Building audacious strategies

for social good organizations that WORK.

Most of us have experienced a well-intentioned – maybe even brilliant – strategic plan that molders in an archived folder, or an inspirational descriptor of organizational values that no one can remember, let alone express in their daily work.

What makes the difference?

The Audaculus Philosophy

  • Brilliant ideas and good intentions aren’t enough.

    Audaculus helps you turn the complexity in your head into a clear, actionable vision—and then channels the passion and purpose of mission-driven organizations to bring it to life.

  • Your solutions must be as unique as your organization is.

    You know your organization best. Audaculus partners with you and your stakeholders—asking the right questions, listening deeply, and co-creating solutions tailored to your unique needs.

  • Success depends on shaping people’s daily actions.

    Even the best vision falls flat if it doesn’t shape the everyday decisions and behaviors of the people doing the work. That’s why Audaculus helps transform your inspiring vision into clear, measurable actions—backed by processes and systems that keep you on course.

How We Can Help

Designing a customized, well-crafted vision

  • Example: When the new CAO of a county with 3 million residents needed to tackle organizational structure, strategy, and culture all at once, Audaculus helped her clarify expectations for her leadership team—and used the rollout as a springboard to reinforce her broader changes

  • Example: A new CEO wanted the Board to grow into a stronger strategic partner, so we designed a planning process centered on Board learning and active discussion. Six years later, with the organization facing major operational challenges, we shifted gears—building a more inward-facing process focused on systems, structure, and morale. Then in 2020, with an election that threatened either an 80% funding cut or a huge reimbursement increase, we adapted again, guiding the Board to define core strategic values that would steer decision-making in either scenario.

  • Example: Sex education was one of the first topics cut from curricula during the pandemic. We built a rapid prototype and then tested it with in-depth teacher interviews and focus groups. Over 23,000 users around the country and world have enrolled almost 70,000 times Sex Ed To-Go courses.

  • Example: In a rare moment of political and financial stability, a Planned Parenthood Board wanted to reflect on its role as a safety-net health provider in a post-pandemic world. We created a multi-month “learning salon” with targeted, digestible data and curated discussion questions to explore shifting patient and staff needs, regional dynamics, changes in healthcare, and emerging political and social trends.

  • Example: The Board of a major metropolitan planning agency was stuck in conflict. Partnering with the Chair and staff, we designed and facilitated two retreats that helped members build cross-party relationships, find common ground, develop shared language, and spark regional, transformational thinking.

Defining clear expectations for what the vision looks like in daily work, and ensuring the skills to deliver

  • Example: The CEO of a large foundation had a clear strategy and wanted to develop a cohesive and inspirational vision for culture to support his plans and ensure what was great about the current organization wasn’t lost with rapid growth. Working collaboratively with the senior leaders and all staff, we defined an aspirational-but-realistic culture and then built behavior expectations into staff’s daily work.

  • Example: A major political leader had a relatively new team and big goals. Together, we documented her priorities in an easy-to-use format to provide focus for her team. Then we set team agreements backed up by a portfolio of tangible tools and processes to support expectations: message maps, follow-up briefs, time management maps, etc.

Creating systems and processes to keep everyone on track

  • Example: A C-level executive was leading multiple meetings each week with little payoff. We redesigned his approach—streamlining agendas, reports, and prompts, and introducing asynchronous tools—so meetings drove strategic priorities, accountability, knowledge-sharing, and culture reinforcement.

  • Example: A regional transportation authority and planning agency needed to overhaul its governance structure so its Policy Advisory Committees and Working Groups could better serve its mission in a tense political environment. Audaculus built a process to capture deep stakeholder input and guide the organization toward a clearer, more effective, and more efficient structure.