Services

Stephanie Small is a Lifecycles Certified Capacity Consultant and has been trained by Dr. Susan Kenny Stevens, author of Nonprofit Lifecycles: Stage-Based Wisdom for Nonprofit Capacity and founder of the Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute.

This capacity building approach is a "meet-you-where-you-are" process that provides a practical frame of reference for the predictable challenges and growing pains of your organization.

Here’s how Synergy Partners Consulting can help:

Training

Let’s get everyone on the same page

By training your staff and board on Nonprofit Lifecycles, you develop a common language, depersonalize weaknesses, and set shared realistic expectations for your future.

Assessment

You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are

An organizational assessment establishes a diagnostic starting point for discussion about your operational capacity and well-being of your organization.

Together we will explore your Mission and Programs and each capacity “leg” of your organization:

• Human Resources
• Board Governance
• Business Model & Financial Resources
• Administrative Systems 

We will help you identify your current strengths, barriers and opportunities in each area and understand your marketplace allowing us to build an effective plan to move you into the next level of development.

Capacity Building Action Planning 

Fixing the issues with accountability and metrics

Once you have an understanding of your capacity “pain points”, we build a realistic and achievable set of action plans that assign champions, due dates and budget requirements to ensure you make steady progress.

Stephanie Small has successfully led dozens of organizations through strategic and business planning. As each organization is different, each process is different and customized. Below is a sample of what may happen during these processes.

Comprehensive Strategic Planning

A strategic plan has an organizational focus and is necessary to align your staff, board and other stakeholders in a compelling vision for the future and to develop action steps to achieve that vision. 

A comprehensive strategic planning process may look something like this:

• Assemble a team to set goals, deliverables and guide the process.
• Understand your market through constituent surveys and interviews.
• Assess where your organization is today through the Lifecycle lens.
• Identify your strengths, opportunities, challenges and barriers.
• Affirm your mission, vision and values.
• Bring your team to consensus on organizational goals and vision for a specific timeframe.
• Create actionable plans to reach your goals.

Business Planning

A business plan has an enterprise focus and is necessary to ensure organizational viability. 

During the business planning process, we will answer these questions and more:

• Who do you serve and why? 
• What programs and services do you provide? Conduct a program assessment using the Matrix Map.
• What are your sources and opportunities for revenue? Conduct a revenue and expense analysis.
• What does the market look like? Who are your potential partners or competitors?

As a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer, Stephanie Small is certified to facilitate BoardSource’s proprietary curricula. BoardSource is the nation’s recognized leader in board governance and nonprofit organizations.

Board Self-Assessment

The root cause of many board-related issues is a lack of understanding of the board’s critical roles and responsibilities. Even mature boards can benefit from a self-assessment “tune up”.

Synergy Partners Consulting will walk your board through the BoardSource Board Self-Assessment every step of the way and will analyze your data to present a summary report with recommendations that you can use immediately.

Board Retreat Facilitation & Action Planning

Oftentimes an outside perspective and facilitator is all it takes to weed through tough issues and bring the board to consensus.

Synergy Partners Consulting approaches retreat facilitation in a holistic way. We don’t just show up the day of and facilitate, we do the up-front work to really understand the issues and opportunities facing your organization, identify potential barriers, and develop retreat goals to ensure your success metrics are achieved.

Governance Training

Governance trainings will be customized to your organization, industry and needs. Topics may include:

• Board Building Cycle
• Board's Role in Fund Development
• Basic Roles and Responsibilities
• Constructive Partnership with the CEO
• Committee Development

Diversity Planning

Building a diverse board  is currently the most mentioned topic amongst board members. Doing the same thing you've always done to recruit new members is no longer working. 

We can assess  your needs, create a profile of prospective board members, and work with your team to bring diversity, equity and inclusion training to your organization.