A Call to Service - ICF Chicago Chapter Request

Dear Members and Friends of the ICF Chicago Chapter,

Strategic planning is a powerful management tool that is used by many nonprofit organizations to drive sustainable growth and align an organization's vision, mission and goals. We understand the value of this tool and want to create a three-year plan for our chapter. I am writing because I need your help.

I am extending a special invitation to current and past members to join us for two days to help examine our organization and answer questions such as, “Who are we? Who do we want to be?” And, ultimately, you will help us shape the strategies that will guide our chapter over the next three years. We have reserved our monthly meeting location at DePaul University in Rosemont for a two-day planning session. The sessions will be held Friday, October 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m. to noon.

As part of my role as 2015 president-elect, I will facilitate the strategic planning process, including the two-day sessions. I bring more than 35-years of experience as a public relations and communications professional and more than 20 years as an executive coach. In addition, I have chaired, served on and facilitated more than 25 strategic planning committees for major corporations and nonprofits during the course of my career.

To make the best use of our face-to-face time, I am currently organizing several pre-work subcommittees that will prepare reports and recommendations in advance of the meeting. It is our plan to hold a one-hour conference call for all participants September 23rd, 12 noon to 1 p.m. and September 24th, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., to review the process, highlights from the member survey, SWOT analyses, Statements Team and to get your feedback. Please mark your calendar to participate in only one call as the information will be repeated. Details for the calls will be shared closer to the date.

Please consider volunteering for one or more of the following:

1. Attend the Strategy Planning Sessions - October 2 and 3, 2015
2. Serve on or chair one of the prework subcommittees (estimated time commitment of 10 hours or less now til September 18, a bit more for the chair)
1. Internal SWOT Analysis Team: This is an opportunity to take a look at ICF-Chicago’s internal organizational assets resources, members, committees and their responsibilities, culture, systems, partnerships, advertisers, suppliers, etc. One can usually find the information or data needed for an internal environmental scan on our website, financial documents such as budgets, and interviewing current or former leaders. The goal is to collect as much relevant information as possible. The report should be no more than five pages and can include charts, diagrams, etc.
2. External SWOT Analysis Team: This is an opportunity to take a look at ICF-Chicago’s external marketplace realities, competition, social trends, technology, regulatory environment, economy, etc. We want to learn what factors are impacting the growth and brand recognition for our chapter. The report should be no more than five pages and can include charts, diagrams, etc.
3. Mission, Vision and Values Statements Team: This is an opportunity to help the ICF Chicago Strategic Planning committee get a jumpstart on a very important component of the strategic plan, the mission, vision and values statements. You can imagine that there are as many opinions on what it should say as there are coaches on the planet. Your role is to provide a draft of each that can be reviewed by the committee before the in-person meeting for feedback. You might consider providing three versions of each to stir discussion. It is entirely up to the team.

Please RSVP by September 25 to presidentelect@icf-chicago.org
 
I look forward to your cooperation and support as we launch this important work. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. See you there October 2nd and 3rd!

Yours in Coaching, 

Cheryl I. Procter-Rogers 
2015 ICF Chicago President-Elect
presidentelect@icf-chicago.org
847-454-7400

PS. We'd love to have you participate in our strategic planning meeting October 2nd and 3rd! Please RSVP by September 25 to presidentelect@icf-chicago.org