Request for Proposals: Strategic Planning Consultant Summary
New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF) supports anyone living in or traveling to NY who needs help paying for an abortion by providing financial assistance, case management, and connections to other resources. We believe that funding abortion is a radical act of community care and that no one should be denied access to an abortion because of how much money they make or where they live. As New York’s only and local abortion fund, NYAAF services one of the most populous and diverse states in the country and plays an increasingly pivotal role in abortion access at a national level.
NYAAF is seeking a strategic planning consultant to work with NYAAF’s Board of Directors from about July 2024 to December 2024.
Proposals should be sent by July 15, 2024 to .
Full Request for Proposals
About NYAAF
Until recently, NYAAF was an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by a nonhierarchical, working board of directors.
NYAAF onboarded its first employee, NYAAF’s interim executive director, in 2022, who became NYAAF’s Executive Director on March 1, 2024. Since then, NYAAF has welcomed four additional employees: an Operations and Finance Manager, a Director of Programs, an Intake Coordinator, and a part-time Operations Coordinator, growing from a staff of one to a staff of five.
As the abortion access landscape shifts, demand for NYAAF’s services has grown exponentially. NYAAF pledged more than 1.8 million dollars in direct abortion funding to 1,869 callers in 2023 — a 46% increase from 2022, and a 228% increase from 2021. One third of callers supported in 2023 were people traveling from out of state. Since the fall of Roe, NYAAF has supported callers from 34 states and 18 countries, with the most notable representation from the heavily abortion-restricted states of Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Scope of Work and Responsibilities
NYAAF seeks to contract with a consultant who, in collaboration with an internal strategic planning committee made up of the Board of Directors and select staff, will lead the organization in drafting a multi-year strategic plan.
It is particularly important to us that the time invested in this strategic planning process serves the organization as it continues to grow and that the process is forward-thinking and actionable.
NYAAF has undertaken strategic planning in the past, and has devoted time and energy to the process. Most recently, NYAAF made significant strides towards a new strategic plan between 2021 and 2023. However, because of changes in the legal landscape, board turnover, limited capacity, and exponential growth in demand for our services, NYAAF has yet to complete the plan.
Rather than starting from scratch, we want to benefit as much as possible from our past work. At the same time, we want to honor the fact that as NYAAF's needs and the abortion access landscape continue to change, our strategic planning needs have shifted.
We are open to the recommendations of our consultant and anticipate a ~4-5-month scope. We are looking for a consultant to lead us through a strategic planning process that should include the development and refinement of:
- An organizational theory of change
- Updated organizational mission statement, vision statement, and list of values
- Description of NYAAF’s new organizational structure, core work, shifting capacity needs, and strategic 3-5 year goals, including:
- new client services, such as practical support and telehealth abortion care
- new programs, such as community engagement and movement building
- organizational shifts, including the role of volunteers and board transition from a working to governance model
- A final strategic plan document that can be shared publicly, e.g., on our website
- Dashboard tool for tracking progress toward strategic goals
In addition, we expect that the consultant will:
- Review documents and key takeaways from recent stakeholder/partner outreach efforts that the board has already undertaken. Note that we do not expect or desire additional external stakeholder outreach or interviews.
- Develop an effective framework, project timeline, and sequence of activities to establish a multi-year strategic plan for the organization by the end of their contract.
- Effectively project manage the entire process, including scheduling, notetaking, sending follow-up emails and reminders, and other necessary administrative tasks
- Schedule, plan, and facilitate an arc of meetings, retreats, and asynchronous work with the strategic planning committee (and additional priority stakeholders, including staff) as part of the development of the final strategic plan.
Our approximate timeline is as follows:
- July 15, 2024: Deadline for proposals
- July-August: Interviews and selection
- August: Design and launch strategic planning process with selected consultant
- August-October:
- Conduct organizational assessment, and hold structured strategic planning meetings
- Hold at least 1 full strategic planning committee + staff retreat (consultant to plan and facilitate), ideally in person in early-mid September
- Draft theory of change, and supporting the organization through a process of refining goals, 3-5 year priorities, benchmarks, and capacity needs
- November: Complete draft of the full strategic plan, committee provides feedback on draft
- December: Process concludes; consultant presents final strategic plan, strategic plan document, and dashboard tool
Consultant Qualifications
In addition to relevant organizational development experience and expertise in strategic planning processes, the ideal consultant will have:
- Demonstrated commitment to an intersectional lens that includes but is not limited to racial, gender, economic, LGBTQ, and disability justice
- Passion for reproductive justice
- Strong project management skills
- Experience with organizational values transformation, change management processes, strategy development, organizational development, and healing justice
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills
- Nimbleness to managing uncertainty and change amid a drastically changing political context and abortion access landscape, including during the strategic planning period
- Strong understanding of group dynamics and ability to play a collaborative role and lead a collaborative process
- Ability to facilitate a generative process that allows for divergent perspectives, seeks and strengthens shared ground, and encourages courageous participation in tackling challenging questions
- Proactive, independent approach and ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines
- Preferred: Direct experience in reproductive justice and abortion access
The consultant will be expected to implement a scope of work and specific deliverables set forth in a signed contract, to be completed by about December 2024. The consultant will also meet regularly with designees of the board to maintain coordination.
Compensation
The consultant will be paid as a contractor, and we welcome proposals of $25,000 - $40,000, understanding that additional investments may be needed to continue this work in the future. The budget cap is negotiable, depending on the scope of work proposed and anticipated deliverables.
Proposal Guidelines
Proposals should include the following:
- Resume(s) and/or firm profile(s) for whoever will lead the strategic planning process
- Narrative explaining why you feel you are the right person or team for this contract, including:
- Examples of past leadership in strategic planning processes,
- How your experiences can be applied to NYAAF, including your familiarity with or passion for reproductive justice and abortion access
- Your approach to facilitation and some activities you envision facilitating to support us through the strategic planning process
- List of relevant current and former clients and projects (or anonymized description of most relevant recent projects)
- A proposed plan* and timeline for the project, and your fee information
- One work sample** from a similar or other relevant previous project
* We understand that this is a draft plan, based on the information provided, and that a preliminary step of the project would be to refine the process design together.
** Redacted is fine; we recognize the importance of confidentiality.
For inquiries, please email applications@nyaaf.org. We may be able to offer additional time to complete proposals and/or schedule an exploratory conversation.
Please email proposals to applications@nyaaf.org, including “RFP Response: Strategic Planning” in the subject line.
Job Types: Contract, Temporary
Pay: $25,000.00 - $40,000.00 per year
License/Certification:
- Driver's License (Preferred)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: Remote