This day and a half long service to downtown organizations focuses on understanding the totality of the local program’s fundraising efforts and devising methods to improve each aspect. Our fundraising audit looks at each portion of the organization’s revenue stream and the volunteers and committees responsible for its implementation. On site, Donna Ann Harris and Stephanie Redman work closely with local staff and volunteers to provide advice and step by step strategies to raise more revenue in the short term (1-3 years) and the volunteer infrastructure necessary to implement our recommendations. The custom designed written Development Plan will include our suggestions and an extensive helping of helpful sample documents, letters, brochures, and checklists from our files. As part of this engagement we will provide additional consultations by phone or email within three months of the engagement at no cost to assist the organization to implement our recommendations.
NEW! Main Street Volunteer Development Audit
In an era of shrinking budgets and disappearing resources, a vibrant volunteer development strategy is even more essential for any downtown organization and our volunteer development audit and planning service helps expand local volunteer resources available to Main Street. Main Street Organizational specialists Donna Ann Harris and Stephanie Redman offer a comprehensive audit and planning session to help Main Street organizations maximize their volunteer development efforts. During this service, the team reviews existing volunteer development efforts (including recruitment, retention, training, and recognition efforts) along with the mix of volunteers targeted by the Main Street organization. Strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in volunteer development are identified, and the team spends a substantial amount of time on-site working with local staff and volunteers to craft practical, step-by-step volunteer development strategies designed to address local opportunities and expand Main Street’s volunteer base. A written report and sequential plan cap the service and provide the local organization with clear-cut steps to improve and expand its volunteer resources.
Strategic Planning Services
Especially in troubled times, no downtown organization should be without a strategic plan to define the organization’s priorities and “big picture” direction for a three- to five-year period. And, planning now can help your organization be absolutely “ready to run” when the economy begins to rebound. Experienced planning facilitators Donna Ann Harris and Stephanie Redman can work with your organization to conduct a comprehensive strategic planning process. We work with you to define your desired outcomes for the planning process and then help you to achieve them during what is typically a multi-session service that involves a variety of analysis and facilitated input from key stakeholders and partners. This highly customized service results in a personalized, written strategic plan that provides local Main Street organizations with consensus-driven direction and priorities that can be used by the board and staff to guide Main Street’s programs and operations for years to come. Strategic planning services are priced according to each individual organization’s planning needs.
NEW!Advanced Organization Academy Workshops
For the last two years, Donna and Stephanie Redman have been working together to develop “Advanced Organization Academy,” a series of six, half day training programs on downtown organizational growth and transition topics.
All Advanced Organization Academy trainings are team-taught by Stephanie and Donna and offer dynamic, engaging and fun learning environments for groups from 5 to 45.
Most Academy workshops are a half-day in length and include:
Academy sessions are perfect for statewide or regional conferences, group trainings or individual local downtown management organizations. Sessions are customized to meet the needs of the audience and can also be lengthened or shortened as appropriate. Additional session topics can be developed to meet your particular needs.
New for 2010, we’ve developed a 3.5 hour active learning session on that focuses on sharpening local Main Street organizations’ skills in lobbying and advocacy at all levels – a must-have skill to retain public-sector support during these challenging economic times. Whether participants new to advocacy or old hands, they’ll leave this session understanding the importance of advocacy, how to cultivate long-term relationships with elected officials, how to make a specific request for the organization, and tools to reach elected officials at all levels.
This lively, interactive workshop now comes in two sizes: four hours and a full day. Both emphasize how downtown organizations can use public relations to build a positive public image and garner resources. Participants learn how to shift from haphazard P.R. efforts to strategies that create visibility and awareness. Effective P.R. covers the benefits of positive P.R. efforts, effective methods and tools, strategy development, and creation of a simple P.R. plan for immediate use. The day-long session also covers P.R. during crisis, with five more guided exercises that provide more useable tools to take home.
Established downtown organizations need regular, predictable income to sustain their organizations and to ensure a viable future. This half-day session informs participants about various sources and methods they can use to broaden their funding base.
Content includes:
Every organization faces changes in staff and/or volunteer leadership, which can either threaten or re energize non-profit organizations. This stimulating half-day workshop helps organizations identify potential transitions and how to navigate them successfully. Participants will learn how to retain valuable personnel, how to manage both planned and unexpected staff and volunteer transitions, and how to direct healthy, planned leadership transitions in order to sustain and strengthen the revitalization program.
To be as successful as possible, downtown organizations must think past today and define a longer-term direction via a strategic plan. Available in 75-minute or half-day format, our strategic planning workshops teach participants steps in developing a strategic plan of their own. Content covers strategic planning definitions and benefits, assessing readiness to plan, essential components and participants, and how to utilize strategic plans. The half-day version also includes hands-on exercises that further audience understanding of strategic planning.
Strategic Leadership for Main Street Organizations is an intensive 1.5-day seminar that enables seasoned downtown directors develop a clear strategy to take their organization and their own leadership skills to new heights. Limited to 10 participants, this two-part session allows Main Street staff to understand their organization’s obstacles to growth and to identify the strategic leadership role that they must perform to grow and strengthen the organization.
This hands-on workshop engages participants in analyzing their own organizations, identifying ways to improve their leadership skills, and pin-pointing the organizational changes and personal improvements necessary to propel their Main Street programs forward.
Utilizing organizational and leadership self-assessments, planning exercises, group discussion, and one-on-one coaching with Ms. Harris and Ms. Redman, participants identify “next level” organization strategies, various obstacles to achieving those growth strategies, methods for overcoming obstacles, a pathway for personal leadership in guiding change, and a plan for “selling” organizational growth at home. Participants will leave the workshop equipped to be change agents for organizational maturation. Please contact us for more information, availability and pricing for our Organizational Services and Workshops.
