YWCA Southeast Wisconsin

Following significant organizational turnover and leadership changes, YWCA Southeast Wisconsin sought to realign its mission, strategies, and public perception to address pressing community needs. Collaborating with Global Policy Solutions, I was part of a consulting team tasked with developing a comprehensive strategic plan to guide the organization's next phase of growth.

Strategic Planning Retreat

Our work involved:

Assessing internal and external communication gaps about the YWCA's mission and activities.
Clarifying public misperceptions and realigning community engagement strategies.
Analyzing socioeconomic challenges in Milwaukee, Racine, and the surrounding areas.
Facilitating a participatory planning process with staff and board members to identify optimal priorities.

Process

Formation of an advisory committee to guide the process.
Development and distribution of an online survey to gather insights from internal and external stakeholders.
Review and synthesis of notes from previous strategic planning efforts.
Conducting a landscape assessment of the Southeast Wisconsin region, incorporating local and regional insights.
Hosting a two-day strategic planning retreat for board members, staff, and community stakeholders, in partnership with Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center.
Comprehensive analysis of data, insights, and outputs from the retreat, leveraging AI tools to enhance understanding and recommendations.
Drafting a detailed assessment, actionable recommendations, and tools and frameworks to support implementation.
Design and layout of the final deliverables.
Delivery of the final strategic plan and supporting materials.

Results

The project resulted in a robust strategic vision, including clear goals, actionable objectives, measurable outcomes, and a phased timeline. This plan has set the organization on a path to increased impact and sustainable success over the next five years. Deliverables included a snapshot of local and regional outcomes in Southeast Wisconsin as compared to the rest of the US, and a comprehensive five-year plan presented as a 20-page slide deck (included below) and a 123-page report (available here) designed as an operating manual for leadership to consult going forward.