Organizational Health & Growth: Self-Paced Learning
Support for Organizations of all types, sizes, and capacities
Organizations are like people: they need a check-up once in a while! And a check-up might lead to making some intentional changes and seeking specific support. In partnership with the Hudson River Watershed Alliance (HRWA), River Network identified the needs of organizations in two distinct stages: new/young organizations, and established/growing organizations. With funding provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, through the Hudson River Estuary Program, HRWA & River Network collaborated on producing a suite of resources to help organizations respond to common startup and growing pains. These resources are enthusiastically provided for any organization to assess their needs and address development hurdles.
Board members of the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative gather to organize a workplan for the organization.
Organizational Checklists
For an overview of topics, and initial assessment prompts, organizations are invited to utilize one, or both, of the organizational checklists below. Download the checklists to access linked resources and more information.
Organizational Health Checklist
This checklist is meant for organizations that are new/young, or in a state of transition. Topics on this checklist include determining/assessing a mission statement, choosing a leadership model, defining roles and responsibilities, introductory finance and budget considerations, and basic workplanning.
Organizational Growth Checklist
This checklist is meant for established organizations that are experiencing growth or change. Topics include an introduction to communications and marketing, legal and financial infrastructure, policies to support effective leadership, evaluation systems, and community assessment guidance.
Organizational Health: Self-Paced Learning Series
To build on the topics listed on the Organizational Health Checklist, River Network produced a self-paced learning series, which features short videos accompanied by downloadable templates and worksheets. This learning series covers all of the topics identified for new/young organizations, or organizations in transition.
Episode 1
The first episode in this series reviews the checklist topics, and dives into building and assessing a mission statement. Included is a downloadable mission statement worksheet.
Episode 2
The second episode covers leadership and decision-making models, which are critically important in young organizations that are often volunteer-run or founder-funded. A summary of each decision-making model is available for download.
Episode 3
The third episode details the process of defining roles and creating effective position descriptions, as well as using position descriptions for recruiting new people to join your organization. A position description template and example, as well as an organizational inventory, are available for download.
Episode 4
The fourth episode in this series covers two topics that are highly connected: budgeting and workplanning. These tend to be topics of high need for all organizations. Both topics are covered at an introductory “101” level, meant for organizations without this kind of infrastructure already. Available for download are a workplan template and a budget template.
Organizational Growth: Self-Paced Learning Series
Working off of the Organizational Growth Checklist, River Network produced a self-paced learning series, which features short videos and downloadable templates and worksheets. This series is meant for established organizations that are experiencing growth or change.
Episode 1
The first episode in this series reviews the basics of communication. Learn to identify your audience, craft effective messages, and create and manage communications assets in this episode.
Download Communications Calendar Template
Download General Communications and Projects Template
Download Inclusive Communications Guidelines
Episode 2
The second episode covers financial and legal infrastructure. When an organization starts receiving more funding and/or engaging more community members, there are additional financial and legal risks. Learn how to manage additional resources and risk to help protect your organization in this episode.
Episode 3
The third episode covers leadership planning and policies. There are various elements that ensure smooth and sustainable leadership
transitions, including managing workloads, in-filling capacity, handing off information and duties, and more. These can be anticipated and well-planned for.
Episode 4
The fourth episode in this series covers evaluation systems. Evaluation is an often overlooked tool when considering workplanning and leadership needs. Having a way to constructively evaluate the organization’s progress toward its mission, its leadership, and its value in the community will help guide work and identify needs in the future. Evaluation metrics also support fundraising and engagement goals.
Board/Leadership Evaluation Template
Episode 5
The fifth episode in this series covers community assessment. Every few years, it’s good to take stock of your group’s/organization’s place in the community. This is often an assessment that happens during a broader strategic planning process, but can be completed internally with a few key questions.
