USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program has successfully demonstrated its model of using adaptive ice hockey to provide wounded, injured, and disabled veterans with recreation, therapeutic benefit, camaraderie, structure, and community. Having grown from a local Maryland program into an organization serving veterans in multiple communities nationally, USA Warriors has reached an organizational inflection point. The organization seeks philanthropic support to engage an experienced nonprofit strategic-planning consultant to work with its Board leadership to refine our draft strategic plan into a comprehensive 3–5 year strategic plan for sustainable national growth.
This engagement would include identification and interviews of internal and external stakeholders to assure alignment with and develop accountability to the strategic plan based on those interviews, and ultimately, finalize the plan and present it to the organization for implementation.
Support to a series of interviews of internal and external stakeholders to assure alignment to the draft Strategic Plan. Interview questions include but are not limited to:
1. What does USA Warriors want to look like in five years? Perhaps 10–15 communities and 300–500 veterans, for example—not necessarily those numbers, but an explicit destination.
2. What is the national/local relationship? Determine what national provides versus what local Warrior communities provide, and establish standards, governance and accountability.
3. When does an all-volunteer organization need paid professional leadership? This may ultimately be the most important question.
4. How does USA Warriors finance national growth? VA grants, foundations, corporate sponsorships, individual giving, major gifts and local fundraising need to become an intentional portfolio. Discuss ways to sustain growth and success of the USAWIHP
5. How will you demonstrate impact? Not simply "100 veterans played hockey," but retention, social connection, physical activity, well-being, community, volunteerism and other appropriate measurable outcomes.
6. How do you replicate the model? Discuss best practices to develop a repeatable process for starting and sustaining a USA Warriors communities nationwide, without requiring national leadership to reinvent the process every time.
