Services

How SAI Can Help You

Leadership Connection/Nonprofit Turnaround

What does it take to turn a moderately sized, ably run nonprofit into a financially sound, unwavering, mission-driven business?

SAI's Leadership Connection series, which consists of workshops, half and full-day seminars, and multi-day retreats, explores such business acumen as mission and values, leadership, human resource management, crisis management, strategy, budgeting, and growth that can help you turn around your non-profit organization.

SAI works with its clients to conduct comprehensive assessments of the organization. We examine all areas of the business including managerial, corporate governance, financial, programmatic, and fundraising. Following the assessment, we develop for the client a strategic course of action, which includes a focus on both short and long-term change. In order to assist in the implementation of the recommendations, a team of SAI consultants is assigned to the client for a specific period of time.

In conjunction with the Leadership Connection, SAI provides non-profit and faith-based groups with ongoing support in the areas of government relations, fund development, training and facilitation, strategic planning, and speaking engagements. Some of these groups include the following organizations:

  • Nazarene Compassionate Ministries
  • Grace Community Church
  • Heart to Heart

Government Relations

Strategic Applications International (SAI) offers a variety of services to its clients from strategic planning to government relations. Located in our nation’s capitol, and with a team of consultants with years of experience on the Hill, SAI is in a unique position to represent the interests of local and state government, non-profits, and faith-based organizations. Currently SAI represents a variety of state and local government organizations, faith-based ministries, and several non-profits in their efforts to acquire Federal funding to support initiatives in law enforcement, housing, mentoring, drug courts, and work with those reentering our communities from incarceration.

SAI is providing a niche or unique service for faith-based organizations developing government relations strategies as they seek federal funding and resources to support their work and ministry. SAI consultants come from strong faith-based backgrounds, have extensive experience working with Congress, and have helped to craft the federal strategy to include the ministries and services of faith-based communities. SAI provides consulting services to faith-based communities in strategic planning, grant development, organizational infrastructure to build capacity to receive Federal funding, and provide consultation on strategies to acquire Federal earmarks to enhance their service. No other firm in Washington, DC works with the faith-based community in this type of government relations work.

SAI's government relations clients have included the King County Sheriff’s Office, National Alliance of Faith and Justice, Beaches Chapel Reentry Ministry, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, The Church of the Nazarene, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Fund Development

Strategic Applications International (SAI) offers a variety of services to its clients from strategic planning to fund development. Its diverse team has years of experience raising money for non-profit ventures, having raised over $45 million in private sector funds in the last 12 years.

SAI is uniquely positioned to help non-profit and faith-based organizations in fund development planning, strategic corporate partnership development, grant writing, and corporate philanthropy. We not only assist our clients with traditional philanthropy, but we also help them form long-term strategic alliances with corporations that generate significant win-wins for the nonprofit and the corporate partner.

Currently SAI represents a variety of organizations in their efforts to secure private sector funding to support initiatives in law enforcement, historical preservation, and mentoring. SAI's fund development clients have included the following organizations:

  • Nazarene Grant -- New Partnership Initiation, Zambia & Ethiopia ($10 million project)
  • Challenge Grant for Volunteerism for National and Community ($200,000 project)
  • Challenge Grant for Response to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf ($1.5 million project)
  • The Beaches Chapel
  • Custer Battlefield Museum
  • Maple Springs Baptist Church
  • National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
  • and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Training and Facilitation

The mission of Strategic Applications International (SAI) is to pursue great ideas, promote action, and effect change with demonstrated results.

The SAI consulting team has years of experience in facilitation and training. SAI consultants have facilitated 15 summits on Methamphetamine; conducted trainings and facilitation for school districts and other educational groups; facilitated community and state meetings focused on the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color; and brokered relationships and meetings between diverse and often conflicting groups and organizations working in the substance abuse field, particularly underage alcohol prevention.

SAI utilizes a win-win facilitation process that moves diverse interests into a common mission and strategy. Because of our backgrounds in education, non-profit management, law enforcement, homeland security, and substance abuse prevention and treatment, SAI has developed a variety of training modules that can enhance an organization’s knowledge and performance. Our trainings run from single one-hour presentations to two- and three-day training experiences that utilize adult learning theory and seek to make the curriculum relevant and real to the participants.

More information regarding our training and facilitation services can be found on our website or upon request.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning has become and over-utilized term for moving an organization into a specific direction. Most organizations have a keen sense of where they want to go – they simply need opportunities and experiences that focus their time and energy on developing tactics for moving in the right direction.

A plan is only as good as its execution. Therefore, we heavily stress action-planning as part of the strategic planning process. Strategic Applications International (SAI) advances the following formula for non-profit organizations:

  1. Strategic action-planning
  2. Quality execution of the plan
  3. Evaluation and feedback on execution
  4. Strong media and communications components to tell the story

Done well, these four components produce resource development and funding.

SAI strategic planning processes include structured interviews with key stakeholders; information gathering from staff and board; data collection and analysis; skill mapping to assess strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in staff and board capacity; environmental scan to assess allies and competitors in an organization's mission; internal and external threat assessment to an organization; and thorough exploration of funding resources and capacity to implement the plan. SAI planning models are a collaborative process between SAI, and client's board and staff.

  • Nazarene Compassionate Ministries

Speaking Engagements

Strategic Applications International (SAI) is fortunate to have a number of nationally recognized and talented speakers in the fields of education, substance abuse, mental health, crime prevention, organizational development, homeland security, underage drinking, community capacity building, faith-based service provision, and comprehensive community responses to methamphetamine. In addition, the SAI team has expertise speaking on leadership development, the change process, and organizational change and motivation. These represent only a few of the topics in which SAI’s principals have expertise.

In 2004, SAI principals spoke to over 40,000 individuals at plenary sessions of conferences; keynote addresses; commencements; faith-based environments; corporate banquets and meetings; and non-profit gatherings.