WORK WITH US — STRATEGIC PLANNING CONSULTING
Our work as nonprofit strategic planning consultants creates clarity, energy and opportunity.
We lead equitable and inclusive strategic planning consulting that move our nonprofit clients towards action, justice and growth.
We bring a proven strategic planning process that asks the right questions and then incorporates the perspectives of organizational leaders into the plan. Leaders reach out to The Ross Collective for strategic planning because:
✅ We have led many successful strategic planning processes.
We get it: You are investing your organization’s valuable time and money in strategic planning. You want a successful process and product by the end. We will get you there - and have a meaningful, productive, energizing experience along the way. (See the bottom of this page for a list of some recent strategic planning clients.)
✅ We bring an inclusive, participatory process.
We bring a clear structure to the process, using participatory processes and visual facilitation with board or staff members to reflect, brainstorm, explore possible options and then determine the priorities that are most mission-aligned and impactful.
✅ We focus on equity.
The Ross Collective is deeply committed to racial equity and this is a focus of our facilitation work. Often, this means facilitating as a cross-race team and ensuring that the leadership of the process has the lived experience to build the vision, goals and concrete next steps.
✅ The process includes a fiscal analysis.
Getting aligned on the story and details of your budget ensures that your vision and goals are based in your financial present and future.
✅ We bring compassion and love to this work.
We are pretty darn sharp, we bring some excellent tools for planning, and at the end of the day, we are relational. The essence of our work is healing - ourselves, our organizations, our society. That starts with building trust with clients and bringing care, connection and warmth to our interactions and meetings.
✅ We include implementation planning.
Every process includes building practical operational plans so that your strategic plan is a living document that guides your work going forward.
About our work as nonprofit strategic planning consultants
Who is Renee?
Dr. Renee Rubin Ross is a recognized leader on board and organizational development and strategy and the founder of The Ross Collective, a consulting firm that designs and leads inclusive, participatory processes for social sector boards and staff.
Committed to racial equity in the nonprofit sector, Dr. Ross guides leaders and organizations in strategic plans and governance processes that deepen social change, racial justice, participant engagement, and community strength.
In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Ross directs the Cal State University East Bay Nonprofit Management Certificate program and teaches Strategic Planning and Board Development for the program.
Some nonprofit organizations that we’ve worked with:
Current or past planning clients include: AEOE, Bike East Bay, East Oakland Collective, Feed Black Futures, interACT, La Cocina, National VOAD, Los Altos-Mountain View Community Foundation, New Museum Los Gatos, Pittsburg Arts & Community Foundation , SOS Meals on Wheels , Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy and Youth Alive.
Candice Elder,
East Oakland Collective
“We use the strategic plan that we created with The Ross Collective as a basis for everything we do now. It is a guiding document that holds us accountable and focused. Our community received it with a lot of excitement. And when we're doing grant applications, we can often cut and paste from the strategic plan right into the grant proposal.”
Benefits of creating an inclusive nonprofit strategic plan include:
Board and staff members are invested in the strategic plan - so are energized to do the hard work of realizing the group’s vision and better serving community needs.
You have a clear path for organizational growth, including embracing new funding opportunities.
Your clarity about your priorities makes your case for support more compelling, leading to stronger fundraising.
Your board and staff are energized by staying focused on your most important work -and you’re using your capacity to be as effective as possible.
Genevieve Taylor
Executive Director, Ag Innovations
“We appreciated Renee’s design and facilitation of Ag Innovations’ strategic planning process, which supported us to build a strategic plan that included a renewed mission, vision and values. Renee was responsive to the specific needs of our group: many staff members are facilitators ourselves so wanted to track the process closely, and also wanted to bring board and staff together. We liked how she used Google Slides and collaboration software as a way for team members to share ideas and build on each other's work. She had a productive process for incorporating input from team members and board, and did a great job of community building between board and staff throughout.”