Strategic Plan
Executive Summary
The League for People with Disabilities is committed to providing person centered services of the highest quality to children, youth and adults with disabilities. This strategic plan provides The League with a three year roadmap for supports, services and organizational development. The management staff will develop operational plans for each year based on the strategic priorities established. The strategic plan will be reviewed at least annually by the Board of Directors and staff with updates as needed.
The strategic plan was developed with full Board involvement and guidance from the Executive Finance Committee and staff. In December 2010, a work group of the Executive Finance Committee met to discuss a strategy to update The League’s strategic plan. The workgroup created a framework for the process, which included an all-day full Board Retreat facilitated by a strategic planning consultant, situational analyses from each Department, consumer input from The League’s Advocacy Committee and identification of focused goals and strategies to lead the organization for the years 2012-2014. The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council provided a grant that enabled us to go through a quality person centered process. Funds supported a consultant who led the process which helped the Board identify the strategic priorities for the next three years. Mr. Jason Pappas, an experienced senior executive facilitated the day long meeting where Board members created strategic priority areas through a consensus process. This document reflects the results from this process.
The Board has a strong commitment to the belief that all of our activities and decisions from direct care to strategic planning should be guided by the desires and needs of the persons we serve. We believe that in order to design and deliver supports that are based on the needs of individuals, we must include these persons in the process. This strategic plan was designed to maximize their participation. We held separate planning activities to ensure full participation of our customers. A consumer meeting was conducted in December 2010 under the leadership of The League’s Advocacy Committee to gather feedback about quality and service needs for presentation to the Board at the Strategic Planning Retreat. Subsequent, Board members met with participants at a later scheduled meeting to discuss the meaning of quality and strategies to improve services and supports at The League. This document represents the input and involvement of the entire League Community and is the final product of this process. This Strategic Plan for 2012-2014 is a commitment to ensure self- determination and dignity of risk [1] for those we serve.
Summary of the Plan
The strategic direction and goals included in this plan are The League’s response to understanding of what its customers’ value most about the organization and current opportunities and challenges for offering a high quality system of support in the community for persons with disabilities. Based on the Board’s understanding of the environmental scan and the opportunities and threats in the current environment, the next three years will be a time of assessing and deepening its approaches to work. The League will take on more of a leadership role in working with a broader array of community resources and actively engaging volunteers. This will be achieved through the pursuit of the following strategic direction:
- Fiscal Sustainability
The League will emphasize building its discretionary financial resources in sustaining quality services through enhancing and diversifying the funding and revenue bases, eliminating budget deficits, paying down debt, expanding its strategic alliances, and developing broad-based financial support among a variety of constituents.
- Future of Disabilities
The League will take a leadership role in identifying, advocating and meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities.
- Quality
The League will review and strengthen its existing direct supports and services to ensure that they are state of the art for effectively working with children, youth and adults with disabilities. This will be achieved through training, collaborations and partnerships.
- Responding to Need of Other Stakeholders
The League will explore strategies to expand its visibility in the community and make greater use of volunteers.
Strategic Priorities
- Fiscal Sustainability
Goal: The League will expand its discretionary financial resources in order to sustain quality services through enhancing and diversifying the funding and revenue bases, eliminating budget deficits, paying down debt, expanding its strategic alliances, and developing broad-based financial support among a variety of constituents.
Objectives:- Increase the Annual fund 20% in Year 1; 40% in Year 2 and 60% in Year 3
- Increase grants/major gifts by $150,000 in Year 1
- Pay off debt and release collateralization within three years
- Create a Fund Development Plan that allows for diversification of funding streams with a goal of achieving
- Increase the profitability of The League by 1% for each of the three years.
- Diversify revenue streams with a goal of 90% fee based and 10% other funding sources
- Within 3 years, achieve a growth of 7%.
- Future of Disabilities
Goal: The League will serve as a leader in identifying, advocating and meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities.
Objectives:- Develop recruitment strategies to obtain qualified staff for all areas of programming
- Assess fiscal issues and sustainability for new programs, reviewing start up costs, potential funding sources and conducting break-even analyses.
- Explore and expand staff training needs to ensure staff development and high retention rates of existing staff.
- Form collaborations with medical community and institutions of higher learning to encourage dissemination of best practices and develop memoranda of understanding.
- Create venues and opportunities for working with families around critical issues.
- Quality
Goal: The League will assess and strengthen its existing direct supports and services to ensure they are state of the art.
Objectives:- Encourage the use of evidenced based methods.
- Maintain CARF accreditation process, as well as pursue other accreditation for League services where it would increase quality.
- Increase the number of participants in each program and implement a continuum of care within League programs
- Ensure that each program has measurable goals for level of participant participation, with a time frame for achievement and a time frame for improvement.
- Revise existing satisfaction surveys for each program in order to be able to respond to participant needs, desires, goals and services.
- Responding to Need of Other Stakeholders
Goal: The League will explore strategies to expand its visibility in the community and make greater use of volunteers.
Objectives:- Improve communications and participation between families/caregivers and staff and other stakeholders
- Ensure that The League is an integral member of the disability community.
- Ensure that The League provides avenues for participation in community integration activities.
- Advocate with elected officials on behalf of our constituency
- Expand relationships and collaborations with stakeholders
- Improve and cultivate existing relationships with current donors
- Increase the visibility and enhance the image of The League
- Maintain and sustain an engaged and proactive Board that reflects our community.
[1] Dignity of Risk refers to the Consumer’s right to make an informed choice to experience life and take advantage of opportunities for learning, developing competencies and independence and, in doing so, take a calculated risk.