Invitation Memo
To: From:
Central Minnesota Area Non-Profit Organizations Central Minnesota Community Foundation, 101 South 7th Ave, Suite 100, St. Cloud, MN 56301 Phone 320-253-4380 Website: www.communitygiving.org Invitation to participate in You Get What You Measure® strategic planning process facilitated by Yellow Wood Associates on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at the St. Cloud Library. July 15, 2009
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Sponsors of the Workshop: Central Minnesota Community Foundation, Initiative Foundation, Central Minnesota Arts Board, and Xcel Energy Recently, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Initiative Foundation were introduced to a dynamic and effective strategic planning tool created by Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. called You Get What You Measure®. More than any other tool or process we’ve experienced, You Get What You Measure® helps participants identify key indicators and measurable action steps in achieving strategic goals for an initiative or organization’s strategic plan. We have asked Yellow Wood Associates to facilitate a full-day You Get What You Measure® workshop for area non-profit organizations. We’d like to invite you to submit a short Application to participate in this workshop. Unfortunately, space is limited—we will only be able to accommodate 10 non-profit organizations in this workshop. Information on how to apply to participate in the You Get What You Measure® non-profit session is highlighted below. The deadline for submitting an application is Friday, July 31st. However, the first 10 organizations that apply and fully meet the criteria listed in the “Selection Process” will be given first consideration. Here is additional information on the You Get What You Measure® workshop: Tuesday, August 25: Yellow Wood will present an 8-hour You Get What You Measure® workshop for local non-profit organizations at the St. Cloud Public Library. The tentative time is from 8 AM – 4 PM. • 10 non-profit organizations will be able to participate with teams of 4-5 people each (For approximately 50 people total) • The objectives of this workshop include the following: o Understanding and re-framing goals for their organization o Identifying indicators of progress toward key goals o Indicator analysis: determining the relationship between indicators for the two most important goals o Identify key leverage and key results indicators o Devise measures of key indicators o Post workshop consultation will provide feedback on workshop results and discussion of possible next steps 1
o Follow-up workshops and/or a series of Webinars may be used to help non-profits continue process • Cost to participating non-profit organizations: $100 per team
Selection Process: • Non-profit organizations wishing to participate in the You Get What You Measure® workshop should submit an Application to the Central Minnesota Community Foundation by Friday, July 31. Application will include the following information: o Articulate a few key goals from your organization’s most recent strategic plan or an initiative your are working on that you wish to address in the You Get What You Measure® workshop o Identify benefits of achieving these goal(s) for your organization and for the community. In what ways would achieving these goals help build or strengthen the community? o Identify 4 to 5 team members who will commit to participating in the entire 8-hour workshop on August 25 including: Executive Director Staff Board member(s) Beneficiaries o Commit to pay $100 for your team to participate • Applicants will be notified about their acceptance into the workshop by Friday, August 7th. Payment of $100 is due before Friday, August 21st.
Selection Criteria: Note: This first session is limited to nonprofits from the greater St Cloud area. • 501 (c) 3 organizations serving greater St. Cloud area • Established for more than 5 years (i.e. no start ups) • Focused on addressing important community need • Engaged and committed board of directors
Additional background on You Get What You Measure® (This information is taken from the proposal the Community Foundation received from Yellow Wood Associates) Approach: You Get What You Measure®, is a unique values-based process developed by Yellow Wood that helps diverse individuals formulate shared goals, articulate indicators of progress toward shared goals, analyze indicators in a systems context, identify key assumptions and key leverage points, create measures of progress for key leverage points and measurement plans, and design and implement action plans to achieve focused progress. The You Get What You Measure® process has been used successfully by community groups, nonprofit boards, foundation grantees, and government agencies to engage participants, clarify thinking, develop common language and shared goals, provide focus, and achieve targeted results. This You Get What You Measure will be designed for staff, volunteers, board members and beneficiaries of local non-profit organizations to assist them in applying You Get What You Measure to their own work. Each non-profit will be expected to bring the goals from their most recent strategic plan and a team of at least four participants to the workshop. 2
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The session will begin with an introduction to measurement and vocabulary and a brief overview of the entire process of which only a portion will be covered during this workshop. The first step in the process will be understanding and reframing goals for each organization represented. The next step in the process will involve identifying indicators of progress toward key goals from the perspectives of the different people present from each nonprofit. An indicator analysis will allow participants to examine the relationships between different concepts of what must change to show progress and will ultimately reveal the key leverage points in the system related to the goal. Indicator analyses will be completed for the two most important goals of each organization, time permitting. Once key leverage and key results indicators are identified, participants will learn how to devise measures of key indicators and how to consider the various uses to which the results of measurement may be put to make progress toward their goals.
It is not realistic to expect to develop measurement plans and action plans within the 8-hour framework, though a follow up workshop and/or a series of webinars could be conducted for this purpose. Information developed during the workshop will be captured on flip charts and reported back to participants within three weeks of the workshop date.
Benefit to Audience: This workshop will engage participants in clarifying goals, identifying indicators and leverage points and creating effective measures of progress. • • • • Attendees will learn common measurement vocabulary, including goals, indicators, assumptions, and measures. Attendees will share what they value individually working towards the goal and will identify the things that need to be changed or conditions that must be achieved in order to make progress towards the goal. Attendees will go through an indicator analysis that will allow them to identify the key leverage points related to each goal. Finally, attendees will learn how to devise meaningful measures of the status of key leverage indicators.
Time and place: The You Get What You Measure® workshop will be an 8-hour process. It will be conducted from 8 AM – 4 PM, on Tuesday, August 25, at the St. Cloud Public Library.
Application: See attached 2-page Application.
Sponsors of this workshop include the following:
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