Using the Past to Inform the Future
The last few years have really changed our collective culture. How we work, what we have energy for, and what is most important has shifted in significant ways. While some of these changes are welcomed, it doesn’t make them any less challenging to navigate. Amid these cultural changes, I’ve been noticing some nonprofits and agencies seem misguided or lost in pursuit of their mission. It's like traveling down the path in the woods when suddenly you notice the path has disappeared. Just as one retraces their steps when lost, I’ve been pulling strategic guidance from understanding the history of the organization. Questions such as, “How did we get here?” begin a reflective process that is bound to leave you with opportunities to rebuild momentum and move forward. Here are some places in history that have led to answers and opportunities:
Founder(s) Intention.
I’ve been working with a small group to revise the mission, vision, and values of an organization that’s been around for 30 years. The organization has gone through rebranding and a name change but still struggles to articulate the purpose of the organization. Two meetings into the process of making edits, we revisited the writings from the founder which beautifully articulated some of our experiences with the organization. We noticed their language didn’t have the buzzwords of today, which we found refreshing; it demonstrated the uniqueness of what the organization was seeking to offer. Additionally, it was clear our organization had strayed from its original, and relevant, purpose.
Organization Formation.
This past year I worked with a community organization that focused on youth. As a fairly new organization, we discussed the history — who formed the organization and why (founder intention). The founders of this organization intended to attack a problem in the community but did not engage the existing organizations that were integral to addressing the problem. With this history, I was not surprised to learn that they failed to engage stakeholders that were essential to their strategy planning.
Furthermore, the leaders that started this organization were of corporate background so they focused on data and return on investment, as opposed to relationships, youth or the community. Today this organization can provide relevant and evidence-based practices for youth and data that reflects challenges and meaningful impact but continue to struggle with community relationships. For this organization, it is key that they shed their history of being a “hero” in the community, and learn to be more collaborative to deepen their impact.
The Community and The People Living There.
Every person and community you encounter has a history that plays a direct role in how that person and community speaks, thinks, and acts. I’ve been working with a housing authority whose biggest complaint is their public housing residents don’t engage and they were described as hopeless/helpless. When reviewing the history of their organization and community, we learned that many of the residents were displaced when other local housing authorities released responsibility. The organization stated people in the community knew to come to them and get help; however, today, this organization wants to do more than help people — they want residents to own homes and move to communities of their choice. I encouraged this housing authority to use the history of this community along with the history of public housing communities to navigate relationships with residents.
A family that has spent generations in public housing may need different types and levels of engagement than someone who recently began needing housing assistance. Generational public housing residents often come from significant community harm like redlining, leveling or building highways, and acts of institutional and systemic racism. But, it's also important to know that these community histories are not always just about harm. Many communities are resilient and it’s worth understanding why — what assets are facilitating life? If you’re not in a community already, with humility, build relationships with community members; you might find they don’t need your help in the ways you think they do. History can tell you who makes decisions in a community today – it's not always the person with the title.
If you’re stuck in your strategy and would like additional support, reach out to me and my team at The Spark Mill. We’d love to talk with you about how to make change happen.