FairVote seeks to improve our democracy through two electoral reforms–ranked choice voting and proportional representation. With these reforms gaining momentum and interest, FairVote needed to articulate a more focused role in a rapidly expanding field. We worked with internal and external stakeholders to define FairVote’s contribution and position in the field, and aligned its resources to deliver on clear, ambitious goals.

The Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of eight independent theological schools, offers a comprehensive and unique program for interreligious graduate studies. We helped this consortium to refine their offering and business operations to ensure program consistency and fiscal savings for the members.

Founded in 2006, the Sunlight Foundation played a seminal role in establishing the open data movement in the United States. They approached us in 2018, with a request to rethink their strategy and position in light of changes in the field, including new learning, actors and approaches. We worked with staff to develop and present three new organizational models to the Board.

CNPS partners with the USFS Family Forest Research Center to deliver the TELE program, which offers capacity-building and consulting services to conservation organizations. TELE is a research-based and field tested methodology to engage woodland owners and other audiences to be better stewards of the land.

Open Data Watch works with national statistical offices worldwide to improve the coverage, openness and usefulness of official statistics. We helped this organization to articulate its value proposition and develop programs and services to deliver on that promise. We also helped to launch their flagship product: the Open Data Inventory. 

The Transparency and Accountability initiative is redefining what it means to be a donor collaborative. CNPS helped T/AI develop a new organizational strategy (2017-2019) based on learnings from its first five years in operation.

When the Open Contracting Partnership was launched, CNPS worked with the staff and Board to develop its mission, strategy and operational plan. We also advised the organization on its operations and governance structure.

Learning Equality is a young nonprofit that has developed open-source technology to deliver interactive and dynamic digital learning experiences in classrooms with few resources and little or no internet connectivity. CNPS is helping LE to figure out the best settings and uses for this technology, and develop and market appropriate products and services.

As the premier advocate for closing gender data gaps, Data2X has focused on documenting gaps and biases in global development data and creating partnerships to fill them. CNPS helped Data2X identify growth paths that leverage new opportunities created by the development data revolution, new data collection technologies, and the growing awareness of women’s role in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

CNPS helped Gooru, an educational technology nonprofit, to scale use of their K-12 educational platform and develop sustainable revenue streams for the organization.

CNPS worked with AFF from 2009 through 2011. Our task was to develop a new path for AFF’s Tree Farm program and provide ongoing operational support during the transition to the new model. As part of this project, we participated in monthly management team meetings, monitored the rollout of new programs, and supported individual members of the management team as requested.

In 2006, we helped the Partnership to transition from a loose coalition of development experts to a strong advocacy organization with an inspiring agenda and effective staff-led programs. Thanks to a compelling vision and realistic operational plans, the Partnership was able to attract the funds needed to implement the transition and, by 2009, had accomplished the goals laid out in its first strategic plan.

We re-designed MHA’s flagship public education campaign to reflect the organization’s new focus on wellness and health improvement (rather than managing illness). The campaign was aimed at promoting mental health enhancing strategies for people who are experiencing emotional distress.

We worked with this Presbyterian seminary over two years, first to implement an inclusive strategy formation process that engaged all members of the SFTS community, and then to assist the School’s  management team in implementation. We also designed a dashboard to help the President and Dean track progress against strategic goals and targets.

This international multi-stakeholder initiative hired CNPS to recommend an organizational structure and funding plan to support its rapidly growing organization and ambitious goals. We also advised the organization on operational and staffing issues, and helped to develop a business plan for the next three years.

CNPS evaluated the first phase of the ONE campaign and recommended an appropriate organizational structure and phase 2 goals to move the campaign forward.

In 2005, the Aspen Institute hired us to analyze five successful advocacy campaigns in the area of global development to identify factors that contributed to their success. The resultant report led to the development of an advocacy evaluation framework, which is the basis for the work of the Aspen Planning and Evaluation Program.

CNPS developed a new marketing plan for Oxfam’s flagship educational and outreach program: Fast for World Harvest.

In 2006, the American Diabetes Association hired CNPS to help determine how (and how much) the organization should address the growing issue of obesity. Our charge was to objectively lay out viable structures and strategies for venturing into this new area and provide the Board with the information needed to decide amongst these options.

Our first project with SFFI was to design and implement a “Call before you Cut” campaign to persuade private forest owners in six midwestern states to seek professional advice before harvesting trees. Next, we developed a website (www.engaginglandowners.org) and training program to help natural resource professionals engage with woodland owners. We continue to assist SFFI with program delivery and evaluation.

Over the years, CNPS has executed several projects for Bread, including a dashboard to help the Board and management team track progress, a graphic to “map” Bread’s influence over time, and a long-term vision for what Bread will accomplish and become over the next twenty years.

The leaders of American Rivers asked us to help them marshal and leverage their resources for greater impact and influence. We delivered a bold new strategy that leveraged American Rivers’ national status and staff strengths, and called on the organization to shift from place-based conservation projects to national issue-focused campaigns that support and leverage local campaigns.

CNPS helped this Southern African policy advocate articulate its vision and strategy. We also helped FANRPAN write a proposal for the Gates Foundation, which, when accepted, effectively doubled the organization and its impact.

This coalition of nine Bay Area seminaries, which offers a joint PhD program in collaboration with University of California, Berkeley, charged us with assessing the viability of the Union in the face of declining enrollment at member seminaries. Our research revealed that member seminaries vary in their ability and willingness to support GTU programs and we designed a tiered membership structure to reflect their interests and motivation.

We worked with a coalition of research universities and USAID representatives to develop a strategic plan for Higher Education for Development (HED), a program of ACE that supports the engagement of US colleges and universities in development initiatives worldwide.

This consortium of 96 universities hired us to facilitate a Board retreat to help the organization clarify its values and principles, set near-term goals, and develop an action plan to be carried out by member organizations.

The focus of Refugees International’s planning process was to identify the areas where it makes the most distinctive and necessary contributions and align its resources accordingly. It also led to the development of three new strategic initiatives that enabled RI to combine advocacy for immediate improvement with a push for long-term structural reforms to prevent future crises.

CNPS facilitated an executive team retreat designed to flesh out NatureServe’s vision for the near future, prioritize areas where additional resources are needed, and develop a strategy for mobilizing needed resources.

The strategic planning process that we conducted for CommonHealth Action revealed that this organization was trying to fill two very different roles and identities. This clarification led to some programs and functions being spun off into a subsidiary Public Health Institute so that the organization could focus on its core health equity agenda.

This association of healthcare providers, group purchasing officers, and vendors hired us to explore their members’ opinions of how the healthcare purchasing function is currently structured and new trends that are likely to shape it in the near future. The results were used to inform HISCI’s programs.

We conducted an evaluation of the Institute’s pilot program designed to provide a year of leadership training to executive directors of local nonprofits.

The goal of this engagement was to clarify roles and responsibilities between EPIC’s staff and its highly engaged volunteer Board. We helped EPIC develop consensus around action priorities and assign items to volunteers and staffers as appropriate.

CNPS helped this diverse coalition of business people, academics, foreign services professionals, North Korean community leaders, and nonprofit organizations develop a unified message platform to promote effective and constructive US engagement with North Korea.

We helped this organization, which is headquartered in Washington, DC but has operations in Thailand and Cambodia, set up an organizational structure that would enable management decisions to be made at appropriate locations and levels.

We developed an innovative marketing strategy designed to boost participation in CHC’s workplace giving programs and to distinguish them from similar federations in the healthcare space. The centerpiece of the strategy were newly developed “giving and learning” programs which would be more attractive to younger employees, particularly in DC’s flourishing Tech sector.

The Stanley Foundation has used the Center’s services to facilitate joint strategy sessions designed to help groups of nonprofits to develop a coordinated response to specific advocacy and media opportunities.

CNPS conducted research with business and civic leaders and APA members to develop messages designed to help APA communicate the benefits and value of membership in the association.

The College of William and Mary charged us with finding a sustainable funding and management model for AidData, a transparency-promoting database that was developed jointly with Brigham Young University and Development Gateway. We developed a financial, governance and management structure that allowed for smoother collaboration among these organizations and has enabled AidData to grow and thrive.

CGS was formed in 2003 from the merger of two membership organizations. CNPS was engaged to facilitate the transition, in particular the adoption of the new name, which had to be approved by majority vote of the memberships of both organizations. We implemented an inclusive process to develop the new name and logo, and initiated an effective internal communication program to generate buy-in for the change. Later, in 2010, we helped CGS plan for the next phase of its growth.

Originally funded through philanthropic grants, USA Football was seeking to become more sustainable by diversifying its revenue base. We developed a 6-year plan, which included the launching of marketable programs and services, expansion of the donor base and cultivation of corporate sponsorships, to help USA Football become stronger and more self-reliant.

This community-based provider of leadership and empowerment programs for young girls asked us to help it find a path to financial sustainability. We presented the Board with two strategies, one that required a repositioning of Community Bridges to attract local philanthropic funds and the other which called for it to charge service fees to supplement philanthropic funds.

CNPS supported FLA’s international and external communications in 2009 and 2010. Our role was primarily strategic, including helping FLA make critical decisions such as the viability of launching a consumer-faced certification label. When needed we also provided writing and design support to the communications team.

The Hewlett Foundation used the Center to facilitate a meeting of foreign policy advocacy organizations. The meeting was designed to facilitate mutual learning of advocacy strategies and to help these organizations work collaboratively to accomplish shared goals. We have also provided management counsel to several organizations that have received organizational effectiveness grants from Hewlett.

We facilitated a process designed to articulate the mission, values and identity of SELC and to get its leadership aligned behind the themes and ideals that guide its work. The process was designed to bring coherence and focus to this rapidly growing organization with offices in six states.

This project was focused on clarifying ISIS’s contribution and developing a sustainable competitive advantage for the organization. We identified ISIS’s most unique strength–independent technical analysis of nuclear threats–and developed a strategy designed to sustain its ability to conduct these analyses and disseminate results for maximum impact.

With financial assistance from Grey Ghost Ventures and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, we helped a Bangalore-based nonprofit, The Teacher Foundation scale up its programs while lowering costs and switching to a hybrid model that used service fees to supplement grant income.

With financial assistance from Grey Ghost Ventures and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, we helped a Bangalore-based nonprofit, The Teacher Foundation scale up its programs while lowering costs and switching to a hybrid model that used service fees to supplement grant income.

With financial assistance from Grey Ghost Ventures and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, we helped a Bangalore-based nonprofit, The Teacher Foundation scale up its programs while lowering costs and switching to a hybrid model that used service fees to supplement grant income.

The Stanley Foundation has used the Center’s services to facilitate joint strategy sessions designed to help groups of advocates develop a coordinated response to specific events in the political and policy landscape.

CNPS helped to “birth” the IRRC Institute. When its parent organization, IRRC, was sold, the Board hired us to determine the best way to use the proceeds from the sale to promote socially responsible investing practices. Through a careful exploration of how the corporate responsibility sector is currently organized and where it is headed, we developed a complete blueprint for the IRRC institute, including mission and programs, governance, staffing and financial plans.