How We Can Help

Zigas and Associates can help your organization develop and launch new initiatives, strategic or business plans, and assist in designing and carrying out program and policy development efforts.  Our engagements have included the following:

Strategic Planning

• Facilitating NAHRO's 3-day Strategic Leadership Retreat in January, 2010.
• Leading a year-long strategic planning process for the Mercy Housing, Inc. board of directors, culminating in an October, 2009 board review and facilitated work session to adopt new strategic statements for the next 5 years.
• Helping the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation develop the expansion of its multi-year, multi-million dollar Window of Opportunity initiative to preserve affordable rental housing.  We surveyed practitioners about opportunities for new grant making and investments, developed options for the Foundation's staff, assisted in the design of a solicitation and review of new funding proposals, conducted site visits with finalists and participated in the initiative's launch. 
• On behalf of the MacArthur Foundation's research program, canvassing the field and presenting recommendations for priority future funding areas to support preservation of existing affordable rental housing at a day-long June, 2009 convening at the Foundation's headquarters.
• Preparing and presenting a review of economic and business trends at a national training institute and in a business planning session for Neighborworks America.
• Working with the National Housing Trust in 2007 to develop a new strategic plan by engaging the staff, board and stakeholders in a robust examination of the market, the organization's capabilities and resources, and refining the theory of change through which it hopes to preserve endangered affordable rental homes.  We co-planned and led a two-day board retreat and subsequent board meeting at which the plan was first designed, then adopted.

Business development

• Working with Corporate Social Responsibility Associates to help the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) identify potential new markets and products to grow its business.
• Senior Advisor to UniDev LLC, in its unique mission-oriented practice of helping institutional partners create permanently affordable housing for their workforces.

Policy Development

• Facilitating a day-long policy review for the National League of Cities to help them prepare policy and program recommendations for their membership.
• Facilitating a day-long planning session in 2008 for the CDFI Fund's Subcommittee of its Community Development Advisory Board.  The meeting covered emerging issues in CDFI finance.
• Keynote speaker, Housing Arizona, Flagstaff, September, 2008
• Helping Neighborworks America design and plan a highly successful 2007 national symposium on community development responses to the ongoing foreclosure crisis. 
• Advising the Ford Foundation on policy and program responses to the mortgage and foreclosure crisis, working in partnership with the University of North Carolina's Center for Community Capital.