Case Study: Non-Profit

Scaling a hyper-growth organization with a chief of staff

After COVID forced a pause, a non-profit that gifts bikes to Title I schools needed to rebuild and scale. Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association] deployed a fractional chief of staff who restructured operations, established clear goals using the EOS framework, and helped transition the founder to a new leadership role, enabling a return to growth.

Challenges

A non-profit organization provided every second grader in Denver’s Title I schools with a new bike and helmet through “Build/Give” events. The founder and CEO, had a unique business model that relied upon corporate philanthropy (instead of individual donors) to purchase bikes and helmets for qualified schools. Teams from these business partners assembled the bikes during Build/Give events managed by the company and then personally bestowed the new bikes and helmets directly into the hands of the school children. The CEO’s vision resonated with the Denver business community and the concept took off.In addition to cultivating sustained relationships with business partners, the CEO engaged a board of directors (including world champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and influential Denver business leaders) to help guide and grow the company. Over the years, the company grew, and in 2019, the company and its partners gifted bikes to 7,000 children. By this time, the company had also attained a strong brand identity within the community and was poised for continued growth. Then, in the spring of 2020, COVID-19 hit. The CEO made the tough decision to forgo their own compensation and lay off the team with the hopes of rekindling the company someday.In 2021, as the world reopened post-pandemic, the CEO sought counsel to rebuild the company. After 18 years in the driver’s seat, the CEO was also ready to transition from running the company's day-to-day operations to focusing on sales and partnerships. The CEO needed a highly skilled expert who could bring insight into the organization and quickly help him make tough decisions that would be pivotal to the future of the company.

We needed someone to scale us back quickly to evaluate and restructure our processes. We needed someone with incredible expertise who could do in six months what would take others a year to do.

CEO

Upon recommendation of and approval by the company’s Board, the CEO tapped Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association] Jamie Cole for the job.

Solution

First, Cole immersed herself in the company’s business model and processes. She met with Board members and attended the company’s Build/Give to witness the impact they had on both company team members who participated in the event and the students who received the bikes and helmets.

Jamie wanted to spend time exploring the water before she started swimming. Her approach taught me about patience and structure.

CEO

Using the Traction EOS model, Cole led the CEO through a Vision Traction exercise to establish the company’s three-year and 10-year goals. With this road map in place, she then formed a manageable timeline to accomplish that vision. To scale the company to ultimately attain national presence, Cole identified two areas in need of improvement: Processes and people.

Jamie set clear goals and a path for how we would build the W4W way. She brought structure and found the right people for us.

CEO

With Cole’s guidance, the CEO realized it was time to hire his successor. In August 2022 the Board unanimously approved the hire of serial entrepreneur and former CEO, as the company’s CEO/Executive Director to bring fresh perspective and leadership to the organization. The addition of key full- and part-time roles, including a Customer Success Manager, Operations Manager, Marketing Manager and Build/Give gig workers, also ensured that the company functioned at a level to accommodate steady growth. Likewise, maximizing the use of automated systems, such as Salesforce, Slack, Google Docs, and Docu-Sign, streamlined processes, making the company more operationally efficient and effective.

[The CEO]’s three-year goal was to give a new bike and helmet to every Title I kid in Colorado. His 10-year vision, to give a new bike and helmet to every Title I kid in the US. That’s a beautiful vision that we could all align with.

Jamie Cole, Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association]

Results

Due to the help of Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association] and the CEO, the company gifted more than 5000 bikes through the Build/Give events in 2022. 13,000 bikes are projected to be given to Denver-area Title I second graders in 2023-2024. Today, with the right processes and people in place, the company is poised to meet its short- and long-range goals. The Founder and Board Chair is now in a role they love, focusing on fundraising, national program expansion, and partnerships.

The company is headed back to pre-pandemic levels and more. We’re back to growth. We’re back to giving away thousands of bikes to kids.

Former CEO

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