Brainstorm Strategy and Leadership Transition Planning

We would like to use this session to discuss and brainstorm ideas on how to approach strategic planning for the future of our organization, including leadership succession planning.

Our organization, Seattle Emergency Hubs, is an all-volunteer organization started in 2007. Hub volunteers agree to act immediately after a disaster to help neighbors get their basic needs met (food, water, shelter, etc.) until formal outside aid arrives. The Hub program developed with the encouragement of the City of Seattle but we are not a part of the City and are not directly funded by them. The Hubs are a fiscally-sponsored social good organization that does not yet have 501(c)(3) status.

There are now active volunteer groups at about ~70 of the Hub sites. Though the “Hub Captains” meet regularly to share materials and practices, the network is loosely organized. Up until a few years ago, it was led by a single founder. In the past few years, a second volunteer has worked alongside the founder. The two of them currently handle nearly all of the administration, finance, and operations of the organization. We recently formed committees (of the Hub Captains) to analyze our finances, standardize onboarding of new volunteers, research branding, overhaul our website, and improve our outreach. However, we are experiencing the limitations of our organizational structure being under-developed.