How To Use Your Strategic Plan to Really Influence Growth with Erin McPartlin

Erin McPartlin’s organization was doing important work, but conveying their purpose proved more difficult than she anticipated. They were experiencing an identity crisis, and donors just weren’t getting the message. Rather than racing forward, Erin slowed down, rebranded, and got to work on creating an effective and malleable strategic plan.

Breaking out of their routine allowed Erin and the newly renamed “Tutoring Chicago” to establish infrastructure that supported the growth of her organization. Her methods, procedures, and goals were clearly defined, and donors responded in a big way. Tutoring Chicago’s message was clearly defined, and they were ready to scale and properly improve the trajectory of students in their city. 

After decades of successfully leading Tutoring Chicago, today Erin consults other executive directors and leaders on how they, too, can change their trajectories and ensure their organizations have strong growth plans, leaders, and boards.

Tune in to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 — How to use your Strategic Plan to Really Influence Growth with Erin McPartlin

What You Will Discover: 

✔️ Leading doesn’t have to be lonely. Let’s face it: most executive directors do not grow up thinking they would lead a nonprofit. Their passion for improving their community led them to the work. Connecting with other leaders and leaving room to improve your strategies is essential to sustaining that passion, and it can help you navigate your organization through whatever challenges come its way. 

✔️ Be malleable. The world of nonprofits is constantly changing. After establishing procedures, create a plan to evaluate these procedures over time.“When you and I made this plan together, I really felt we needed to be flexible. We needed these strategic imperatives that guided us with our values, guided us with our identity. We knew who we were, we knew where we were going, we knew what we stood for. And then a few years later, COVID, right? And, man, that strategic plan worked. It took us through, we know who we were.”

✔️ Keep your message simple. Don’t make your donors waste energy figuring out what your organization is trying to do. When Erin and her organization, previously named Cabrini-Green Tutoring Organization, rebranded to “Tutoring Chicago,” donors responded instantly. Their purpose was defined, and now, they could spend more time on the details when connecting with donors.

✔️ Get everyone involved. A nonprofit thrives when each member brings their own unique skill set to the table. By championing your organization, you allow it to access partnerships and opportunities that can take your strategic plan to the next level. Develop your relationships with your board of directors; they’re connections and expertise can be key in growing and sustaining your organization. 

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With over 20 years of nonprofit management and leadership experience, Erin McPartlin is a strategic, visionary executive with a multifaceted leadership portfolio in nonprofit management and operations. Her expertise in program design, board and staff development, and fundraising financial management offers other executive directors, boards and leaders the experience and insights into the skills and mindset needed for strategic scale, impact, and sustainability - as well as a keen understanding of the clarity, leadership, organizational design, and infrastructure necessary to support this success.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erin-mcpartlin/

Website: erinmcpartlinconsulting.com

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Welcome to the Business Behind Fundraising podcast, where you’ll discover how to raise the kind of money your big vision requires without adding more events, appeals, or grant applications. Learn how to stop blocking overall revenue growth and start attracting investment-level donors with Sherry Quam Taylor. 

Sherry Quam Taylor’s unique approach and success combine her background of scaling businesses with her decade-long experience advising nonprofit leadership teams. With out-of-the-box principles and a myth-busting methodology, proven results, and an ability to see solutions to revenue problems that others overlook, her clients regularly add 7-figures of revenue to their bottom line. 

If you need a true partner to show you how to fully finance your entire mission, both programs, AND overhead, year after year… You’re in the right place!