Wishnick & Associates – strategic planning

Resilience in the Time of COVID-19

For weeks now, we all have been reading emails and website homepage notices outlining actions in response to COVID-19. As a consultant to nonprofits, I am deeply moved by the deliberations and decisions made by my nonprofit clients and other organizations I know. Daily, our clients are meeting human needs in profound ways. Most must push through to attend to their vulnerable clients and take care of their employees at the same time. Others are faced with the need to pull back for the safety and health of their staff and clients. Nonprofit responses are unique and situational.

May 6th, 2020|Categories: Strategic Planning|Tags: adaptive capacity, Amy Wishnick, capacity building, coronavirus, COVID-19, leadership, nonprofit consulting, nonprofits, strategic plan, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Thanksgiving and What I Learned this Year

I love Thanksgiving. It is a joy to be together with family, to enjoy longtime traditions and to create new ones as the family grows. It is also a time when I reflect on the year about to end and that for which I am grateful.   Although this year is notable for celebrating 15 years of Wishnick & Associates, it is the work that makes every day special. Each engagement has offered the opportunity to renew client relationships or develop new ones and always to be part of an organization’s efforts to be more effective. Thank you to everyone I worked with this year and to those of you who referred me to new clients.   Working with diverse clients – human services agencies, arts organizations, associations, and coaching individuals – I am continually observing and learning.

November 19th, 2019|Categories: Nonprofits|Tags: Amy Wishnick, board of directors, consent agenda, core values, executive transition, nonprofit consulting, nonprofits, strategic planning, Thanksgiving, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Ignore Infrastructure at Your Nonprofit’s Peril

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “infrastructure” as: “The underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization).”

Not particularly alluring.

Programs and services. Working with clients. Effecting change. Now we’re talking. Yet, without effective infrastructure, these are not achievable.

October 1st, 2018|Categories: Infrastructure|Tags: ACN, Amy Wishnick, assessments, Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, board of directors, capacity building, infrastructure, leadership, nonprofit consulting, nonprofits, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Are You Leading your Nonprofit with Courage?

Leading a nonprofit is hard work. Internal and external issues arise that demand attention, and the solutions may not be easy. When issues go unattended, they may become so significant that they potentially endanger the organization in some way. But this doesn’t need to be the case. With a strong leadership and skillful use of board meeting agendas, nonprofit executives and their boards can have the important conversations so they may be proactive and responsive and not caught off guard.

April 2nd, 2018|Categories: Nonprofit Leadership|Tags: Amy Wishnick, board of directors, consent agenda, crisis management, critical issues, critical thinking, decision making, fiduciary responsibility, leadership, nonprofit CEO, nonprofit consulting, nonprofit executive director, nonprofits, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Why Aren’t You Talking to Each Other?

Nonprofit chief executives and their board members do not simply wake up one morning with the following revelations:

The demographics of the area they serve have changed;
Funding for a signature program is at risk; or
High staff turnover is a dangerous threat to service delivery.

Yet, nonprofit leaders confront these realities often. When I read a story or hear about a nonprofit in extremis, I wonder if the leadership has been asleep at the wheel. Did no one see the signs? Why did they not point these things out to each other? What were they (or were they not) talking about at board meetings?

April 17th, 2017|Categories: Nonprofit Leadership|Tags: Amy Wishnick, board of directors, decision making, fiduciary responsibility, leadership, nonprofit CEO nonprofit consulting, nonprofit executive director, nonprofits, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Thanksgiving Edition: Sharing the Bounty

At this time of year, I’m especially grateful to my clients, colleagues, and friends for the privilege of working and growing together. I’d like to share a few things that I’ve learned along the way – from you!

One of the great things about working with nonprofit leaders is the opportunity to learn new practices that are working for their organizations. These learnings are worth sharing with others across the nonprofit sector. Yet when nonprofit leaders gather with colleagues, it is usually with others in their field. It is not necessarily routine, for example, for a leader of a social service agency to meet with one from an arts organization. In my work with nonprofits of all kinds – arts, education, human services, community development, housing, and foundations – I often find myself as a conduit for this cross-pollination.

November 10th, 2016|Categories: Nonprofits|Tags: Amy Wishnick, nonprofit consulting, nonprofit mission, nonprofits, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Don’t Miss Out: Why You Need to Engage Diverse Stakeholders in Strategic Planning

One of the most interesting and meaningful steps in the strategic planning process is engaging stakeholders, both internal and external. The insights you gain by eliciting a range of perspectives about your organization contributes to the creation of a high-impact strategic plan.

Who Are Your Stakeholders?

Internal stakeholders – namely, the board of directors and staff – have an intrinsic interest in the success of the organization they know so well. Each of these stakeholders has a unique and central voice in the planning process.

February 21st, 2016|Categories: Strategic Planning|Tags: Amy Wishnick, board of directors, nonprofit consulting, nonprofits, stakeholders, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

3 Reasons Why the Strategic Planning Process Is as Important as the Plan

If you have ever been involved with your organization’s strategic planning process (and I’m assuming you have), you may have had concerns about the overlay of activity on an already high-tempo organization.

However, there is wisdom to the time commitment required in strategic planning. The process of creating the strategic plan necessitates a deep and extended encounter with the organization’s mission, vision, and goals – as well as meaningful interactions among the stakeholders.

Beginning with my first strategic planning engagement, I knew the process was as important as the resulting plan. Being a process person by nature, what could be better?

How the Process Pays off – an Illustration

Let’s fast-forward through the entire strategic planning process to the time when the board of directors has officially adopted the plan.

January 25th, 2016|Categories: Strategic Planning|Tags: Amy Wishnick, capacity building, nonprofit consulting, nonprofits, strategic plan, strategic planning, Wishnick, Wishnick & Associates|

Our organization hired Amy in 2009 to complete a Readiness Assessment prior to beginning organizational capacity building work. Amy's findings were "spot on" and to this day, we regularly go back to her results to guide our organization in capacity building projects...
Traci Dunne, MSW, Executive Director at Elderday Center

Amy brings a great deal to the table with her strategic planning process. She excels at guiding teams to express ideas and constructively discuss various approaches to execution. She has a very rational approach that is flexible yet structured enough to drive positive outcomes...
Juli Bark, Chief Marketing Officer at GE Healthcare

Amy was an absolute delight to work with. She totally ‘got it’ in terms of understanding our issues and getting to the heart of the matter. She helped us make significant strides forward in a responsive, cost-effective manner.
Audrey Rubin, Chief Operating Officer, Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP

A million thanks again for the time and energy that you invested in the session [The Art of Planning: Today and the Future] – I learned from your intelligence, sense of humor, and deep caring of others.
Jessica Balboni , Director, Orchestra Leadership Academy, League of American Orchestras

You did an outstanding job planning and facilitating our weekend board retreat. You helped develop an agenda that addressed our unique organizational needs as well as our specific goals for the retreat. Your flexibility and intuitiveness about when to deviate from the planned structure were exceptional and contributed to the success of the retreat. With your help we were able to articulate our priorities and craft a stronger mission statement.
Kay Berkson, Founder and Past Board Chair, Changing Worlds

Resilience in the Time of COVID-19

Ignore Infrastructure at Your Nonprofit’s Peril

Why Aren’t You Talking to Each Other?

Thanksgiving Edition: Sharing the Bounty

Don’t Miss Out: Why You Need to Engage Diverse Stakeholders in Strategic Planning

Don’t Miss Out: Why You Need to Engage Diverse Stakeholders in Strategic Planning

Who Are Your Stakeholders?

3 Reasons Why the Strategic Planning Process Is as Important as the Plan

How the Process Pays off – an Illustration

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