Client Situation: Shortly after Sheri McGrath was hired as Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) for Element Fleet Management, she was also given oversight of the company’s corporate social responsibility activities. This included corporate giving and employee volunteerism. Sheri wanted to refine and focus Element’s CSR efforts, create policies and practices that would be relevant across their global environment and align with ESG priorities.
What We Did: IYG worked with the Sheri and her team to clarify, focus, align and expand Element’s overall CSR program.
- Reviewed all current and historical CSR related activities and investments
- Engaged senior leaders and Business Resource Groups (BRGs) in defining new CSR pillars
- Developed CSR statement for internal and external use
- Sourced nonprofit partners and established partner framework
- Aligned with external frameworks including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)
- Developed employee policies
- Supported Sheri with leadership presentations
- Evaluated CSR technical frameworks
Results
- Refocused CSR pillars on what matters most to Element and its stakeholders,
- Increased internal awareness of the value of CSR,
- Expanded opportunities for employee engagement and volunteerism, and
- Connected social impact more directly to Element’s communications vehicles, including their ESG report.
“IYG was the perfect fit for what I needed. My goal was to work with a consultant who had deep experience with a variety of approaches to corporate social responsibility and could help me design the best approach for our company. Annie was an incredible thought partner and helped guide me through the process of building our CSR strategy. We engaged our employees to define our philanthropic focus, created an employee volunteer program, aligned with the UN SDGs and our ESG reporting framework. I would highly recommend working with Annie and IYG for anyone new to CSR or wanting to refine your strategy.”
Sheri McGrath, Vice President, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Element Fleet Management
Developing a Purpose Program with a Small Business Owner & Entrepreneur
Client Situation: Client was building a business in the women’s fashion industry and wanted to incorporate giving back into the fabric of her company from the onset. Client engaged IYG to facilitate the design of the company’s CSR strategy.
What We Did: IYG facilitated vision and purpose sessions with the Client’s team to help discover and define social and environmental issues important to all of their stakeholders. We reviewed various CSR models, reviewed competitor positions and sustainability standards in the manufacturing space for the company to align with as it grows.
Results
- Integrated Founder’s passion and sense of purpose into business
- Created a statement social responsibility as part of the company’s brand
- Developed a framework to grow community investment as the company grows
“Working with Annie was wonderful! We hired IYG to brainstorm ideas on how to incorporate charity into our business model. We worked closely in finding charities and causes that are dear to my heart yet related to our company and product. Annie took the time to first understand our business and everything we were already working on and to create a plan of action on how to execute throughout the company. By working together with IYG, I was able to find the true meaning of starting my business. Even Though I am still a small business, Annie helped me find ways to give back without being impossible to accomplish.”
Gabriela Ephrem, Entrepreneur & Owner, Gabriela Ephrem Shoes
Strategic Planning in College Athletics
Client Situation: Client was new in his position as Director of Athletics, where he was hired to significantly grow and improve the Athletics program and experience. He had a bold vision and wanted to engage his team in designing and owning the strategy to get there. He also wanted a tool he could use to communicate the vision and increase broad support for the program.
What We Did: IYG designed a strategic planning process that engaged stakeholders including staff, University leaders, student athletes and funders to create momentum for a new and bold vision for athletics. Process included benchmarking competitors, assessing facilities, determining priorities, establishing goals and creating messages to demonstrate the value of athletics to the University community and beyond.
Results
- Tripled intramural participation
- Increased investments in the University, securing the largest gift in the history of the institution
- Elevated competitiveness and ability to recruit talented athletes and coaches
- Created momentum to sustain a high performing culture
- Bolstered the University’s brand
“Annie’s work was transformational for our institution. She led us through a planning process that was so innovative – it became the primary vision and strategy that other academic units modeled to develop their own strategic plans. Her guidance on the strategic plan helped elevate our athletic profile to new heights and raised not only the athletic brand and profile but also the university brand in the process. Our university transformed from 28,000 to 40,000 students over a seven-year period and led the way in student applications across the sector.
Annie is committed to the details of the process. She was easy to work with and always came prepared with best practices and bench marks to ground our thinking and point us in the direction we wanted to move toward. She excels in synthesizing data from numerous sources to present a client a clear sense of themes to respond to. Her collaborative approach in the process allowed our team to feel comfortable and engaged in the strategic planning process. I would highly recommend Annie Nelson Stanoch to anyone looking for a partner to help elevate their strategic leadership planning process or build a program that will have national reputation of excellence.
I came into my position with a bold vision and lots of ideas. I needed a consultant who could help refine those ideas and give me honest feedback…Annie’s engaging and diplomatic style were a perfect fit.”
Ivan Joseph, VP Student Affairs, Toronto, ON
Strategic Planning in Mid-size Nonprofit
Client Situation: Client was interested in refreshing a dated strategic plan. Years of growth, including new programs and significant financial growth, necessitated a review of vision and strategic goals. The client also wanted to increase participation from the Board of Directors and transition from a supportive board to a strategic, governing board. Through the process, leadership succession and Board engagement became a strong focus.
What We Did: IYG facilitated Board, staff and key stakeholder engagement through focus groups and multiple planning sessions. Together we developed a historical timeline and conducted a stakeholder and SWOT analysis, which supported the development of strategic priorities.
Results
- Clear leadership roles within the organizations
- Increased Board engagement through clear roles, governance polciies and activating board committees
- Positioned organization to
- Updated vision,
- Defined strategic focus areas and clear objectives
- Strategic priorities carried in to. Exceed media, media and fundraising goals along with board engagement. Restructured leadership team to support org growth.