Kinetic Kids
A Day and a Half Board Session Leads to Clear Strategic Direction
The Challenge:
For 25 years, Kinetic Kids has given children with disabilities the chance to play, compete, and belong. As the organization looked ahead to the next three to five years, the Board identified three big questions to answer. How much should the organization grow, and what does growth mean? What should its physical space look like? How much should it hold in reserves, and for what purpose? Kinetic Kids leadership wanted a retreat that would do more than start the conversation. They wanted the Board to leave with a direction and the momentum to follow it.
Our Approach:
A day and a half is not much time for decisions this big, so the work began two and a half months before anyone walked into the room. A pre-retreat Board survey, a data deck, and a detailed facilitation plan made sure every minute had a purpose. Two Cielo consultants designed and led the retreat, keeping the conversation moving from ideas to decisions while making room for every voice at the table.
The agenda was built to keep the Board talking, moving, and building together, not sitting through presentations. We opened with a short vision video, then each Board member wrote a four- to six-word bumper sticker for Kinetic Kids on a notecard. After the retreat, we turned the Board and staff’s bumper stickers into a set of colorful graphics featuring the Kinetic Kids logo, ready for the organization to share. From there, data presentations from the Executive Directors, individual reflection, small-group work, and large-group discussion gave the Board a shared set of facts and many ways to contribute. Throughout the retreat, we checked in on where the group stood, so members could see alignment build as their thinking evolved. The same approach carried the Board through all three of its goals: strategic direction, physical space, and reserve funds.
From Our Partner:
The Outcome:
The Board left with a strategic direction and had already put it in motion by our final afternoon. Before the retreat ended, the Finance Committee added new members, and the Board formed a Real Estate/Facilities Task Force. The Board agreed unanimously that a full cost analysis of leasing, owning, and building should come before any space decision, and it named a Physical Space Task Force to lead that work. The Board reached consensus on a six-month operating reserve and a new Opportunity & Growth Reserve.
After the retreat, we synthesized everything we heard and built a Priorities & Action Plan Framework: a working document with next steps for the first 90 days, built for Kinetic Kids to update as decisions firm up and the work moves forward.
And yes, we had fun! It matters to us that Board members have space to celebrate and connect joyfully, so we ended Friday afternoon with a sparkling cider toast and photo props to honor everything the Board had accomplished. After a day and a half of real work, it was a joy to see the room celebrate together.
