Strategy

Strategic Growth and Planning

We help organizations clarify their vision, articulate measurable goals, identify the priorities necessary to achieve them, and plan for agile implementation to ensure they leave a lasting and positive impact on young people furthest from opportunity. Our clients span all segments of the education ecosystem, including individual schools, districts and charter management organizations, state education agencies, foundations, and small, large, and multiregional nonprofits.

This work includes:

• Helping organizations clarify their vision and goals by bringing together their aspirations for impact, quantitative and qualitative data (on the organization and the landscape in which it operates), and dialogue among stakeholders.
• Ensuring plans are ambitious yet achievable by tailoring to an organization’s unique stage of development and building out necessary details related to organizational structure, financial model/fundraising, and implementation.
• Positioning organizations to build buy-in and support for the plan from the onset of the process through robust stakeholder engagement, communication materials, and change management approaches.

Financial Modeling and Analysis

We analyze financial data and create flexible models and tools to help clients understand real or potential financial situations and inform decision-making.

This work includes:

• Analyzing financial and benchmarking data to help organizations understand historic and current trends, strengths, challenges, opportunities, and implications for their path forward.
• Developing flexible, multiyear forecasting tools that can support organizations in scenario planning, understanding financial implications of strategic growth paths, and tracking investments and fundraising requirements.
• Supporting organizations in analyzing and assessing trade-offs related to targeted areas of strategic importance, such as understanding their “true cost to serve,” implementing a new organizational structure, or developing a pro forma for a potential merger or strategic partnership.

New Organizational Design, Planning, and Fiscal Sponsorship

• Identifying a clear, strategic vision; impact goals; and unique offering design and value proposition grounded in an understanding of the market landscape, including potential customers and competitors.
• Developing an operating model and financial model, inclusive of pricing strategy, cost to serve, growth path scenarios, and investments required.
• Preparing for launch by developing plans for implementation, including testing/piloting and a learning agenda.
• Supporting organizations through fiscal partnerships that allow leaders and entrepreneurs to concentrate on their mission while our in-house experts handle operational essentials and back-office infrastructure.