After receiving an invitation to join the new GetSET program, Lori Russell, executive director of Aspire Developmental Services, a nonprofit that promotes positive developmental outcomes and educational opportunities for families with young children, was not sure what to expect. Unfamiliar with the initiative designed to strengthen organizations to better meet their mission and thereby attract funding, she wondered if her team could handle one more task amid the rapid growth they had experienced over the last few years. She accepted a spot anyway, hoping it could offer support for the challenges that the Lynn, Massachusetts nonprofit was facing.
What Lori didn’t expect was a complete transformation of Aspire’s leadership, organizational structure, and mindset – changes that have continued to guide them through new challenges. Aspire was one of four nonprofits selected for the inaugural Massachusetts program in 2020, modeled after the successful GetSET initiative in Western New York. The GetSET model was created by the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, and the Peter And Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, along with other local foundations, funded organizations to participate. The invitation-only program has continued with additional cohorts and aims to boost organizational strength and resilience among mature, mid-sized organizations, positioning them for even greater success.
Participants in GetSET are paired with experienced nonprofit consultants over 18 months to build organizational maturity, sustainability, and resilience. Rather than provide solutions, consultants guide organizations in assessing their own challenges and creating paths forward.
Joan Whitney, director of GetSET in Essex County, Massachusetts, explains, “These are organizations that have already demonstrated success and are poised for their next level. We help them look at their organizations using a “systems lens” focused on leveraging service value and sustainability. The first step is to clearly assess their agency’s operational capacity; the second step is using this capacity data to identify service value strengths and gaps which, in turn, drive development of a systems level strategies plan using a collaborative decision making process aimed at high return of effort toward mission achievement; and the third step is turning strategies to action with “on the ground” implementation.
Although the initial cohort faced disruptions just as it was getting started due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lori and her fellow participants adapted with virtual meetings and training sessions. GetSET helped Lori and her senior leadership team, having already tripled Aspire’s size and services, realize they needed more than just their clinical expertise to sustain growth.
After a thorough assessment that is central to the GetSET initiative, Aspire identified gaps in communication and operations, forcing the team to reevaluate how to stay relevant and meet both client and staff needs.
Working with their GetSET consultant, through training, and in learning with peers, Aspire began to develop critical internal systems in HR, accounting, and technology, creating the structure and the staffing they needed to thrive.
“GetSET helped us take an honest look at our practices and ensure our actions aligned with our vision for the future,” Lori notes. “It has also been key to better engaging our board and staff, giving them new perspectives on the kinds of organizational changes that are necessary to manage our growth and look toward the future,” she continued.
Since completing the program, Aspire has developed a strategic plan, improved communication, hired key staff, and professionalized its systems. “We are a completely different organization than we were four years ago,” Lori says. “Thanks to GetSET, we’re more confident in facing change and have the tools to adapt for the future.”
Now, four years later, the Aspire team is getting ready for an updated assessment, looking forward to continuing to reevaluate the organization and put to use the tools provided by the GetSET program.