Founded in 1998, Hope House is a small organization located in Washington, D.C., that works to strengthen the bonds between children and their fathers who are imprisoned far from home. Founding Director Carol Fennelly first went to MAG for assistance assembling the “must-haves” for a tiny but growing non-profit.

“We’d been struggling, and we needed to find a way to sustain the organization,” says Fennelly. “We went through an initial process with MAG to form a real board, develop a refined mission statement, and formulate goals.” Fennelly says that MAG used the 360 interview process, interviewing staff members, family members, and fathers, to inform and shape that process.

With respect to board development, Fennelly notes, MAG pushed her when she resisted -- in a good way. MAG helped me identify what kind of people we wanted for board members, and then who we wanted.” The board was expanded from three members to seven, and when it met for a weekend board retreat, MAG was there to facilitate. “She was incredible,” Fennelly says. 

Months later the organization was faced with the promise of still more funding, and MAG was called on to help with that new challenge, as well. “We were approached by foundations who wanted to give us a sizeable grant, and we engaged MAG to help us figure out a development growth plan,” Fennelly says.

After this initial stage of taking Hope House to a more sophisticated level, Fennelly received a management assistance grant from a local foundation and with those funds, she hired MAG again to provide her with leadership coaching.   “She really transformed my skills as an executive director,” she notes. “I came out of a politically radical, direct service history, and working with MAG has helped me to be a better manager in lots of ways, including managing people. As a founding executive director, it’s hard to let go of your baby in some ways. Thanks to working with MAG, I’ve been able to see my way out of that role and let the organization move on. I didn’t have a clue before on how to move from stage one to stage two and onward. MAG helped us get there.”

Fennelly attributes Hope House’s transition from a good idea into a real, “grown-up” organization to her MAG consultant. What was it in particular about her MAG consultant that helped Fennelly and the organization become more sophisticated? “She didn’t give up on me,” Fennelly says. “She kept working on me and helped me to take the steps that I needed to take, even if they weren’t always easy. She just kept working with me until I got it.”