Case Study — Shepherd Community
About
How do you even begin to quantify a business relationship that has extended over almost two decades between two very different enterprises: One a non-profit serving impoverished neighborhoods on the near east side of Indianapolis, the other a for-profit management consulting firm with a heartbeat to not just make a difference in the board rooms and C-Suites of mid-market and emerging companies across all industries, but also in the boardrooms and C-Suites, thinktanks and trenches of international and national associations, non-profits, and the world of education and government.
Shepherd Community has done exceptional work, serving their neighbors on the near east side of Indianapolis for nearly four decades, all while growing community trust, deep relationships and faithful partnerships along the way. And now, their success is being shared with others across the state and nation through a course, Poverty 101, that has trained more than 15,000 volunteers.
Today, Shepherd serves upwards of 5,000 families each year, meeting physical, spiritual, relational, and educational needs with a burning mission to break the cycle of poverty.
Each member of our team has the best heart and we love people well. We love God, we love our families, and we love our neighbors. We’re trying to live it out, but CHORUS brings additional skill sets and tools that we need to fully achieve our mission.
Rev. Jay Height
Executive Director, Shepherd Community
Challenge
Often, the people greatest at caring for others aren’t naturally drawn toward executing business strategy and developing leaders, but Shepherd began a different approach more than 20 years ago under the tutelage of CEO Jay Height, who saw sound business best practices and structure as mission-critical to building the capacity of his team to fulfill their potential and vision.
In 2003, Shepherd turned to CHORUS to begin laying the groundwork for a long-term capacity building effort, first engaging CHORUS with members of the leadership team and then developing a strategic plan that would focus the organization on moving forward amidst the complex and pressing needs in the neighborhoods they serve in Indianapolis. Homelessness, food insecurity, educational challenges, joblessness, and hopelessness were always a step ahead, and constantly changing needs and plans caused frustration to a team driven to help in every way possible.
The non-profit had also outgrown their existing facilities while the needs around them continued to multiply.
Solution
A series of strategic plans have been developed for Shepherd by CHORUS over the past 20 years, one of the first culminating in a capital campaign in 2005, immediately followed by a multi-year, multi-partner, capacity-building initiative. Both these initiatives strengthened the ministry’s ability to function operationally and financially, and meet its critical staff and volunteer support needs.
Fueled by these early initiatives with CHORUS, Shepherd’s successful capital campaign led to the purchase and renovation of a 28,000-sq-foot facility on the near east side of Indianapolis, giving much-needed momentum to staff and volunteers to execute ministry priorities. These efforts helped Shepherd further build strategic partnerships and deepen relationships with key volunteers, and donors (individual and institutional), increasing their confidence to invest personally, professionally, and financially in the ministry.
Over the next 15 years, CHORUS continued to provide strategic planning and support to Shepherd’s Board of Directors, leadership team and staff. In 2019, leadership and team assessment led to a new strategic plan, which helped equip and align the leadership team just in time to successfully navigate the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. A tightly-knit and reinvigorated team executed against their mission, pivoting through a series of 90-day plans with help from CHORUS, while winning community support and accolades for their service.
While flexibility will always be required in their day-to-day operations, Shepherd has invested in framework and leadership in a way that clarified its mission, helping leaders know when to say ‘yes,’ when to say ‘no,’ and how to move ahead purposefully.
CHORUS encouraged us to look externally for partnerships, helping us realize we don’t have to be experts at everything. They have guided us toward partnerships that make important connections, increasing our missional effectiveness.
Andrew Green
Assistant Executive Director, Shepherd Community
CHORUS encouraged us to look externally for partnerships, helping us realize we don’t have to be experts at everything. They have guided us toward partnerships that make important connections, increasing our missional effectiveness.
Andrew Green
Assistant Executive Director, Shepherd Community
Highlights of Engagement
CHORUS has helped Shepherds’ executive leadership team build capacity, twice leading the team through its Hallmarks® leadership assessment and development series – an expansive 1 ½ to 2-year experience featuring in-depth individual and team analysis, facilitated group experiences, self-paced learning, and one-on-one executive coaching. A leadership pipeline has been established to meet their growing need for well-trained leaders amidst growing community demands on their ministry. When new staff members onboard, they have a streamlined way to enter Shepherd’s mission and culture based on the strategic plan, and Hallmark’s® training and coaching, which helps the ministry develop a common language, establish goals, action plans, and create a culture of accountability.
In addition, CHORUS partnered with Shepherd to develop three separate strategic plans, one serving as the cornerstone of a capital campaign, one as they began to invest in human capital, and years later, another helping the executive team recalibrate and refocus on mission. Tim Sturgess, Chief Administrative Officer says, “For years, we’ve been an outward-facing organization and sometimes that can cause a loss of focus on internal processes that could help us become more efficient. Strategic planning has helped Shepherd maintain focus on what we need to be doing and CHORUS has helped us protect our culture from burnout.”
We’ve benefitted from having someone outside our organization coach us. The freedom of having an outside voice I can trust helps create space to talk about what concerns me and where I need to grow.
Bekah Kidd
Chief Program Officer, Shepherd Community
Highlights of the Engagement Included:
- Fulfillment of mission by providing clarity and alignment around strategic planning
- Individual and leadership team development through Hallmarks of Excellence® training and executive coaching
- Strategic plans for growth in capital, facilities, personnel, and succession planning
- Engagement and relationship building with community partners, strategic engagement and better communication with individual, corporate and institutional donors
- Identification and integration of core values throughout the organization
- Development of strategic volunteer training
CHORUS Services:
- Strategic Planning & Alignment
- Assessments
- Leadership Development
- Team Development
- Executive Coaching
- Succession Planning
- Vision and Core Values Initiative
CHORUS has helped Shepherd be consistent and effective in pursuing our mission. Having an outside partner like CHORUS has made a huge impact on how we do ministry.
Phil Edwards
Chief Engagement Officer, Shepherd Community
CHORUS has helped Shepherd be consistent and effective in pursuing our mission. Having an outside partner like CHORUS has made a huge impact on how we do ministry.
Phil Edwards
Chief Engagement Officer, Shepherd Community
Results
Through major changes to location, structure, leadership, partnerships, funding, and strategy, CHORUS has helped Shepherd navigate many challenges while building capacity within the organization to pursue their bold mission. The non-profit has grown from three to over 100 employees, and from a budget of $100,000 to over $8M. Throughout the pandemic, Shepherd received major accolades from the community for how well they were prepared to pivot due to the alignment of the team behind their strategic plan. Today, due to strategic alignment, they are better equipped to engage with all their stakeholders – neighbors they serve, employees, community partners, funders, and volunteers.
Each time we work with CHORUS, we get so much more clarity around our strategic priorities. We have better, more manageable steps and that’s the power of having another voice at the table.
Timothy Streett, PhD
Chief Learning Officer, Shepherd Community
Next Steps
CHORUS CEO Mike Evans, who has been part of Shepherd’s development for more than two decades says the non-profit is inspirational to him on many levels. “The way they have pressed into a business model that fits their unique ministry illustrates the power of focus and intent on outcomes, and it spells success for their long-term future,” he says.
As for the non-profit’s next strategic steps, CHORUS is walking with Shepherd as they begin the deliberate work of deep listening, requesting feedback from all stakeholders to understand where the needs are that will help carry their mission into the future.
“I’m so proud of Shepherd, particularly in the last few years, because of our ability to pivot based off of the work we’ve done with CHORUS,” says Executive Director Jay Height. “All that work pays off so that the next decade will be dramatically different as we deepen our relationships and further expand our ability to love our neighbors well.”
