Thought Partnership and Execution Support for Leaders Who Build a Better World

Community Wealth Ventures (CWV) is seeking applications from nonprofit leaders interested in a strategic thought partner to help them achieve their desired outcomes. CWV is now selecting 10 leaders to participate in business coaching. Business coaching commences in October or November 2011 based on the needs of the participating leaders and will last for approximately six months. Ideal participants include leaders who are:

• Directing an organization undergoing significant change
• Setting a new bold vision for the organization
• Looking to increase their organization’s sustainability
• Desiring that the organization achieve greater impact
• Facing difficult strategic decisions
• Experiencing financial challenges
• Needing to execute on a new vision

Business Coaching is Designed By Individual Leader

CWV’s business coaching is entirely customized for and designed by the leaders themselves. Business coaches partner with leaders to focus on what is most important to realizing their vision and develop a plan to quickly make progress.  Business coaches provide leaders with an unconditional champion and confidential sounding board to help them execute as well as offering them proven practices and tools. CWV’s business coaching has helped hundreds of nonprofit organizations increase and sustain their mission impact, assisting them in transforming the lives of the individuals they serve. CWV’s approach is rooted in a long history of designing sustainable business models based on market research and supporting execution practices.

Participating Leaders Gain Thought Partners Who Help Them Achieve Desired Outcomes

Participating leaders identify desired outcomes and an area of focus at the onset with their business coach. Business coaching sessions are typically held once or twice per month by phone over a six month period. In addition to thought partnership discussions, business coaches will analyze pertinent documents and information to aid in decision-making and execution. Leaders can also access up to 30 hours of market research time. Each leader determines how best to allocate the business coach’s time between conversations, analysis, and market research.

Sustainability, Impact, Financials, and People Strategies are Common Business Issues Tackled

Typical areas of interest include mission/impact articulation, strategy refinement, financial sustainability, marketing, talent management, organizational design, and board/stakeholder management. The critical business questions often addressed are noted below.  

• Sustainability: How can I better plan so that my organization is more sustainable?

• Financial: How can I improve my business model (e.g., how we generate/raise revenue or make money)? What is my organization’s financial outlook in one to three years and how can I strengthen it?

• Board / Stakeholder Management: How can I improve engagement with the board and key stakeholders?

• People Strategies: How can I enhance my leadership and my management of teams?

• Organizational Development: How should I restructure responsibilities throughout the organization to support our desired impact? What capacities do we need to acquire and how can we acquire them?

• Strategy Refinement: How should I refine my strategies to adapt to changes in the environment?

• Impact: What goals should we set for the organization and the team members? How does our theory of change relate to these goals?

Leaders Access Best Practices, Tools, Research, and Business Execution Experts

CWV brings best practices and tools that are proven to lead to outcomes in addition to market research experts who collect data on the organization’s behalf. These resources help leaders make smart, data-driven decisions that key stakeholders have confidence in. Business coaches are “execution experts” in the nonprofit sector. They maintain deep expertise in executing major change initiatives at nonprofit organizations themselves coupled with an in-depth knowledge of business practices. They hold master’s degrees in business administration and sometimes complementary fields like economics, public policy or social work. To read more about our team, please see bios for our senior consultants and directors.

Thought Partners, Access to Proven Outcomes & Accelerated Decision-Making are Benefits Reported

Leaders who have participated in the past share the following benefits:

• Confidential Thought Partner & Champion: “Business coaching provides access to a confidential, unconditional champion focused solely on me achieving my organization’s business objectives.”
• Accelerated Decision Making:  “The structured coaching process helps to set aside time to address crucial business questions and reach decisions more quickly than I could have on my own.”
• Assistance in Building Buy-in Among Stakeholders: “CWV helped to build buy-in among critical stakeholders for key decisions including my own leadership team, staff, board, or external partners.”
• Access to Proven Outcomes: “We were able to access best practices, theories, and ideas identified through CWV’s work across multiple clients as well as CWV tools and templates, which business coaches customize to meet my organization’s specific needs.”
• Data for Decisions and Fast Execution: “CWV conducts customized research and analysis, and partnered with me to use data to increase confidence in decision-making and execute more rapidly.”

Client Testimonials

Small Southern nonprofit focused on grassroots advocacy and member services in a rural community

“While we have achieved short-term financial sustainability through our membership dues and services, long-term sustainability is still a challenge for our organization. Our membership renewal rates have been low and several of our satellite offices have consistently struggled to meet their financial targets. With CWV’s assistance, we developed and conducted a member survey identifying new services that increased enrollment and renewal rates. CWV also helped us assess our underperforming offices and develop strategies to make these offices more cost effective. These strategies and practices have strengthened our organization and our social- outcomes.” 

Child advocacy organization in the Midwest

“This work has really empowered me with focus and direction as we build our organizational capacity to enhance our effectiveness and sustainability… [the CWV team] offered me resources that have been beneficial to me, [our] staff and board members.  We are better equipped to continue our work to “Build Better Lives” thanks to [CWV coaching]…. I highly recommend this program as an excellent use of time that leads to amazing outcomes.” 

Fee and Application Information

Value of the six-month coaching opportunity is $12,500. Business coaching may continue beyond this initial period given the leader’s needs. Leaders either pay CWV directly or solicit support from Foundations or other investors/donors.

Applications are due on September 23, 2011 by 6pm EST. DOWNLOAD APPLICATION.

Applicants may be called for an interview. All applicants will be notified via email of a decision by October 31^st  

Please direct questions about business coaching to Sara Brenner or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Please submit applications to Marcus Paulsen.