A New Leaf

In 2022, a committee of A New Leaf’s Board of Directors and staff announced the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, identifying four main initiatives. The past year’s focus was on implementing project management tools and creating support teams for the initiatives identified in the Strategic Plan. Advances have been made to strengthen the organization’s infrastructure with the implementation of cybersecurity measures and consolidation of client and data management systems across all programs. The following accomplishments are paving the way for future success and resiliency:

Demonstrate Service Impact on Community
• Implemented a tool to guide in decision making around growth and change.
• New programs: REACH, West Valley Housing Assistance Center, and Bridge to Housing.
• Participated in a pilot for the Arizona Statewide closed loop referral system.
• Evaluation of key program performance indicators to better quantify the positive impact of services.
• Implemented a new comprehensive case management software system.

Build Organizational Capacity for Sustaining Growth
Identified opportunities for Board Engagement to generate unrestricted funds.
• Implemented processes that support board involvement in generating funds.
• Cultivating opportunity for capacity building funding.
• Service Enterprise Initiative recertification: expanded volunteer and intern positions to better utilize a broader skillset that supports staffing. Improved processes to better manage the use of volunteers and interns.

Strengthen Staff Capacity to Support Efficient and Effective Service Delivery
• Completed assessment of program training needs to determine resources needed and strategy for new training implementation.
• Updated employee benefits plans.
• Launched a recruitment social media campaign to increase awareness of career opportunities.
• Implemented sign-on recruitment bonuses for various programs and positions as supported via funding sources.
• Launched internal website to offer resources and communication for all staff.

Increase Community Awareness of Services and Opportunities for Support
• Increased visibility of A New Leaf through social media postings.
• Created new branded materials for programs.
• Implemented new fundraising software to support donor cultivation activities.
• Implemented adaptive cost coverage to give donors the option to cover transaction fees.

Capacity building strategies have been identified in the areas below to carry out the goals and priorities in A New Leaf’s 2022-2024 Strategic Framework to support the organization’s sustainability, success, and continued growth.

Metrics & Evaluation – Measuring and evaluating program outcomes is critical for ensuring services are meaningful and impactful, meeting grant and contract requirements, and demonstrating success to secure funding to sustain and expand services. Historically, A New Leaf’s program metrics have been tied to government contracts, but most often do not convey the true impact of services provided to people in crisis who are experiencing complex and numerous challenges and are navigating systemic barriers that stand in the way of achieving prescribed outcomes. Although programs must continue to report on metrics defined by contracts, new metrics need to be defined to evaluate program performance and make modifications to services and processes. In addition to programs, metrics need to be established for administrative support departments including finance, facilities, HR, IT, QM, and philanthropy.

Human Resources – Challenges with employee recruitment, retention, and development have the potential to have a profoundly negative effect on A New Leaf’s ability to provide critical services to the community and to maintain funding contracts. Initiatives identified to address this include building the capacity of the HR team, offering recruitment and retention bonuses, increasing compensation rates across the agency to be more competitive in the job market, improving on-boarding processes, creating opportunities for professional development, clearly defining potential career paths, and continuing to promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Technology/Systems – As A New Leaf has grown and evolved in offering social services that address nearly every facet of social determinants of health, as well as managing hundreds of diverse grants and contracts, the need for building IT/systems capacity has become an urgent and complex need. Initiatives identified to address this need include building the capacity of the IT & Informatics team, implementing the Apricot 360 Social Services Software system across the organization for recording, evaluating, and cross-sharing program data, implementing and training staff to use updated Microsoft Office 365 applications universally, and upgrading technology.

With this organization's longevity, respect within the community, strong base of renewal and major gift donors, engaged Board of Directors, collaborative partnerships and robust volunteer and intern program, A New Leaf is poised to strengthen its organizational infrastructure as it pursues program growth. We continue to measure and assess our growth and effectiveness within service programs and enhance them based on community needs.

The above cited 2022-2024 strategic framework is currently being implemented. Specific objectives pursuant to each area of Metrics & Evaluation, Human Resources, and Technology/Systems are being completed.