The Independent Center for Community Advancement (ICCA) is an innovative nonprofit that has experienced rapid growth under CEO Rachel Adams. Rachel started her career as an attorney at several large law firms but realized during her tenure that community-centered nonprofits providing legal expertise were much-needed but non-existing in her hometown.

In collaboration with former colleagues and classmates Rachel started the ICCA with a vision for the nonprofit to make it a model community hub that would blend outreach programs, with specific case trials and re-trials as well as occasional lobbying activities; all while running a tight ship on a low, mostly grant-funded budget. To help accomplish that, ICCA put a great effort in maintaining strong ties with academia, industry pro-bono work, and community organizations.

Under Rachel's leadership ICCA experienced incredible growth. However, the success also resulted in many new challenges that required changes to the existing organization. Of particular concern to Rachel, she noticed that some units had started to shift the focus of ICCA in a direction that contradicted her vision for the nonprofit. She built the nonprofit from the ground up on her vision and she did not want to see the company becoming more like political organizations dedicated primarily to lobbying activities targeting local, state and federal legislatures.

To reestablish the idea of the nonprofit Rachel decided to reorganize a core part of ICCA by merging two unit. Unit X has long been true to the Rachel's vision and ideal for the nonprofit focusing on connecting community resources with legal expert to provide expertise and act a last resort for trials and re-trials. The Unit has managed to stretch its budget to take on a historic number of new cases; many of them with a successful outcome. The other unit - Unit Y - however, has shifted its operations to a one-eyed focus on lobbying activities aligning itself with numerous political interest organizations, spending most of its time and resources on influencing the legislative agenda.

As the leader of Unit X, you and Rachel have close ties and you were part of the few people that helped found the ICCA 10 years ago. You believe in Rachel's leadership and her vision for the nonprofit. Rachel has asked you to get ICCA through this difficult merger and help reestablish her vision for the nonprofit as part of the process of merging the two units.

Prompt

Rachel has asked you to craft a vision statement for the new, merged unit that clearly reflects her vision for ICCA.

You know that some people will resist the merger and you therefore want the vision to be as effective as possible. In this respect, things to consider are:

1. What are the values and the long-term goals of the ICCA?
2. Are some values and long-term goals more important than others? If so, which ones should or should not be part of the vision statement? How many values and goal should be in the vision statement?
3. Is the vision for the nonprofit best presented as abstract concepts or in terms of vivid images of the desired future?
4. How can the vision be presented so that it establishes a shared sense of direction of the workers?