Strategy

Expert guidance,
hands-on support.

Too often, consulting partners leave you with a strategy you can’t afford. The realities of implementation often limit nonprofits’ ability to put good plans into action. Our embedded approach starts with aligning your leadership team on mission, vision, and goals.

Team of hikers strategy to reach the goal at the top of the mountain
“ Working with Orr Group allowed us the opportunity to not only layout the strategy for our major gifts work, but to also test that strategy. And that's not necessarily always the case when you bring in external resources to support organizations. Often, they build the strategy but are gone before we've implemented it. That was the great thing about working with Orr Group. We were able to test, formatively evaluate, and refine the strategy to be successful.”
Ruth RMHNYC
Ruth RMHNYC
“Working with Orr Group allowed us the opportunity to not only layout the strategy for our major gifts work, but to also test that strategy. And that's not necessarily always the case when you bring in external resources to support organizations. Often, they build the strategy but are gone before we've implemented it. That was the great thing about working with Orr Group. We were able to test, formatively evaluate, and refine the strategy to be successful.”

Ruch C. Browne, SD, President & Chief Executive Officer, Ronald McDonald House New York

We ask questions like:
  • Does your plan have competitive advantages? Will it stand out? What makes it unique?
  • Can everyone in your organization get on board with the plan and invest themselves in it?
  • Are your internal resources aligned with your strategic goals? What do you need to change or add in order to get where you want to go?

Then we help you build a strategy that is actionable, achievable, and grounded in reality.

Strategic Planning

We develop strategic plans with you through stakeholder dialogue, environmental scans, and a thorough analysis of your organization’s current business operations. We help you draw from your core values and manifest your mission in its highest state, while also embracing real-world flexibility so you can adapt to currents in the swiftly and often radically changing philanthropic sector.

See our strategic planning work in action

Development Audits

We’ve seen many nonprofits try to achieve growth and long-term sustainability without solid development operations in place, merely hoping for results rather than intentionally building toward them. The outcomes are predictably unpredictable.

Orr Group conducts data-driven evaluations that can range from comprehensive analyses of development operations to more granular studies of your major gift program, planned giving program, or individual giving program. Our approach always relies on the four pillars of successful fundraising: case, leadership, donors, and systems.

Based on our findings, we craft a development roadmap that’s plotted on your values, culture, organizational assets, and potential for growth. We include routes to both short-term milestones and long-term, sustainable relationships with donors, your board, and key stakeholders. You come away from our partnership with a clear, comprehensive, achievable plan.

See our development work in action

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