What is an Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI) Consultation?
First and foremost, conversations with the MSI are completely confidential. That means that anything shared or discussed with the MSI director will stay between the two of you. That confidentiality is an important part of creating a safe and trusting space for exploration, but it also means that it can be hard to shed light on the inner workings of MSI consultations. What do folks talk about? Should you be talking with the MSI? If so, when? And, how will you know what to talk about? Is it going to be a good use of your time?
MSI Consultations can serve several different purposes, and there’s no right or wrong way to talk with the MSI. Because we can’t share real case studies from these conversations, we’ve created a series of stories that illustrate some of the most common ways that folks engage with the MSI. These stories are not based on real organizations or real people – if you see yourself in one of these stories it means that the puzzles you and your organization are working on are very common. That’s why the MSI is here!
Read about the very beginning of a partnership exploration in Casey Ponders a Program Transfer, AND read about the search for the right consultant in Devon Explores a Back-Office Collaboration.
Devon Explores a Back-Office Collaboration
Devon is the chair of the partnership committee of the board of Mobilize Now, a small nonprofit that supports community activism in Chicago. Mobilize Now has a staff of two, so the board is very involved in the day-to-day work. Devon works as a librarian and is always happy when there’s a chance to use their research and organizational skills to help support Mobilize Now’s work.
Mobilize Now has partnered with Organized for Opportunity (OFO), another Chicago-based grassroots organization, on online programs, trainings, and other events for several years. Both organizations have long struggled to find funding for administrative support, but during the pandemic they were able to secure government relief grants that allowed them to keep their programming strong and their staffs and volunteers very busy over the past few years. This government funding is running out, and it’s also becoming increasingly clear that “normal” is not something that anyone wants to get back to when it comes to overworked, overstretched staff with not enough resources. With a strong history of working together informally, Mobilize Now and OFO think that it might be time to join forces in a more structural way that could save both organizations money and increase their collective capacity to deliver programming. They’re both paying separately for contracted services like bookkeeping and website management, and they’re wondering if it might be possible to share some of these expenses. Piper has stepped up to do some research and help figure this out.
While they have a lot of experience in grassroots organizing, no one at either organization has put together this type of administrative partnership, and it’s clear to Devon that they’re going to need help if they want to build something that lasts. Their search for resources led them to the MSI, and they scheduled a time to talk. After a little bit of introductory chatting and a promise of confidentiality, the MSI Director said, “so, tell me what you’re thinking about in terms of partnership.” Devon gave a little background about the work the organizations are doing and asked if the MSI could recommend a consultant to help them create a system for sharing some of their back-end support work. The MSI Director asked a few questions about where they are in their process, who has been involved so far, and how the group likes to work together. They discussed the phases that are often involved in these types of projects and how different types of consulting can be helpful at different phases as well as when it can be important to include legal advice. The MSI Director shared a list of consultants who work with organizations like Mobilize Now and connected Devon with a group that coordinates pro bono legal support for nonprofits. They agreed to meet again once Piper had a chance to look into some of the consulting options available.
At their next meeting, Devon had a few questions about the wide range of consulting options available. The MSI Director didn’t recommend a particular consultant but did help Devon think through the type of work they were looking for and brainstormed ways of interviewing consultants for alignment with their organizational values. The MSI Director also shared information about MSI grants that can help to cover the one-time costs (such as consulting fees) associated with building partnerships like this. They talked about the application process, grant types, and timelines. Piper plans to reach out to learn more about applying for a grant once the consultant selection process has moved forward. For now, Devon is excited to engage the joint committee that the two boards created to decide which consultant is right for them and how they want to move forward with this exploration.
Read about the very beginning of a partnership exploration in Casey Ponders a Program Transfer, and stay tuned for more tales to come.
Casey Ponders a Program Transfer
Casey is the Executive Director of Hearth Together, a Springfield-based organization that provides direct service and outreach to people experiencing homelessness. Hearth Together has grown organically over many years and now offers a broad range of services to individuals and families in their community. Their programs are primarily funded by government contracts, which support the programming but not the organization’s overhead. Hearth Together’s growth has been driven by the availability of these contracts, and newly added programming hasn’t always been perfectly aligned with the organization’s mission or expertise. After 30 years as a founder-led organization, Hearth Together hired Casey six months ago, and the founding ED remains involved as a board member.
While working to get their arms around Hearth Together’s varied programming and to build the administrative and fundraising capacity to more effectively support their work and better manage a challenging cashflow cycle, Casey realized that a few of their programs were much more closely aligned with the work of another organization in their community, Springfield Supports. If Casey can figure out how to partner with Springfield Supports to deliver those programs, or maybe even give the programs to Springfield Supports, the team at Hearth Together will be able to focus on the work that’s best aligned with their mission, and everyone in the community will receive better-supported programming. But how to begin? The founding ED and some members of the board will likely be opposed to any move that looks like downsizing, and Casey is worried that Hearth Together’s few non-government funders could see the partnership as a sign of financial instability and could pull their funding.
With all of this in mind – the hope of a more effective and connected organization and the anxiety that it could all fall apart if it isn’t handled the right way – Casey called the MSI. After a little bit of introductory chatting and a promise of confidentiality, the MSI Director said, “so, tell me what you’re thinking about in terms of partnership.” Casey launched into the story, and by the time they’d finished they felt relieved at the chance to explain the whole thing to someone other than their spouse. Along the way, the MSI Director asked a few clarifying questions about how the programs were being administered and made it clear that the situation was not an uncommon one. Casey felt reassured to know that they weren’t alone – that other organizations had worked through similar situations and come out the other side thriving.
After that initial call, the MSI Director sent Casey a few articles about organizational partnership that provided some food for thought, and Casey set up another call with the MSI for a few weeks down the road. Over the next several months, Casey talked with the MSI Director several times. They brainstormed ways that the partnership with Springfield Supports could work, and they talked through strategies for discussing this partnership with the board, the staff, and Hearth Together’s funders. The MSI Director shared examples of decision trees and other tools that Casey found helpful in mapping out the many moving parts of this work, and as Casey began to loop in some of their key people, the MSI Director was a sounding board before important conversations. Early meetings are underway with the staffs and boards of Hearth Together and Springfield Supports, and while there’s a lot of work and some more hard conversations ahead, Casey is optimistic about the possibility of bringing the two organizations together to better serve their community.
Want to learn more about MSI at Forefront? Visit the MSI website or reach out directly to MSI Director, Kate Piatt-Eckert at kpiatteckert@myforefront.org