Case Study: Gifts of Love

Overview of Recruitment and Strategy Needs:

Providing Recruitment and Strategy service to Gifts of Love,  the definition of a grassroots-based organization was a blessing. In 1989, local residents joined together to provide groceries to families who were experiencing financial difficulties due to corporate downsizing. The organization has grown over the years and now serves the Greater Hartford and Farmington Valley, CT communities.
In early 2020, the board of directors launched several initiatives; a review of their board composition and board governance; the opportunity to assess the purpose, direction, and strategy of the organization; and, with the departure of the Executive Director, identifying qualified leadership.

Challenge/Tactic:

Our engagement with Gifts of Love was threefold: to lead the board through a vision and destination setting project in order to establish clear strategy and actions in business model and operations; to lead the organization in the short term with the placement of an Interim Executive Director, and to guide the board through and facilitate the process of recruitment of a full time permanent Executive Director.

Solution/Action:

Three distinct projects called for three distinct approaches. The most immediate was to place a qualified interim leader in the role of Executive Director, who successfully led the organization while documenting processes and procedures, creating a smooth transition for the incoming leadership which proved beneficial for our recruitment activities and strategic planning work.

We worked closely with members of the board serving on the recruitment committee, and board members for the strategic planning, and led both committees through a discussion of the attributes and expectations of the Executive Director role and their future vision of the organization.

Outcome/Result of Recruitment and Strategy Services:

While having three distinct projects occurring simultaneously could be daunting to some, we saw this as an opportunity. Visualize it as a traffic rotary, where each phase of our while distinct, when merged together produced long-lasting results. Our Interim Executive Director successfully managed the team and operations, our recruitment efforts culminated after an exhaustive search in the hiring of a new executive director, and through our audit and assessment, we presented a comprehensive findings report and led the board through a comprehensive strategic planning session that provides the roadmap for the organization and for the future.

“Knowing Harvest makes Gifts of Love a stronger organization.”

Ryan Pettengill, Executive Director, Gifts of Love