Beyond Survival:
How Stakeholder Voices Reshaped a Century-Old Organization
Overview
A 130-year legacy, a youth development institution that has served its community since 1890, found itself at an inflection point.
Having successfully adapted its programming and presence to meet evolving community needs throughout its history, the organization faced its most significant challenge yet with the COVID-19 pandemic, which particularly disrupted youth-serving organizations and their traditional delivery models.
Recognizing that historical approaches might no longer suffice, the organization partnered with Back of the Napkin to develop a comprehensive strategic plan.
Our engagement centered on three pillars:
Reimagining and refining programming to address new community realities
Recalibrating operational approaches for maximum impact and sustainability
Redefining systems to create a more responsive organizational infrastructure
Project Objectives
Assess the current landscape to understand of organizational and community realities.
Establish strategic priorities through collaborative stakeholder engagement.
Design a strategy that aligns with core values and operational capabilities, including:
Strategic goals and supporting objectives
Talent strategy and role definitions
Program evolution blueprint
Board development and communication strategy
Build an accountability framework with detailed implementation pathways and clearly defined responsibilities for staff and board members.
The Solution
We designed and facilitated a strategic planning process that balanced inclusive collaboration with actionable outcomes. Our approach ensured the final plan emerged from diverse perspectives while maintaining focus on measurable results.
Guided by Stakeholder Wisdom
We established a strategic advisory group comprising young people, board members, community leaders, and staff who:
Shaped our engagement methodology
Designed feasible community participation strategies
Activated existing networks for broader stakeholder involvement
Built by Those Who Inherit the Work
By engaging the end users early in the process, their commitment to the resulting plan and its successful implementation was strengthened from the beginning.
We coached our client to see the strategic planning process as a powerful opportunity to:
Re-establish relationships with lapsed donors
Engage previously untapped community partners
Position themselves as a leadership voice in the community's COVID response
Center and elevate youth perspectives in shaping future directions
Unlocking Creative Solutions
Our planning workshops employed innovative facilitation methods that:
Encouraged participants to transcend conventional thinking and institutional roles
Helped participants understand diverse perspectives
Incorporated visual elements and direct quotes to represent voices not physically present
The Result
The strategic planning process delivered more than a document – it catalyzed change. Following implementation, the organization experienced significant growth in its community impact and institutional strength.
Enhanced Community Standing
The organization's reputation and influence expanded, earning them selection as a grant administrator for city initiatives – a powerful vote of confidence from municipal leaders and a testament to their renewed community standing. This elevated position has allowed them to extend their impact to shaping broader youth development efforts across the city.
Amplified Youth Role in Decision Making
By prioritizing the needs most frequently expressed by teens, the organization transformed its approach to the teen center demolition and revitalization. They implemented a phased approach that allowed for iterative improvements based on ongoing youth feedback. This responsive design process established deeper engagement with the youth community.
The organization's successful adoption of this approach reflects the iterative methodology Back of the Napkin modeled throughout the strategic planning process.
Strengthened Operational Capacity
The strategic staffing restructure redistributed responsibilities away from overextended senior leaders. This diffusion of leadership created pathways for talent development while improving operational sustainability. The new structure has built capacity for growth while reducing burnout risk among key personnel.
Increased Board Engagement
Board members who participated in implementation workshops became effective champions for the strategic plan, shepherding communication and ownership to fellow board members. This direct engagement transformed governance from oversight-focused to actively supportive, creating stronger alignment between board guidance and organizational direction.
Today, the organization stands stronger, more deeply connected to its community, with an established culture of learning and continuous improvement that positions it for sustainable impact for years to come.
