Our key areas of focus
Mendicant focuses its efforts on five key areas that we believe
are key to helping charities and nonprofits succeed:
Planning and organizational
assessments
In our experience, boards and executive directors often ask two
related questions. “Is our organization as effective as it could
be?” and “Do we have a solid plan for the future?” Over the years,
we have helped organizations answer both these questions,
researching and writing business plans, strategic plans and roadmaps
for social enterprises. We regularly look at the operations of
nonprofits to ensure they are optimally-aligned with their mission,
providing an independent perspective that boards, staff and members
value.
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BoardReady! A governance
solution: Research tells us that one of the most significant
issues in nonprofit performance is the often challenging
relationship between boards and their senior staff. In partnership
with Nativest, Medicant offers BoardReady! - a comprehensive
analysis and solution platform that addresses some of the most
common governance issues. Our customized research tool provides an
independent measure of the functionality of a board – and offers
ways to remedy any issues it uncovers.
E2D: The effective executive director (or
CEO)
Leading a nonprofit organization is unlike any other leadership
challenge. Not only are you under extreme pressure to perform, you
are often doing so in an environment where time and money are
extremely scarce and the slightest misstep can be fatal to your
organization. That is where our Effective Executive Director (E2D)
program comes in:
• Coaching and strategic counsel: Mendicant’s principals have
been CEOs and executive directors and can offer you a
perspective based on years of experience with other
organizations. We can also play an important intermediary role
between boards and their senior staff, helping evaluate
performance, set annual goals and ensure that everyone is on the
same page.
• Customized training: Nonprofit leaders often do not have
time to go off-site for days or weeks at a time to receive
training and meet their peers. We bring the training to them,
building a customized program of individual sessions that take
only a few hours a week in such topics as financial management,
advocacy, social marketing, human resources and board/volunteer
management.
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Turnkey advocacy and marketing plans:
Many consultancies encourage dependence among their clients. “For a
retainer,” they argue, “we can talk with government on your behalf.”
We have a different philosophy. Through our engagements, we believe
in building capacity within nonprofits so that, next time, the
organization doesn’t need to hire a consultant – they can do it
themselves. We regularly create “turnkey” advocacy and marketing
plans, working with key nonprofit staff to build a custom plan that
they themselves can run.
RaiseReady! Product development for
fundraising: Organizations often invest considerable resources
in raising money without first asking some fundamental questions. Do
we know what we are “selling?” Does it really fit with our mission?
Will donors be able to understand our story? And is there anything
we can do to make this story work better for us? In partnership with
Riverhorse America, Mendicant offers the RaiseReady Platform for
Canada’s charities and nonprofits. In just a few weeks, RaiseReady
analyzes how well prepared the orgaization is for fundraising and
ensures that an organization’s mission and narrative are in optimal
alignment with its efforts to engage donors.
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