Carolina Small Business Development Fund

Carolina Small Business Development Fund is a statewide, 501(c)(3) nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that provides capital, technical assistance, and policy research to light the way for small businesses in North Carolina. Lee Institute was initially engaged to facilitate a strategic planning board retreat to review and evaluate their existing plan framework.

During the collaboration to think broadly about the next steps for the organization and desired impact, the partnership was expanded to incorporate both a focus on strategic direction with the board of directors as well as facilitation of an implementation plan design with the staff. This allowed CSBDF to focus on their “what” and their “how”.

Lee Institute consultants worked closely with senior leadership to design sessions with the board, and separately with staff, to include various modes of engagement, including presentation of data, small group collaborative work, large group discussions, voting to prioritize efforts, and identification of accountabilities for next steps. Consultants returned to support the board of directors the following year for another review of the organization’s progress and continued work with the staff on their key performance indicators.