Corona Insights » In Action

Corona launches beta of Co-Strategy

Meredith Badler — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:32:22 +0000

Last week, Corona launched the beta version of Co-Strategy, a digital collaboratory designed exclusively for nonprofit agency executives to think and act strategically. We celebrated this milestone with a special breakfast and invited a few dozen nonprofit agency executives to participate in our beta test of the platform.

Click here to learn more about Co-Strategy. Stay tuned for pictures of the launch event and more on Co-Strategy this summer.

The vortex of anxiety

Karla Raines — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:54:23 +0000

Anxiety in organizations is like a vortex – a whirling mass with suction capable of drawing into its current everyone that surrounds it. I’ve experienced the vortex firsthand in my strategic consulting work. I’ve learned that the vortex exists when leadership is absent or insufficient. More specifically, I’ve witnessed it swirl, suck and consume the energy of individuals and groups who feel incapable of acting on their own behalf (and that of their organization) to improve a situation. When this happens, one of two factors is at play. The executive is temporarily ineffective as a leader – perhaps s/he is feeling temporarily paralyzed by a novel or complex situation. Or, the vortex of anxiety is an indicator of a deeper issue – the lack of skill and courage to lead change. The next time you see or feel the vortex, ask yourself, “Is this situational or more substantial? What can be done to stimulate leadership?”

The vortex of anxiety is powerful in its ability to consume significant amounts of time, energy and emotion. One becomes preoccupied with the negative pull and is ineffective at driving change for the organization. Keep a lookout for the vortex and dampen its power. What’s required? The realization that courageous leadership and action – perhaps a few key steps or a revitalized approach – are all that’s needed to replace the vortex with a positive force.

Vortex – a whirling mass of water, especially one in which a force of suction operates, as a whirlpool; drawing into its current everything that surrounds it

Inspiring the next era nonprofit association

Karla Raines — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:59:36 +0000

Inspire – to motivate, to stimulate to action, to bring about, to fill with enlivening or exalting emotion

As a consultant, I strive to do more than advise, provide expertise or facilitate decision making. I want to inspire my customers to believe they can do and be more than they are today. Not only do I intend to provoke an emotional response – I want to inspire action. I aim to engage their collective heads and hearts.

During last Friday’s Social Venture Partners Denver Workshop on Next Era Nonprofits I was thrilled to hear a Denver Foundation Vice President share that the Colorado Nonprofit Association was inspired by my strategic consulting. I facilitated a conversation at their annual strategy retreat about foresights for the sector. My goal? To stimulate thinking about the Association’s future possibilities. After all, this is the most dynamic period of change the sector has seen in 20 to 30 years. What can and should it mean to lead an association in this next era and model the way forward?

Thank you to everyone who attended Friday’s workshop. You keep me inspired to share our insights with the community and take our work to the next level.

Foresights Exemplified – Hello, Nonprofit Business Model

Karla Raines — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:25:05 +0000

As consultants, we have the privileged opportunity to learn from each customer engagement. We also practice at our professions. After all that’s what it means to be a practitioner.

Each consulting engagement provides a forum for me to hone my associative thinking skills – an opportunity to make connections across ideas and customers – and to see patterns. I did just that in 2008 when I designed a new, synergistic service delivery model for Rebuilding Together Metro Denver while consulting on their strategic business plan. RTMD was part of Rose Community Foundation’s 3-year BOOST initiative.

Little did I know at the time that I was on the forefront of a movement – to name and claim the nonprofit business model. After my ah ha with Rebuilding Together, I found myself continually going back to that initial idea and fleshing it out. I read, chatted, learned, and absorbed what I could on this nonprofit business model notion. Then, ta da (and two years in the skunk works), the Synergistic Business Model^™ framework was born.

Foresight – Perception of the significance and nature of events before they have occurred. Sometimes foresight is easier to see after it has occurred.

If you’re looking for consultants to bring foresights to you, give Team Corona a call.

State of Our Cities and Towns

David Kennedy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:08:30 +0000

We always like to see our research in action. We especially liked the Colorado Municipal League’s (CML) recent videos highlighting the findings (pdf) from the most recent edition of the State of Our Cities and Towns for Colorado. Not everyone absorbs information by reading graphs and tables or even text in a report. Producing an easy to digest video highlighting the key themes from this year’s report was a great way to ensure the information is clearly communicated. (CML also created a brochure (pdf) to help maximize distribution.)

Corona has worked with CML for several years and this is the third year in which Corona has conducted the research to inform the State of Our Cities and Towns annual report.

Visit the Denver Post to see a recent article by CML referencing the State of Our Cities and Towns report. To learn more about the Colorado Municipal League, visit their website.

Corona in action

Meredith Badler — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:33:56 +0000

What better way to learn about the quality work Corona does than through the experiences of our various customers? Check out our updated Case Studies to see Corona in action. Over the years, Corona has helped a wide array of customers answer the questions most important to them, and then guide them from insights to successful outcomes.

You may have noticed some other recent changes to Corona’s website. We apply proven research methods and strategic insights to all of our customers, across sectors and industries. Keep checking back to find out how we can help your nonprofit, business, government agency or higher education institution.

1001th Project

Meredith Badler — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:22:33 +0000

As we closed the books on 2011, Corona was also wrapping up their 1001th project. We love numbers here at Corona, so could not let this milestone go unrecognized.

We were pleased to learn that lucky project #1001 was for the Iliff School of Theology. Corona has engaged with Iliff since 2007 when we created an influential Strategic Enrollment Marketing Plan for the institution, as well as a strategic business plan . Since then, Corona has led various research projects for Iliff, looking into new market segments, student enrollment opportunities and testing new curriculum ideas.

Our ongoing relationship with Iliff is a hallmark of Corona’s brand – combining our market research and strategic consulting expertise in the higher education field to provide ongoing data-driven insights that lead to proven results. Learn more about Iliff’s success as well as their 2010 and 2011 awards. Click here to read a testimonial from their VP of Marketing Communications & Strategic Partnerships.

Cheers to project 1001!

Next Era Nonprofits: Upcoming SVP Workshop

Karla Raines — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:49:35 +0000

We’re in an era of profound and broad change for the nonprofit sector. In fact, this may be the most dynamic period the sector has experienced in two decades. Not only are the rules for success being rewritten, we’re thinking anew about what to call the sector, who is in the sector, and what defines it. Add to that the uncertainties in our macro world and – wow – it doesn’t get any more interesting or exciting.

The next era nonprofit is being (re)created right now. It embraces community relevance and impact as it searches for the Holy Grail – sustainability.

Corona Insights is leading a workshop for Denver’s Social Venture Partners on the five fundamentals of sustainable, next era nonprofits. Join us on February 17 from 7:30-9:30 am to learn about these fundamentals, Corona’s cutting-edge approach to business model sustainability, and the insights and foresights we’ve gathered on the future of the sector . The SVP workshop, open to 50 participants, will focus on:

The fundamentals of nonprofit sustainability
The importance of strategy and business model design for sustainable nonprofits
The board’s role in sustainability

Contact Pat Landrum, Executive Director of SVP Denver, for more information and to RSVP.

Existing home sales revisions – The challenges of complex data

Kevin Raines — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:34:30 +0000

As a firm that works with large databases for our clients, this article strikes home.

Working with big databases is hard work. It’s not just the mechanics of data manipulation and calculations, but also knowing where the data come from, what they mean, and how to interpret them. You have to have a feel for data, and the ability to recognize the little clues that point to problems. Mistakes happen, and kudos to the National Association of Realtors for finding these problems, fixing them, and being forthright about the changes that we’ll be seeing in their numbers. And if you sold your home twice in their database, we hope you can get back some of those Realtor fees.

Colorado Gives Day 2011

Meredith Badler — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:24:53 +0000

Tomorrow (December 6) is Community First Foundation‘s second annual Colorado Gives Day. This 24-hour event is a special opportunity to “give where you live.” Last year, Colorado Gives Day exceeded expectations and their $1 million fundraising goal by raising $8.4 million. In 2010, about 540 nonprofits participted and 83% acquired new donors.

This year, all bets are off! There are over 900 participating nonprofits across the state. Corona Insights is pleased to see so many past clients and colleagues on the list: 9Health Fair, Bluff Lake Nature Center, Center for African American Health, Center for Work Education and Employment, Clinica Tepeyac, Colorado Youth at Risk, Denver Children’s Advocacy Center, Denver Public Schools Foundation, Family Tree, Metro Volunteers, Mile High United Way, Nurse-Family Partnerships, Qualistar Colorado, Rebuilding Together Metro Denver, Rocky Mountain PBS, The Children’s Museum of Denver, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, and Warren Village… just to name a few!

Check out the Colorado Gives Day website to find your favorite nonprofit. Or, discover a new one to support! You have from midnight to midnight to contribute.