United Way of Southern Nevada

Service: Strategic Planning, Culture Change
Size: 39 Staff Members, 23 Board members

Challenge

Set against the backdrop of leadership transition, United Way of Southern Nevada chose the Appreciative Inquiry process to fulfill their mission of uniting the community to improve people’s lives. Invigorating its vital role in the Southern Nevada community required more than a new strategy and plan—it demanded shared commitment to bold, system-wide execution of that plan. This meant engaging deeply with external partners to surface and prioritize community needs, fostering alignment across the leadership team, building trust and connection between departments, and revitalizing the partnership between board and staff.

Solution

The Center’s consultants conducted a series of interviews with the UWSN leadership team, made possible by a generous donation from a local philanthropist. These interviews informed a proposed months-long process, focused first on alignment among leaders and board members, then whole staff visioning and action planning, and culminating with a multi-stakeholder community engagement process. “The stories created an organic conversation that propelled the community forward. They helped people see that they have a role to play and are part of the solution.” Samuel Rudd, CEO

The donor committed to funding all the internal work, contingent upon board approval and willingness to engage in the process as described; and these phases were approved. Every staff and board member was interviewed, as well as external stakeholders and community partners. In addition, UWSN staff and board members interviewed several non-partner organizations to learn about and integrate best practices.

The interviews explored such questions as:

• When has UWSN been most effective in advancing its mission?
• How might UWSN best respond to the dramatically changing political and economic landscape?
• What new funding opportunities might exist, to assure the organization’s sustained vitality and impact?
• What priorities should guide the new strategic plan?

Results

The Appreciative Inquiry process aligned board and staff members around strategic priorities. As a result, the FY26 budget funded several of the “big ideas” articulated during stakeholder interviews (and prioritized during the staff/board summit):

• Coalition building – additional staff dedicated to enhanced convenings, advocacy, community
  conversations and surveys, and coordinating collective action

• Data resources – creation of a hub/portal enabling the exchange of community information and state-wide bid integration, as well as a feedback loop providing real-time ratings on how services are being handled.
• Fiscal sponsorship – back-office and infrastructure support enabling guidance for new projects and entities, as well as support for local organizations impacted by funding changes.

It also reestablished United Way of Southern Nevada as a central community player by:

• Increasing trust among external stakeholders
• Strengthening active partnerships with leading community organizations
• Enabling rapid, proactive responses to a volatile landscape

In short, the Appreciative Inquiry process reinforced organization-wide commitment to inquiry, cross-departmental collaboration, and multi-stakeholder community engagement. The result was a more agile, equitable, and forward-thinking culture.