FACILITATION | STRATEGIC PLANNING | IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING | CAPACITY BUILDING

Volunteers of America National Services (VOANS)

Overview

Volunteers of America National Services (VOANS) celebrated its 125-year anniversary in 2022. Every year, it helps 1.5 million people. VOANS contracted Aging Dynamics first in 2017 to facilitate a board retreat focused on risk management and decision making. In 2019, VOANS contracted us again to help develop the strategic plan. From 2019-2022, Aging Dynamics has supported the implementation of the VOANS strategic plan during a critical moment in its history.

Board Retreat (2017)

VOANS requested the assistance of Aging Dynamics in facilitating a board of directors retreat discussion on risk management. We sat down for initial conversations with the board chair and VOANS Leadership. We discovered that board members all varied in the way they defined risk and approached decision-making.

Through interviews with all of the board members, we developed an educational session that addressed common themes. These included defining risk, decision-making, and board culture. We also provided multiple presentations on two major areas of concern where decision-making had become complex.

Strategic Planning and Implementation Support (2019-2022)

VOANS was at a critical point in terms of growth in both housing and healthcare. It was also building out a new internal leadership structure. VOANS contracted Aging Dynamics to guide leadership through the development and implementation of a strategic plan.

Instead of a traditional strategic planning process, Aging Dynamics included an intentional focus on staff and leadership development. Staff and leadership were invited to:

• engage with the visioning and development of outcomes,

• become active members of the plan’s implementation teams,

• participate in team development activities focused on the strategic plan, and

• practice how to work as a team and move the plan forward together.

Aging Dynamics met with each of the five (5) implementation teams (senior and junior staff) multiple times over three (3) months– providing individual and team coaching– to break down the strategic plan into more manageable pieces.

Major win: What began as a board-driven process ended as a staff-owned, board-supported strategic plan.

In 2022, the contract was extended. Aging Dynamics was contracted to facilitate focus groups with VOA-affiliate Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to develop an affiliate framework to guide collaboration with VOANS.