The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities is to reduce the burden of childhood illness on children and their families. We achieve this by keeping families close: Close to each other, close to their sick children, and close to the medical care they need.   Our 2019-2021 strategic plan goals focus on the pillars of Mission, Money, Brand, Process, and People:  MISSION:Enhance the RMHC-KC family experience to ensure an atmosphere of extraordinary, compassionate, and gracious hospitalityImprove RMHC-KC facilities (building & grounds) to be consistently exceptional, beautiful, and functional environments for families and sick childrenMONEY: Ensure sufficient financial resources to sustain ongoing operational demandsGrow our investment portfolio to enable the charity to plan for future programmatic expansion and protect from future market volatilityBRAND:Establish RMHC-KC as one of the preeminent charitable brands in Kansas CityPROCESS:Ensure continued excellence in overall charity operations, including business practices and financial integrityPEOPLE:Maintain and support a staff and volunteer culture of excellence, positivity, and going above and beyond for RMHC-KC families and each otherDevelop, empower, and retain a high-functioning, skilled, and motivated staff and volunteer workforce

MISSION (programs)Streamline family check-in/out and referral processes through technology; Improve room cleaning process to result in more available rooms; Create an improved comfort experience in the sleep and rest areas; Bring the Family Room referral process in-house; Launch Family Room discussions with Overland Park Regional Medical Center; Utilize guest survey data as a guide for program enhancement; Evaluate future programmatic growth opportunities; Engage in ongoing strategic conversation with Children’s Mercy and other hospital partners; Focus on relationship development with families; Explore options for creating more “magical moments” for children and families; Pursue obtaining a therapy dog for the House programsMISSION (facilities)Construct and open Serenity Garden; Implement traffic calming design along roadway; Develop fully integrated campus model; Implement building improvements/beautification; Assess physical assets and scalability; Strategize facilities management processes to improve efficiencyMONEY (near term)Create and adhere to annual development plan; Grow $1,000+ givers; Achieve annual budget; Focus on cultivating and stewarding relationships; Grow online giving with targeted communications and enhanced access; Increase cause-marketing, consumer-fueled corporate partnershipsMONEY (long term)Strengthen planned giving outreach; Grow Tomorrow’s Hope Legacy Society; Ensure charity’s investments adhere to investment policy statement approved by the Investment Committee and BoardBRANDIdentify key target audiences and evocative storytelling; Enhance key messaging to always reflect mission first; Align marketing activities with development/fundraising goals; Develop comprehensive, high-impact collateral; Grow digital campaigns based on data; Engage local key influencers in marketing geared toward millennial engagement; Deliver storytelling in traditional and non-traditional mediaPROCESSDevelop organization-wide technology strategy, roadmap, and implementation plan; Add capacity with content expertise in IT; Enact policies related to physical security, cyber security, emergency response, and business continuity; Continue transparency in financial reporting; Adapt to Lean practices, eliminating organizational waste; Identify innovative ways to improve efficiency and processPEOPLE (culture)CEO offers Listening Sessions to all staff; Strengthen the culture of trust and teamwork between staff and volunteers; Annual Gratitude Lunch recognizing all staff anniversaries, with gifts for milestones; Ongoing diversity/inclusion-focused internal messaging; Monthly staff meetings include recognition for staff anniversaries, birthdays, and kudos – as well as notes from RMHC-KC families; Finish buildout and launch group volunteer management platform; Identify new scheduling tool for individual/Core volunteers; Annual volunteer recognition event for connection and thanksPEOPLE (development)Provide regular professional development sessions for staff learning and growth; Update staffing structure to reflect growing organization and guest family needs; Invest in staff education through external opportunities; Ask retention-specific questions during CEO listening sessions, and implement suggestions that are most meaningful to staff; Conduct structured exit interviews for departing staff, and track feedback/data; Enhance volunteer training and opportunities for engagement; Create and implement Core Volunteer recruitment strategy; Increase outreach to corporations regarding volunteerism; Actively engage volunteer groups in the mission; Seek volunteer feedback and track volunteer satisfaction

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City is well positioned to achieve our 2016-2018 strategic goals. We have a variety of resources, tools, process, and connections to help support our strategies, which include:A mission that compels and motivates us, every dayProgrammatic resources from the Global RMHC teamFinancially healthy reservesFiscally sound business practices, with volunteer oversightStrong external partnerships with corporate supportersAlliances with local pediatric health care providers, most notably Children's Mercy HospitalHighly engaged and well-functioning strategic and governing boardBoard committee structure that supports the work of the organizationRobust volunteer support, both long-term and episodicBrand and reputation strengthTop-notch professional staff, at the executive level and throughout the organization, with stable tenureA clear strategic plan and scorecard, to ensure accountability for key goals and deliverables

The Board and leadership staff identified target metrics for each aspect of our strategic plan. The specific measures of success for each strategic goal are listed below, and the Board reviews a scorecard on a quarterly basis. MISSION (programs)Strategic Goal: Enhance the RMHC-KC family experience to ensure an atmosphere of extraordinary, compassionate, and gracious hospitality. 2019 Measures/Targets: Reduce the number of families turned away for the House programs by 15% (measured by quarter); At least 90% of RMHC-KC families indicate that their experience here met or exceeded their expectations; Increase the occupancy rate for the Family Room overnight beds to 95%MISSION (facilities)Strategic Goal: Improve RMHC-KC facilities (buildings & grounds) to be consistently exceptional, beautiful, and functional environments for families and sick children. 2019 Measures/Targets: Build capital improvement plan based on commissioning report and reserve study; Implement project management process; Deliver the capital improvement plan within the budget allocatedMONEY (near term)Strategic Goal: Ensure sufficient financial resources to sustain ongoing operational demands. 2019 Measures/Targets: Achieve 100% of annual revenue budget' Grow $1,000+ givers by 5%; Increase average gift size by 5%; Increase online giving by 10%MONEY (long term)Strategic Goal: Grow our investment portfolio to enable the charity to plan for future programmatic expansion and protect from future market volatility. Measures/Targets: 5 meetings with Planned Giving prospects per quarter; Build a comprehensive and ongoing planned giving communications planBRANDStrategic Goal: Establish RMHC-KC as one of the preeminent charitable brands in Kansas City. 2019 Measures/Targets: Measurable growth of the value of the RMHC-KC brand, based on brand value study data; Engage 10 local influencers around Red Friday, reaching 10,000+ people, and then reengage the same influencers on Giving Tuesday; 4 targeted digital and social campaigns based on data gathered in 2018PROCESSStrategic Goal: Ensure continued excellence in overall charity operations, including business practices and financial integrity. 2019 Measures/Targets: Annual Audit Report is issued with an unmodified ("clean") opinion with no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies noted; 4-star rating from Charity Navigator (watchdog organization); Develop technology strategy and portfolio, including operational initiatives and implementation plan, by 7/31PEOPLE (culture)Strategic Goal: Maintain and support a staff and volunteer culture of excellence, positivity, and going above and beyond for RMHC-KC families and each other. 2019 Measures/Targets: 85% of guest family surveys indicate that they developed a deep/genuine, or mild/friendly, connection with staff/volunteers while at RMHC-KC; 90% of staff participate in Listening Sessions; 90% on employee engagement survey; 72% of essential meal opportunities filled (baseline is 69%)PEOPLE (development)Strategic Goal: Develop, empower, and retain a high-functioning, skilled, and motivated staff and volunteer workforce. 2019 Measures/Targets: 90% retention/loyalty of full time staff with satisfactory performance reviews; Professional development plans are in place for 100% of full time staff that have served with RMHC-KC for more than 1 year; 80% of attendees at volunteer orientation sessions become regular, Core volunteers

As of this writing, we completed the work set out in our 2016-2018 strategic plan. In 2016 80% of our metrics achieved their targets, and in 2017 and 2018, we achieved our targets for 83% of metrics. For those measures of success that were not fully realized, most were just a few percentage points away from their target number. We will continue ensuring adherence to our strategies, fully utilizing our resources, and tracking our status and progress.  While it is important to note that we are on track for achieving our strategies, we are also on track for maintaining the organizational culture that allows us to move forward most effectively. And most importantly, we continue to serve families with seriously ill children, keeping them close to each other, their sick kids, and the medical care they need. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City cannot heal the sick, but we can provide an environment to meet families' needs, while they care for their children. Sometimes the impact of RMHC-KC is best described by the families we serve, so please see below the note we received from a family who stayed with us:  "Dear Donor: We cannot express enough how grateful we are for your kindness and generosity in providing our family with a beautiful, immaculately clean, and welcoming room while our daughter undergoes treatment at Children's Mercy Hospital. Our 10 year old daughter has a painful nerve condition and she was so nervous to come from our home state of Michigan to an unknown big city - once she arrived and saw our wonderful room, she said 'I can live here. . . I can do this now'. Thank you for giving our daughter a sense of security while she undergoes the challenges of the next month. Your generosity not only provides families with a needed place to stay, you provide HOPE which is something that a family with a sick child needs more than anything else. Please know that what you have done here is monumental - you have made the difference in the life of a child - and the lives of so many children who have suffered hardship so early in life. You will make them see the world as full of wonderful people - and, in turn, they will go out and seek to give to others and become future 'difference-makers' themselves. With sincere gratitude, Madeline & her family"