Focusing on Issues and Strategies
for RESULTS
United Way of America
Standards of Excellence Framework
Results for Communities, Value for Investors
United Way’s strategy for strengthening communities
Impact Strategies,
Resources & Results
Community
Engagement & Vision
Broad organizational capabilities needed to execute on strategy
Relationship
Building & Brand
Management
Organizational
Leadership &
Governance
Operations
Core values of commitment to community success, accountability/
transparency, operational excellence, customer-centered, inclusiveness,
innovation/continuous improvement
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Component 2:
Impact Strategies, Resources and Results
Five Standards:
1: Impact Strategies
2: Partner Engagement
3: Resource Development and Mobilization
4: Implementation and Action
5: Measure, Evaluate and Communicate Results
“Getting focused” relates to all of these.
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Intended Outcomes
As a result of this presentation, you will:
• Understand the strategic benefits of focusing your
resources to achieve targeted results
• Have a framework and examples to help your
organization narrow its focus
• Know issues to consider in making decisions
• Have advice and lessons learned from United Ways
that have focused successfully
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
How one United Way got focused
Making decisions about your focus
Other lessons learned
Related resources
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Benefits Reported by “Focused” United Ways
• Contributed to their recognition as a community
leader around specific community issues
• Led to a framework for a 5-year investment
strategy focused on community change
• Provided a rational alternative to historical funding
• Helped them to say “no” to work not in alignment
• Helped align skills and resources
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Benefits of Getting Focused, continued
• Defined different investment products to
- offer to different donor segments and
- serve as alternatives to agency designations
• Provided content for a marketing strategy that
differentiates them
• Revitalized interest in the United Way by donors,
staff, volunteers, partners
• Attracted new people with fresh ideas
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
How one United Way got focused
Making decisions about your focus
Other lessons learned
Related resources
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What Does “Getting Focused” Mean?
Selecting a limited number of issues and strategies
in which to invest time, relationships, technology,
expertise, money, and other resources
to improve people’s lives
Getting focused is essential for delivering
meaningful results with limited resources
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What Does “Getting Focused” Look Like?
Focus Area
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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What Does “Getting Focused” Look Like?
Focus Area
Specific direct-service and/or
community change strategies
for improving lives
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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What Does “Getting Focused” Look Like?
Focus Area
Next level; more specific
Next level;
still more specific
Next level; even
more specific
Specific direct-service and/or
community change strategies
for improving lives
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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United Way of Santa Fe County
Levels of Focus
Priority Area
Goal
Objective
Strategy
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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United Way of the Midlands (Omaha)
Levels of Focus
Focus Area
Impact Initiative
Strategy
Project
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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United Way of America
Levels of Focus
Focus Area
Vision
Target Issue
Objective
Strategy
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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Getting Focused
Focus Area: Healthy Children
Vision: Our community’s children are physically and
mentally healthy
Target issue: Dental health of preschool children
Objectives:
• Ensure that children establish good dental health
habits early
• Promote regular dental check-ups and needed
treatment beginning at age 1
Specific Strategies:
• ???
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Specific Direct-service and Communitychange Strategies
• Increase parents’ knowledge of child dental health
• Amend state Medicaid guidelines to cover
children’s dental care
• Influence a media campaign on children’s
issues to spotlight child dental health
• Incorporate information on children’s
dental health care in parenting programs
• Promote dental health education activities
in child care centers
• Provide evaluation and referrals for emergency
dental care for children in homeless shelters
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Specific Strategies Mapped on Community
Investment Triangle
• Increase
parents’
knowledge of
child dental health
• Influence media campaign
• Amend state Medicaid guidelines
to cover children’s dental care
• Incorporate child dental health care information in parenting programs
• Promote dental health ed in child care centers
• Provide evaluations and referrals for emergency
dental care for children in homeless shelters
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
How one United Way got focused
Making decisions about your focus
Other lessons learned
Related resources
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United Way of Santa Fe County
Levels of Focus
Priority Area
Goal
Objective
Strategy
Investments of
time, relationships, technology, expertise, money, other resources
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
How and How Long – Level 1: Priority Areas
Who Did What:
• Staff researched & provided options. Included research
into other UWs, survey of donors, discussion of options,
selection of draft
• Community Investment Committee (CIC) proposed
• Staff & CIC identified & recruited experts for Work Groups
(agency & nonprofit staff and other community members
with expertise in each priority area).
• Work Groups & Board approved proposed priority areas
How Long It Took:
• Approximately 5 months (not including board approval)
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United Way of Santa Fe County
Four Priority Areas
 Helping Kids Succeed
 Improving Health & Healing
 Increasing Self-sufficiency
 Unifying Our Diverse Community
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
How and How Long – Level 2: Goals
Who Did What:
• Staff provided options
• CIC recommended
• Work Groups reviewed, approved
• Board approved
How Long It Took:
• Once priority areas determined, draft in about 1
month
• Finalized in 2 more months (not including board
approval)
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
A Goal Within a Priority Area
Priority Area: Increasing Self-sufficiency
Goal: Individuals and families have opportunities to
maintain independence and improve their quality of life
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
How and How Long – Level 3: Objectives
Who Did What:
• Staff synthesized Work Group input, drafted
objectives
• CIC recommended
• Work Groups vetted
• Board approved
How Long It Took:
• Approximately 3 months, not including board
approval (1 month overlap with finalizing
goals)
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
Objectives for a Goal
Priority Area: Increasing Self-sufficiency
Goal:
• Individuals and families have opportunities to maintain
independence and improve their quality of life
Objective:
• Increase economic opportunities and financial
security for families and individuals by focusing
on financial skills, housing options, employment
and job opportunities, and functional literacy
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
How and How Long – Level 4: Strategies
Who Did What:
• Staff synthesized Work Group input, drafted
strategies
• CIC recommended
• Work Groups vetted
• Board approved
How Long It Took:
• Approximately 2 months
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Getting Focused in Santa Fe County
Direct-service and Community-change
Strategies for One Objective
• Promote innovative approaches such as IDAs to
help families become self-sufficient
• Develop partnerships between nonprofits and
educational institutions that lead to careers in
small business and nonprofit management
• Increase the development of affordable housing
• Provide outreach and education leading to
financial literacy and security for low-income,
at-risk populations
• Provide people in the hospitality industry with
skills needed to advance their careers
• No strategies identified for investment
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
How one United Way got focused
Making decisions about your focus
Lessons learned from the field
Related resources
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At Each Level of Decision-making
About Your Focus:
• Be clear about the topic – what you are trying
to decide
• Understand how it fits within the level above
and provides the context for the level below
• Define criteria to guide the decision
• Based on the criteria, decide what specific
information you need to make the decision
• Think strategically about who to engage
• Be prepared to amend earlier decisions
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In Each Level of Decision-making:
Engagement
Focus Area
next level
next level
next level
Strategies
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Engagement
• Not about engaging everyone
in every decision
• Not necessarily about engaging
the same players in each decision
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Strategic Engagement
• The right players
• At the right points in the process
• In the right roles
• For the right purposes
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Deciding Who to Engage
Considering . . .
• what you are trying to decide at this point
• the information needed to apply your decision-making criteria
• the realities of history, political climate, turf, influence, etc.
• other important considerations
what people/organizations/interests need to be involved to
provide the required . . .
 knowledge
 affiliations
 skills
 legitimacy
 relationships
 support for implementation
 population perspective
 etc.
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
How one United Way got focused
Making decisions about your focus
Other lessons learned
Related Resources
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Other Lessons Learned
Things they’re glad they did
• Lots of communication with agencies and donors
along the way
• Engagement of people with specific expertise
through work groups to provide input and vetting
at each level
• Staff provided recommendations to volunteers,
who actually made decisions
• Regular education of board members
• Not holding out for consensus on every decision
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Other Lessons Learned
Best advice they can offer
• Fewer (focus areas, objectives, strategies) is
better
• Involve all organizational functions in the
process
• Persevere. Unless you are ready for a longterm commitment, do not start
• You can proceed at different speeds with
different focus areas
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Other Lessons Learned
Best advice they can offer, continued
• Adapt. Be ready to change based on valid
input while maintaining the core of your
original plan
• Expect and work with resistance from some
agencies and other stakeholders
• Take as much time as you need, but no more
• Have courage and take (calculated) risks
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Other Lessons Learned
Best advice they can offer, continued
Communicate, communicate, communicate –
internally and externally
• Volunteers need to know why you need to focus,
how decisions will be used, how it’s being done
• Funded agencies/programs, other partners,
stakeholders need to know how, why, what it may
mean for them
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Topics
Getting focused: Why do it? What are the benefits?
What does “getting focused” look like?
Making decisions about your focus
How one United Way got focused
Lessons learned from the field
Related resources
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Related Resources on United Way Online
• The Community Investment Triangle: Targeting Our
Resources (keyword: CITriangle)
• Connecting Program Outcome Measurement to
Community Impact (keyword: POM-CI)
• Getting Focused to Make Tough Choices (keyword:
GetFocused)
• Redefining Agency Relationships for Community Impact
(keyword: RedefineAgency)
• Small Cities: Getting Focused for Greater Results
webinar replay (http://uwa.breezecentral.com/p84658172/)
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