Strategic Plan: Strategies & Status
KEY OBJECTIVE A - CREATE SOLUTIONS
Develop a program of work in the areas of health and economic well-being (*Bold Goals) for women and girls that will have immediate impact on their lives and creates a sustainable change.
STRATEGIES:
1. The Bold Goals committee will develop a plan for the Bold Goals program of work (e.g. define relationships within the community, staffing and reporting relationships, budgeting, definition of terms, year by year priority of the Bold Goals focus, standard processes and procedures, measurements of success, etc.) requiring Board approval before committing resources by June 30, 2004.
2007 Status: Done. Strategic Plans have been created for the four Bold Goals.
2. Implement the Bold Goals plan.
2007 Status: In process. Since the Bold Goals Bold Solutions plan is through 2020, there is much work still to be done. We are on target, though, to meet the goals laid out through 2010.
3. Identify and spotlight effective programs, locally and nationally. Avoid duplication of programs, services, activities, and research.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women is continuously seeking and reviewing programs that relate to our fields of interest. We believe that our Finance 4 Her education program, our Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Fit 4 Me nutrition and fitness program and our Connect Session model are truly unique.
4. Establish separate budget and reporting of Bold Goals revenues and expenses.
2007 Status: Done
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KEY OBJECTIVE B - INCREASE AWARENESS
Women 4 Women develops a comprehensive communication plan annually to create awareness of Women 4 Women’s impact on the community, issues related to women and girls and how people can get involved to part of the solution.
STRATEGIES:
1. Provide high quality, meaningful, and continuous information to the media/public (e.g. op eds/pitch stories, interviews and announcements.)
2007 Status: Women 4 Women provides information and story ideas to the media and public as often as it sees fit.
2. Expand the knowledge of nonprofit, business, and governmental organizations about women’s and girls’ issues that have a major effect on the overall success of our community.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women co-hosted a Women’s Summit with the Louisville Metro Office for Women in 2005 that brought together nonprofit, business and governmental organizations to talk about the status of women and girls in our community. The Summit created a deeper level of understanding of women’s and girls’ issues among the groups and helped create open lines of communication. Ongoing dialogue between participants continues on a regular basis.
3. Create a brand identity program that communicates what we do and who we are (e.g. logo and tagline.)
2007 Status: A new logo and tagline were developed in late 2006. Our new tagline is “Champions 4 Her” which reflects Women 4 Women’s commitment to taking a lead on addressing the issues that women and girls face in our community. It is also an inclusionary type statement since anyone (including men and boys) can support the women and girls in their lives. The stylistic “4” also has become a branding mark for our organization.
4. Continue to convene an annual Women 4 Women forum and tailor programs to advance the Women 4 Women mission, increase awareness, raise money, and nurture new and existing relationships.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women holds an Annual Luncheon each year that is now attended by approximately 1,500 people. This event serves as a forum for us to inform the community about our progress toward our goals and increase the awareness of our programs and fundraising efforts. In addition to the luncheon, Women 4 Women has developed a number of other programs that advance our mission, increase awareness, raise money and nurture new and existing relationships. These programs include our Annual Golf Tournament, Repair Affair, Finance 4 Her events, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Fit 4 Me sessions, our Founders’ Dinner (for people who have given $20,000 or more), and our Champions 4 Her Annual Giving Club events for people who give $1,000 or more annually.
5. Publish an annual “report card” on the status of women and Bold Goals’* initiatives for the community.
* Bold Goals are the areas of focus that guide W4W’s program of work to create sustainable and positive impact on the health and economic well-being of women and girls.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women publishes an annual report that highlights our programs and the needs they are filling in our community.
6. Create a speakers’ bureau to proactively solicit opportunities to speak about Women 4 Women and issues related to women and girls.
2007 Status: While Women 4 Women does not have an “official” speakers’ bureau, it does have connections to women, including our staff and board, who are knowledgeable about the organization and issues related to women and girls. We make presentations and hold “Connect Sessions” (where women can get to know each other in a much more personal way than typical networking) throughout the community on a regular basis.
7. Serve as a public policy advocate for a variety of women’s issues.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women is a strong advocate on women’s issues. We believe that there is much work to be done to address important issues such as the health and economic well-being for women and girls. We also believe that the best way to do that is by increasing awareness, educating the public, building partnerships and finding common ground.
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KEY OBJECTIVE C - MOBILIZE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
Utilize our extensive network to serve as a convener and catalyst to create and support collaborative efforts that strategically address the needs and issues affecting women and girls.
STRATEGIES:
1. Create a network of **Champions who will share their spheres of influence to create awareness and expand resources to improve the lives of women and girls.
** Champions are the network of advocates who recognize the unique contributions and issues of women and girls, and who are committed through sharing knowledge, money, time, and talent to making a positive difference (to create one of the finest cities in America for girls, women and their families to live and work.)
2007 Status: Women 4 Women continues to develop its network of Champions to improve the lives of women and girls, because like any network, we understand that it needs to be nurtured and grown in order to be effective. We are continuously adding people, businesses and organizations to our “network” and expanding our spheres of influence. A great example of one of our “formal” networks is the Finance 4 Her Coach Network, where women from across the community are volunteering to serve as financial coaches for women who are developing a personal financial plan. The coaches meet with the participants once or twice a month to encourage them, motivate them and answer questions or to direct the participant to additional resources. While this network was launched at the beginning of the year, we have received great feedback from both the coaches and the participants.
2. Convene professionals, leaders of organizations, and other community leaders who serve and support women and girls to create shared visions, leverage resources, minimize duplication, and establish specific and measurable action plans (e.g. form coalitions and establish cooperative events.)
2007 Status: As noted under Objective B(2), Women 4 Women held a Women’s Summit in 2005 to bring together professionals, leaders of organizations and other community leaders to discuss the status of women and girls inn our community and to learn how to work together better. Another initiative that is currently underway is the development of a new community event that will strengthen the relationships among the leaders of women’s and girls’ organizations, as well as create awareness of the various services each organization offers, and help raise money for all organizations. The Champions 4 Her Walk, Run & Festival is slated to happen on June 21, 2008. We are organizing this “umbrella” event to serve as a fundraising vehicle for other nonprofits whose mission it is to help women and families. In addition to raising funds, this event is designed to deliver educational opportunities and raise awareness of services available all across our community. The money will be raised through the traditional model of collecting pledges for the walk/run. The volunteers collecting pledges will be able to designate where their funds are distributed.
3. Continue to convene an annual W4W forum and tailor programs to advance the W4W mission.
2007 Status: As noted in Objective B(4), Women 4 Women holds an Annual Luncheon each year that is now attended by approximately 1500 people. This event serves as a forum for us to inform the community about our progress toward our goals and increase the awareness of our programs and fundraising efforts. In addition to the luncheon, Women 4 Women has developed a number of other programs that advance our mission, increase awareness, raise money and nurture new and existing relationships. These programs include our Annual Golf Tournament, Repair Affair, Finance 4 Her events, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Fit 4 Me sessions, our Founders’ Dinner (for people who have given $20,000 or more), the Quarterly Updates and Connect Sessions that were introduced this year, and our Champions 4 Her Annual Giving Club events for people who give $1,000 or more annually.
4. Identify, spotlight and celebrate outstanding collaborative programs on behalf of women and girls.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women recognizes the many successful, collaborative programs that exist in our community on behalf of women and girls. We also continue to add to the list by creating a number of our own partnerships with businesses, educational institutions and other nonprofits such as Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare, the University of Louisville, and the National Center for Family Literacy, to just name a few.
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KEY OBJECTIVE D - EXPAND RESOURCES
Expand and focus resources (money, time, talent) to strategically address the needs and issues affecting women and girls.
STRATEGIES:
1. Develop a fund development plan by June 30, 2004. This plan will raise money for grant making, research, Bold Goals* programs, and operations. The plan will also establish an endowment fund of $10 million, initiating and maintaining an annual fund and sponsoring events, and include community wide participation.
* Bold Goals are the areas of focus that guide W4W’s program of work to create sustainable and positive impact on the health and economic well-being of women and girls.
2007 Status: Our fund development plan has been created and is continuously being updated. We have raised the first $1 million in pledges for our endowment-–The Fund 4 Women and Girls and are actively seeking new money and pledges.
2. Complete the Founder’s Campaign of $500,000 by June 30, 2005.
2007 Status: The initial Founder’s Campaign was a success. We are now in Phase 2 of the Campaign to increase the number of Founders from 26 to 50.
3. Implement the fund development plan as approved by the Board.
2007 Status: The fund development plan calls for ongoing efforts to raise money for the organization and for The Fund 4 Women and Girls. We are always looking for new revenue streams, possible grants, and potential donors. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.
4. Define the Board of Directors’ responsibilities in fund development giving and activities.
2007 Status:
Members of our Board of Directors are asked to:
- Champion the cause for women and girls (which means each board member must understand and be able to articulate the basic mission of Women 4 Women and to educate others about the current status of women and girls in our community and what we are doing to make a difference).
- Participate in the development process (which may include identifying prospects, asking for contributions or hosting events)
- Make a financial contribution (which includes either raising or giving $1,000 annually toward the annual operating campaign, purchasing or selling one table for the annual luncheon and making a current or deferred endowment gift to The Fund 4 Women and Girls).
The Board had 100% involvement during the launch of The Fund 4 Women and Girls and has pledged/donated The Fund’s first $1 million.
5. Continue to convene an annual W4W forum and tailor programs to advance the W4W mission, increase awareness, raise money, and nurture new and existing relationships.
2007 Status: As noted in Objectives B(4) and C(3) Women 4 Women holds an Annual Luncheon each year that is now attended by approximately 1,500 people. This event serves as a forum for us to inform the community about our progress toward our goals and increase the awareness of our programs and fundraising efforts. In addition to the luncheon, Women 4 Women has developed a number of other programs that advance our mission, increase awareness, raise money and nurture new and existing relationships. These programs include our Annual Golf Tournament, Repair Affair, Finance 4 Her events, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Fit 4 Me sessions, our Founders’ Dinner (for people who have given $20,000 or more), the Quarterly Updates and Connect Sessions that were introduced this year, and our Champions 4 Her Annual Giving Club events for people who give $1,000 or more annually.
6. Develop a program to increase women’s awareness of and participation in philanthropy.
2007 Status: Earlier this year, Women 4 Women launched a new series entitled “Women and Philanthropy” that takes a closer look at women’s relationships to money and estate planning. The goal of the series is to help women understand the various ways of giving back to the community. It also helps them to begin the discussion with their families about what is important to them and how the family wants to support that initiative in the future. While we hope the women attending the program will consider a gift to Women 4 Women, the program is truly designed to benefit all charitable causes by encouraging women to find their passion.
7. Establish criteria (e.g. availability of resources, themes related to priorities, etc.) for providing financial support to organizations or projects subject to Board approval.
2007 Status: As part of the Champions 4 Her Walk, Run & Festival event that is being planned for 2008, criteria has been established for providing financial support to organizations or projects. In summary, the organization must be a 501(c)(3), must support Women 4 Women’s vision of improving the status of women and girls in our community and must not be divisive (political, religious or related to reproductive choice). Other factors will be determined by the board on a case-by-case basis.
8. Leverage partner dollars and resources to make a bigger impact on selected issues.
2007 Status: By developing partnerships throughout the community, Women 4 Women is leveraging our partners’ dollars and resources to make a bigger impact on issues relating to health and economic well-being. Often, Women 4 Women not only uses the money and resources to develop programs that help the community, but also to help the partners directly, as well. For example, Anthem is a Founder and partner of Women 4 Women. Through their general support, we were able to develop the “Connect Session” model during 2005/2006. Earlier this year, Women 4 Women brought that program into Anthem and helped the women who worked there connect to their co-workers in a more meaningful way and build relationships around topics such as parenting, caring for a loved one with cancer, etc.
9. Provide and influence financial support (e.g. grant making) to organizations that address Women 4 Women priorities.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women is currently in the process of raising an endowment fund to assist other women’s and girls’ organizations in the future. In the meantime, we are giving grants by invitation only and are helping other women’s and girls’ organizations make connections to important resources that have resulted in additional revenue and other benefits for those organizations. For example, in 2006 Women 4 Women helped arrange meetings for Prodigal Ministries with Lieutenant Governor Steve Pence and Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare. Prodigal Ministries helps reintegrate women who have been incarcerated into society upon their release. The meetings resulted in changing the time and way women are released from prison and helped the women gain access to health care. For more information about this example, see page 4 of our annual report.
10. Create a process of connecting volunteers to the needs of women and girls in our community.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women is currently studying the most effective way to help connect volunteers to the needs of women and girls in our community. One way we are addressing this goal is through this website, where we allow other women’s and girls’ organizations the opportunity to post their volunteer needs.
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KEY OBJECTIVE E - USE RESEARCH FINDINGS
Collect and disseminate gender specific information to assist in developing strategies, measuring change, and educating ourselves and our community on the unique issues and solutions affecting women and girls.
STRATEGIES:
1. Develop research relationships with government, agencies and educational organizations to enhance and share information on women’s and girls’ issues.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women works with government, other nonprofit agencies and educational organizations to enhance and share information on women’s and girls’ issues.
2. Utilize existing research and data to monitor and report on the status of women and girls (e.g.
Women’s Policy Research Institute).
2007 Status: Women 4 Women is continuously researching available data as it relates to women’s and girls’ issues. We are always on the look out for additional data sources and figures to help illustrate the scope and need of our work.
3. Implement the fund development plan as approved by the Board.
2007 Status: As noted in Objective D3, the fund development plan calls for ongoing efforts to raise money for the organization and for The Fund 4 Women and Girls. We are always looking for new revenue streams, possible grants, and potential donors. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.
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KEY OBJECTIVE F - BUILD ORGANIZATION
Maintain the independent 501 (c)(3) organization and Board structure to provide the financial and human resources needed to fund the achievement of these objectives into perpetuity.
STRATEGIES:
1. Recruit and select Board members on the basis of their achievement, needed expertise, passionate connection to our cause, and commitment to sharing a full range of their resources (money, time, and talent) while ensuring diverse perspectives (re: race, economic status, etc.)
2007 Status: The Women 4 Women Board is a diverse group of talented women who bring with them a passion for our work and a commitment to improving the status of women and girls.
2. The Executive Committee will review and rebuild committee structures reflective of the Strategic Plan by September 30, 2004.
2007 Status: Done. We currently have committees for our four Bold Goals, as well as for Communications, Fund Development and Finance. There are also committees who help organize the Annual Luncheon, Annual Golf Tournament and the Champions 4 Her Walk, Run & Festival.
3. Commit to provide the human resources necessary to implement the strategic plan and develop associated organizational charts, reporting relationships and job descriptions for staff, officers, and volunteer committees.
2007 Status: In 2006, three new directors were hired to help implement the strategic plan. Volunteer committees are operational as noted above in Objective F(2). In addition, this year, a part-time accounting manager was added to the staff.
4. The Community Foundation of Louisville shall serve as the repository for the Women 4 Women Endowment Fund and provide related and other services as agreed to by the memorandum of understanding.
2007 Status: Done. The Community Foundation of Louisville is a partner with Women 4 Women and serves as the repository for The Fund 4 Women and Girls.
5. Invest time and money into ongoing opportunities for volunteers to develop leadership skills in support of Women 4 Women priorities.
2007 Status: Women 4 Women served as a planning partner with the Leadership Louisville Center and Today’s Woman magazine in the development of the 100 Wise Women program that helps link future leaders with established women leaders. We also help women develop their leadership skills by giving them various opportunities on our committees.
6. Determine Women 4 Women’s role in future festival events (e.g. golf tournament, luncheon, Repair Affair, etc.)
2007 Status: Women 4 Women believes that the events we hold are critical to our success for several reasons:
- our annual luncheon and golf tournament both generate income and awareness of our mission
- the events give us the opportunity to report on our annual activities and success and they introduce our efforts to new members of our community
- and it gives women and men an opportunity to connect to one another, which is an important component in our work. Repair Affair is important to us because it gives our volunteers direct, immediate satisfaction of knowing that they are helping another woman in the community; it is also related to our economic well-being Bold Goal because it helps an elderly or disabled woman stay in her home and maintain her independence.
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Women 4 Women
Strategic Planning Team
2003 – 2004
Committee Members
Elaine “Cissy” Musselman
Founder
Diane Cornwell
Board Chair
Mary Barrazotto
Board Member
Stephanie Bateman
Board Secretary
Betty Bibbins
Board Member & Bold Goals Chair
Kimberly Bunton
Board Member
Ann L. Coffey
Executive Director
Mary McKee Hunt
Board Member
Dennis Riggs
CFL President & CEO
Lindy B. Street
Board Member & PR/Special Events Chair
Advisors
Sandra Frazier
Marketing
Bob Taylor
Organizational Development
Sharon Kerrick
Technology
Facilitator & Executive Support
Doug Stegner
Facilitator
Bridgette Pregliasco
Committee Support
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