Case Study

International Institute for Humane Education

Humane education turns compassion into action by helping young people make choices every day that not only benefit them, but also help other people, animals and the environment. In 2001, the International Institute for Humane Education (IIHE) was a five-year-old, two-person organization offering a variety of humane education-related programs, ranging from formal training for educators to personal growth workshops and vegetarian cooking classes.

Caryn Ginsberg led a board and staff strategic planning session to clarify the direction of the organization. Participants identified humane educator training as IIHE's most distinctive and powerful work. As a result, the organization focused on this area, limiting or discontinuing other efforts that, although positive, were not as effective in creating lasting change. In each subsequent year, Caryn has helped IIHE's leadership team review results, assess new developments and set priorities. She also provides ongoing counsel to IIHE co-founder Zoe Weil and Executive Director Khalif Williams on strategic, financial and management issues.

IIHE has achieved important results:

Increased the number of degree program graduates from one or fewer annually to 12 scheduled for 2005

Expanded the degree and certificate programs, with 20 new participants recruited in 2005

Launched a pilot program to assess delivering 10 weekend humane educator training workshops annually instead of two or three per year previously

More than doubled program revenue

Established measurable outcomes for the organization, including both program and administrative measures

Priority Ventures Group can help your organization.

Although IIHE accomplished these results over several years, you can make improvements quickly with the concentrated effort more typical of a consulting project. Please contact Caryn to discuss how your program or organization can deliver more of what's important to you.