My first major decision as Executive Director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was to hire Thread Strategies to conduct a comprehensive audit of our organization's philanthropic revenue for the five years preceding. With no delay, Thread conducted a thorough review of our giving history, analyzed data, identified philanthropic trends, and interviewed several major donors. Thread then wrote up a comprehensive, yet easily comprehensible assessment of their findings and conclusions. Thread presented their report to our staff, executive committee, and board – which educated all stakeholders on the organization's strengths and weaknesses with respect to philanthropic revenue. This laid the groundwork for a strategic planning process designed to develop the organization's first financial model; the board adopted a new strategic plan within nine months of Thread's assessment. In short, Thread's assessment has been a gamechanger for our organization and has helped to set us on a course that will stabilize and grow the organization's resources in the future.
We worked closely with Thread staff. All of them were highly organized, always prompting me on what to do next. I never had to follow up with Thread about pending assignments or future work. They did an excellent job communicating their findings to the staff and board – who had never before been briefed on the organization's fundraising performance and history. Finally, they were all highly professional and pleasant to work with. I would recommend Thread to any nonprofit leader.
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