Not-For-Profit

Achieving Mission and Strategy, Through a Focus on Opportunity and Activation of the Many

Non-profit organizations around the world are facing unprecedented challenges – navigating increased digitization, changing donor behaviors, a brightened spotlight on inequities throughout our communities, an emphasis on ESG, and shifting expectations from a more dispersed workforce. This increased complexity continues to test an already resource-constrained industry.

Kotter works with non-profit organizations to deal with these challenges, while simultaneously building the necessary agility to handle whatever the next wave of disruption entails. Through a keen focus on connecting mission and execution, we help you align purpose to strategy in a way that generates immediate proof points that help build a true sense of urgency throughout the organization.

Our Unique Approach

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Crafting a Compelling Case for Change

We work with non-profit organizations to articulate an inspiring opportunity that serves as guardrails for prioritization and a catalyst for broad-based action.

Sparking a Movement

Kotter helps you tap into the inherent passion of employees, to build momentum and urgency against your most pressing strategic focus areas.

Aligning Implementation with Mission

Ensuring all strategic focus areas and initiatives are clearly tied back to the achievement of your organization’s mission and purpose.

Accelerating Meaningful Results

Channeling limited resources toward the achievement of the most critical outcomes – and then communicating and celebrating these wins all along the way.

Developing Change Capabilities

Building skills for navigating change, from the Executive level down to the front line, to ensure your team is ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Not-For-Profit Focus Areas

We work with Not-For-Profit clients to accelerate the realization of their goals including:

Strategy Development + Execution

Vision and mission can serve as powerful inspirations, but they are not enough on their own. Kotter’s research and expertise drives our ability to support our clients through strategy development in a way that allows for a balance between focused execution and the agility needed to respond to today’s world.

Culture Transformation

Any significant change effort, whether it’s better navigating new donor expectations or adopting a new reporting software, requires people to work in new ways – which, in turn, requires an emphasis on culture. Cultural transformation starts with new actions and behaviors that drive meaningful results. Over time, and with reinforcement, these new ways of working become embedded in the culture. Kotter works with clients to accelerate this process.

Developing Change Capable Leaders

In today’s increasingly turbulent world, organizations need employees – from the C-Suite to the front line – who have the skills necessary to navigate whatever change comes at them next. Leveraging formal training programs, leadership coaching and on-the-job experiences, Kotter supports individuals up and down the hierarchy in applying our decades of research on the science of change to their day-to-day work leading through change.

Digital Transformation

As we continue to navigate an increasingly virtual and digitally enabled world, many non-profit organizations are finding themselves playing “catch up.” In an industry that emphasizes impact above all else, it is critical that digital tools are truly seen as enablers of the business and achieving the mission. Kotter helps clients create a movement to empower employees to enable successful adoption and accelerate the value of enterprise technology implementation.

Operational Effectiveness

As organizations look to scale, it’s imperative that systems, processes and structures are designed to balance efficiency and agility. Kotter works with our clients to remove structural barriers and inefficiencies within management systems, enabling employees at all levels to move with clarity and speed – in service of increasing, expanding and accelerating impact.

Featured Resources + Insights

United Way

Taking a Bold Leap Forward

Read Client Success Story

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Transforming Higher Education

American Institute of Architects

Transforming a Profession

Watch the Video