laad strategicplan

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR LIFE AFTER ACTIVE DUTY (LAAD) 1

PUA 775: Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation for Nonprofit Managers

Prepared for: Professor Gregory Gudenkauf

Prepared by: Fredric Jackson, Tim Vaske, and Kevin Schmidt

Strategic Plan for Life After Active Duty (LAAD)

University of Nevada Las Vegas


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction………………………………………………………………....Page 3

Background and Culture of the Organization……………………….........Page 4

Organization’s Mission Statement, Vision, and Values……………….Pages 5-6

Stakeholder’s Analysis…………………………………………………..Pages 6-8

Mandates………………………………………………………………....Pages 8-9

Environmental Scan……………………………………………… …...Pages 9-11

SWOT/C Analysis……………………………………………………..Pages 11-15

Strategic Analysis……………………………………………………..Pages 15-18

Projected Timeline………………………………………………………....Page 18

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….Page 19

Appendix A……………………………………………………………Pages 20-21

References………………………………………………………………….2


INTRODUCTION:

For our group project this semester, we will be creating a strategic plan for the nonprofit

organization, Life After Active Duty (LAAD). LAAD is a nonprofit organization that provides

vital resources to military members transitioning from active duty to the civilian world. LAAD

is portrayed as a stepping stone as the next step in the lives of veterans that assists veterans in

developing unique skills in life after active duty. LAAD provides: training, education,

counseling services, life enhancement programs, career and job development, and mentorships to

veterans and their families. Veterans often are not aware of these resources available to them,

which underlines LAAD’s goal to dedicate time and resources to each veteran on an individual

case by case basis. The fundamental parts to this strategic plan are: to discuss and elaborate

further on the background and culture of the organization, the organization’s mission statement,

vision, and values, a stakeholder’s analysis, mandates, an environmental scan, a SWOT/C

analysis, a strategic analysis, a projected timeline, a conclusion, an appendix, and references for

the nonprofit organization Life After Active Duty.


BACKGROUND AND CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION:

Life After Active Duty (2014) “is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that supports

veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan wars and other wars through the reintegration back to their

communities.” LAAD came into existence and was founded on the need of veteran’s services

that were not offered by any other organization on the market. LAAD was established in 2012

and was designed to advocate for veterans at every stage of their lives, in particular life after

active duty. LAAD’s emphasis is on identifying and addressing individual’s needs by focusing

on the: emotional, mental, and physical aspects of veteran’s lives. Eva Secchiari, is the founder

and executive director, of LAAD. Eva began her career as a radiology technician and progressed

to Eastman Kodak as a technical representative in the health sciences division. Ms. Secchiari

also received training in neuro-linguistic programming, solution focused coaching, and received

her practitioner certification from Erickson College International Coach Federation.

After experiencing, firsthand, the daily struggle of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

(PTSD) following her son’s return from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Eva became more

involved and committed to helping veterans through the nonprofit organization LAAD. After

her son’s return home from Afghanistan, Eva recognized he was not the same person prior to his

deployment. His spirit was diminished and affected his quality of life. Eva also noticed that his

mental anguish affected his family and surfaced in terms of his personal stability. With PTSD

being prevalent nationally to returning war veterans, Eva knew she could make a difference in

the lives of veterans. LAAD focuses is bridging the gap between the harsh realities of military

war deployments and veteran’s reentry/reintegration back to their homes and communities.


ORGANIZATION’S MISSION STATEMENT, VISION, AND VALUES

Mission Statement:

Vision Statement:

Values:

LAAD (2014) LAAD’s goals are “focused on ensuring veterans and families have a life

success plan to guarantee self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability.” LAAD has three areas

of emphasis they focus on: 1) Offering direct support and training to veterans 2) Assisting


families to empower themselves and strengthen their bonds 3) Raising community awareness

about veterans through ongoing outreach, education, and advocacy.

Another essential priority of LAAD is, LAAD (2014) “to ensure long-term success of

families and loved ones are included and involved in programs to ensure the entire process

empowers, supports. and strengthens the family dynamic.”

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS:

Bryson explains a perspective important to a stakeholder’s analysis through the Basic

Analysis Technique in three steps. Bryson, A (2011) states “the first step is to identify exactly

who the organization’s stakeholders are.” According to Bryson, A. (2011) “a major purpose of a

stakeholder analysis is to get a more precise picture of all the players in the arena.” Figure 1.1

below illustrates a make-up of the stakeholders that are pertinent to LAAD.

Figure 1.1 Stakeholders of Life After Active Duty (LAAD)


Byson, A. (2011) explains “The second step in the analysis is to specify the criteria the

stakeholders use to assess the organization’s performance.” The criteria for assessing how well

LAAD performs is based on tracking veterans and the services and resources that LAAD

provides to veterans. When a veteran seeks help from LAAD this starts a transparent paper trail

and record keeping (tracking) of how LAAD is helping veterans. LAAD works with the

following stakeholders and groups in a collaborative manner that prevents veterans from

struggling with day to day problems. In Figure 1.1 it is necessary to define and understand each

role the stakeholder plays in the organization.

● Veterans are any individual who has served in the United States Armed Forces.

● VA claims representatives assist veterans in filing claims for any issues related to

having served in the military.

● The VA hospital is a discernable resource for all veterans in taking care of

themselves and their basic health care needs.

● Doctors and nurses are associated with the VA Hospital as they are the medical

experts in taking care of these wounded warriors and service men and women.

● Mental health professionals work with veterans on disparate types on mental

health issues such as: suicidal thoughts, PTSD, domestic violence, and sexual

assaults.

● Health and Human Services offer a wide variety of services that a veteran may

need such as welfare, unemployment, etc.


● Housing of Urban Development (HUD) is another growing area that veterans

need in finding housing. Veterans sometimes rely on HUD as an option for

affordable housing.

● Financial Representatives can vary through banks, the VA, and other different

resources.

● Volunteers are a vital part to the success of LAAD. Volunteers are portrayed as

the employees for the non profit organization.

● Elected officials are the key players that make policy and allocate funding to

different government programs.

The third and last step of the Basic Analysis Technique according to Bryson, A. (2011)

is,“to make a judgment about how well the organization performs against the stakeholder’s

criteria.” In this step, it is critical to analyze what is working and what is not working, conflicts,

opportunities, inefficiencies, challenges, and ways to improve the organization and making

things more sufficient for veterans. LAAD will focus on assisting veterans on a case by case

basis so veterans do not struggle to get by. Veterans should utilize the stakeholders as resources

in getting themselves on their feet, so they are able to make it and get by.

MANDATES:

Bryson, A. (2011) explains mandates as “formal requirements are likely to be codified in

laws, regulations, ordinances, articles in incorporation, charters, and so forth and therefore may

be easier to uncover and clarify the organization’s mission.” Mandates essentially keep

organizations meeting the needs of the community, respecting others, operating with integrity,

being ethical, transparent, and accountable. The formal mandates LAAD has to comply with are


the IRS as a 501 (C) (3) classification and the Veteran Transition Resource Center (VTRC) that

works with 15 active duty bases and guard/reserve units within the Las Vegas area. Currently

LAAD does not receive funds in excess of $50,000 per year, so an audit is not required.

However, LAAD has received $135,000 in kind (leasing payments for six months at the Veteran

Resource Transition Venter) from the Greenspun Corporation, and $20,000 in kind (metric

tracking software) from a software company. This metric tracking software will be used to track

successes and failures of the various programs offered by LAAD. Donations are helpful in

gaining additional funds for the organization to provide more resources for veterans and are seen

as informal mandates.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN:

Review of Mandates

LAAD is currently in its infancy stage as a 501(c) (3) from the IRS. According to the IRS

(2015), a charitable organization must adhere to the following: relief of the poor, the distressed,

or the underprivileged, advancement of religion, advancement of education or science, erection

or maintenance of public buildings monuments, or works, lessening the burdens of government,

lessening neighborhood tensions, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, defending human and

civil rights secured by law, combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.

Federal and State compliance

LAAD has an operating budget of less than $50,000 per year, therefore an annual electronic

notice is not required. (IRS, 2015)


Financial Performance and Accountability (budget and funding)

LAAD has a projected budget and funding needed for the organization to get its operations

fully functional, particularly on a larger scale. For the fiscal year 2015, LAAD’s expected need

is $955,522 to meet the organization's budget. For operation of 2013 and 2014, founder Eva

Secchiari, has contributed her own personal funds of $15,000 and $18,000 respectively to

provide services to veterans and their families. This cannot be sustained.

Role in Larger Environment and Political Success or Failure in the Community LAAD Serves

In order for LAAD to be sustainable Eva Secchiari has recognized that federal grants will

be another source of funding for the organization. In collaborating with Eva, she is realizing the

salient importance of working with other 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations as a possible way to

secure marginal funds for LAAD and making the organization more effective and efficient.

Another way of receiving additional funding Eva mentioned, is working with local

elected officials such as Congressman Hardy, as a way in obtaining additional financial resources

for LAAD.

As an outside resource Eva is pursuing additional funding from for profit businesses in

California and has agreed that the Department of Veteran Affairs should be involved in the

execution of the mission, at some point.


Issues and Statistics Veterans are Facing after Leaving Active Duty

● 33 perecent of adult homeless population are veterans

● 70 perecent suffer from substance abuse

● 45 percent suffer from mental illness

● 20 percent unemployment rate among veterans

● 22 veterans and 1 active duty member commit suicide each day

SWOT/C ANALYSIS:

Strengths:

● Veterans involvement: LAAD partners prior veterans with veterans who have recently

left active duty. This partnership eases the transition for veterans leaving active duty and

transitioning to the civilian world.

● Personal experience: The founding member of the LAAD board, Eva Secchiari, has

first-hand experience with the difficulties veterans face when returning to civilian life.

● Multiple programs: LAAD offers a variety of programs from financial counseling, life

coaching, meditation, and other helpful services for veterans.

● One stop shop: LAAD plans to copyright a version of this statement to make it their

marketing slogan.

● VTRC (location): LAAD is partnering with the Veterans Care Foundation to create the

Veterans Transition Resource Center, which will be located on 1151 S. Buffalo Drive.

● Initial intake form: LAAD has developed a three page intake form that answers many

questions that need to be asked from immediate needs to financial concerns.


● Work with a Vet at every stage of life: LAAD has designed its programs to assist

veterans in every aspect of their life to include hospice, death, and burial.

● Building trust with veteran community: With many of the board members and other

organizations associated with or having ties to the military community, LAAD has

established itself as a name that can be trusted.

● Culture of inclusive leadership: LAAD leads veterans towards a path of self-efficacy.

This allows for the veteran and LAAD to create an action plan for veterans moving

forward.

Weaknesses:

● Crowded space: There are many organizations operating within the space of assisting and

providing services to veterans, this leads to concerns about what role(s) LAAD will

ultimately take on in the community. This will involve collaborating with other veteran

nonprofit organizations and the stakeholders that were previously mentioned.

● Funding: Currently LAAD is mostly self-funded and the board is having trouble

obtaining funding from outside resources. If they are unable to obtain funding, they will

not be able to meet many of the organization’s goals.

● Scope of mission: The breadth of what LAAD wants to accomplish is a major concern.

As opposed to doing a few things, they want to be the best at many things. However, they

have yet to establish working ground with other nonprofits.

● Mission creep: LAAD’s desire is to be a “one stop shop” for veterans. The concern is

that as new needs are identified, LAAD will attempt to take on more responsibilities/tasks

that they can successfully maintain.


● Meeting space/work: Their current meeting space is at the NCLI building in downtown

Las Vegas. This is a temporary weakness as they will be donated space in the new

Veterans Transition Resource Center.

● Privacy (HIPPA): LAAD request a fair amount of sensitive information from veterans

they are attempting to help. LAAD will always request a veteran’s SSN and DD214.

However, they will potentially ask for more sensitive information depending on the

amount of help a veteran needs. LAAD leaves their organization open to misplaced,

stolen, or hacked information of veterans.

● Duplication of Services: In their urge to be a national provider of services to the veteran

community, LAAD’s programs will cause some overlapping and inevitable duplication of

services.

● Founder’s complex (can’t save ‘em all): LAAD was founded on the precipice that an

enormous number of veterans struggle transitioning from active duty to civilian life.

However, that is not the case. Every veteran that walks through the door is not

necessarily in a crisis and is able to get by.

Opportunities:

● Collaboration: LAAD has a plan to collaborate with many organizations such as Women

Veterans of America, Vegas PBS, Dress for Success Las Vegas, Nevada Coalition of

Suicide Prevention, Latin Chamber of Commerce and many more. In collaborating with

other non profit organizations LAAD can learn from them, what they do well, and what

they do not do well as strategies for improving the organization.


● VA integration: LAAD realizes that at some point in order to utilize all resources

available, the Department of Veteran Affairs will need to be involved.

● Compile a list of all in-house services: In an effort to stand out from the crowd, LAAD

will provide most of its services in-house. A way of achieving this is working with other

nonprofit organizations to meet the needs of veterans.

● Intake form merge with government forms: It is the intent of LAAD (in the future) to

have the technology to transfer a veteran’s information from LAAD’s form(s) to the

VA’s form(s) to ease the transition.

● Veteran mentors: LAAD intends to recruit and train more veterans to be mentors and

work with service providers in an effort to make the transition comfortable for veterans.

Many veterans in need will tend to open up to other Veterans.

Challenges and Threats:

● Veterans don’t always feel comfortable meeting the VA or other VA reps: LAAD

recognizes that some veterans don’t want to get involved with the VA as it may create

more of a burden to veterans. LAAD utilizes trust by working with other veteran

nonprofits and providing resources to veterans that are in need. When other nonprofits

recognize LAAD is providing a service to veterans this is an example of credibility and

trust within the community. Other nonprofits may then recommend LAAD and use their

nonprofit services as cohesion of working with other nonprofits in the community.

● Other organizations: With the exception of the organization's LAAD is already

collaborating with, LAAD realizes that some organizations may not be willing to offer

assistance as as result in competition of financial funds.


● Veterans taking ownership: LAAD doesn’t want the veteran to become completely

dependent on the organization for services, but wants the veteran to take charge of his or

her own life. LAAD does this by providing training, education, counseling services, life

enhancement programs, career and job development, and mentorships to veterans and

their families.

● Distinguish leaders from managers: LAAD will face the challenges every organization

faces. The conundrum of who to place where, and in what capacity. Will they be a fit for

the organization and the implementation of its mission?

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS:

According to the workbook (Bryson, 2012), strategic issues is a fundamental policy

choice or change/challenge affecting an organization’s mandates, mission, etc. The theme of the

strategic analysis for LAAD should focus on is 1) Awareness 2) Programs and 3) Mentorships.

Awareness should include a marketing strategy for LAAD. One tool is LAAD’s website.

The strategy here is how to get veterans to visit LAAD’s website to know about the resources

available for veterans. It will take immense communication and collaboration with stakeholders

and other veteran nonprofit organizations so veterans know of these resources available to them.

Programs are another facet. The programs LAAD creates helps build credibility and trust

of their organization. With programs that are reputable will allow other nonprofit organizations

to recommend LAAD to other veterans. Current programs LAAD offers are: a Life

Enhancement Program, Job Placement and Entrepreneurship Program, PTSD and Moral Injury

Health Services Program, and Veteran’s Benefits Program.


Mentorships is another area that encompasses many different resources. Mentorship may

include counseling services, job training and placement, veterans benefits, disability and social

security claims, and other resources. A creative approach may be getting veterans involved with

events going on in the community go to an athletic event a baseball or basketball game at UNLV,

going to a concert, go to see a show, going to the movies, some type of activity that takes the

issues or problems off the minds of veterans. The following are questions we have about the

sustainability of the organization:

I. How can LAAD secure funding in a market with fierce competition for resources?

Currently the organization is self-funded and cannot be sustained. LAAD is consulting

with grant writers in hopes of receiving funding from Federal, State and community

organizations.

II. Ways of becoming financially stable and seeking other financial funds.

LAAD may need to halt operations if additional funding is not provided soon. With a

projected budget of $955,000 for FY2015 and over $1,000,000 for FY2016, funding is

vital to continue operations. A way of overcoming this issue may be to work with grant

writers, create grant writing workshops, ask for donations, and work with elected

officials.

III. How elevator speech and marketing of LAAD will help veterans be more aware of

the resources available.

“One stop shop…” is a theme that LAAD hopes to one day implement. Eva begins every


meeting focusing on this phrase as a way to meet the ultimate goals of the organization.

However, it does raise questions about the scope and focus of the LAAD. It is important

that the stakeholders be prepared to sell the organizational mission, vision, and goals.

IV. Is LAAD attempting too much at this time?

There is a concern that the organization may be taking on too many responsibilities.

LAAD will need to re-focus its efforts on the mission in order to meet the goals of the

organization. Marketing and awareness of the organization will be vital in LAAD

succeeding as a nonprofit and providing services to veterans.

V. Does LAAD have an exit strategy?

The founder currently does not have an exit strategy in place. The consequences for not

addressing these issues and questions may lead to the organization struggling to provide

resources to its stakeholders (veterans) and the community they serve.

VI. What is One of Eight Approaches from Bryson that aligns with LAAD

Bryson, A. (2011) states “there are eight approaches to strategic issue identification.”

Of the eight approaches to strategic issue identification the alignment approach closely

resembles the current situation with LAAD. Bryson, A. (2011) states “the alignment

approach as it helps clarify where there are gaps, inconsistencies, or conflicts among the

various elements of an organization’s governance, management, and operating policies,

systems, procedures, financing, and competencies.” Bryson A. (2011) continues by

saying “organizational performance requires reasonable (or better) coherence across

organization’s governance management, mission, mandates, stakeholder relations,

policies, goals, budgets, human resources, communications, operations, competencies,


and other elements.” The previous questions we raised identify parts to the alignment

approach conveyed by Bryson. Two elements in particular of the alignment approach

that correlate to LAAD’s current situation is related to financing and budgets, which then

entails all the other elements to the alignment approach.

PROJECTED TIMELINE:

● Next meeting with Eva: 12/2/2015

● Meeting with board members of LAAD: 12/04/2015

● Implementation of strategic plan: 01/05/2016

● 180 day evaluation: 06/05/2016

● 1 year evaluation: 01/05/2017


CONCLUSION

In collaborating with LAAD and Eva, we learned the pertinent details to a strategic plan

of the background and culture of the organization, the organization’s mission statement, vision,

and values, the stakeholder’s analysis, mandates, an environmental scan, a SWOT/C analysis, a

strategic analysis, a projected timeline, a conclusion, and references for the nonprofit

organization. Each of these areas has furthered the understanding of the organization and how

the organization can improve going forward. In our last meeting with Eva she indicated that

the goals of the organization are currently too broad. Eva’s plan is to start small and then

eventually branch out and grow as an organization to meet the organization’s mission. This will

allow LAAD to present things the organization does well as part of their elevator speech in

seeking additional funding for the expansion of their non profit organization.


APPENDIX A

LAAD Board Members:

○ Eva Secchiari, Executive Director, has 15 years of experience in the healthcare

industry, and the mother of a combat Veteran. Additionally, Eva possesses

certification(s) as a Professional Life Coach and Neuro-Linguistics Practitioner.

○ Luc Holland, Board of Director, is a retired Army Warrant Officer, Chief

Operation Officer for Advantage Plus Franchisor Inc. and Holland & Holland

Business Consulting.

○ Nathan Atkins, Co-Chairman, served eight years in the U.S. Army and holds an

MBA from Lake Forrest School of Management.

○ Vonder Kuster, Treasurer, a branch Manager at US Bank, continues her education

of the financial education system through the American Institute of Banking.

○ Dixie Thompson, Board Member, is retired after 20 years of service in the U.S.

Army. She is a member of the Executive Board for the Women Veterans of

Nevada and a life member of the American Legion and Disabled American

Veterans.

○ Bruce Topper, Advisory board, is a graduate of Cornell University Medical

College and has 20 years of experience with Desert Radiologists.

○ Brian Donnelly, CPA, Advisory board, has a Masters of Accountancy and is

licensed in Nevada and California and serves as an audit and attestation manager

with a specialization in non-public companies.


○ Andrew Dionne, Advisory board, is a 12 year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and

had led a successful career in real estate and business development with Barrett

and Company.


References

Bryson, J. M. (2011). Creating Your Strategic Plan, a Workbook for Public and Nonprofit

Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass.

Life After Active Duty (2014). E Business Media Online. http://www.lifeafteractiveduty.org/

IRS (2015). Publication 4221-PC (Rev. 7-2014) Catalog Number 49829R,, Department of the

Treasury Internal Revenue Service,www irs.gov

Secchiari, E. (2015, 09 28). Executive Director. Life After Active Duty. Las Vegas. (F. Jackson,

Interviewer).

http://www.lifeafteractiveduty.org/



http://www.irs.gov/

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