Built for organizations that build communities
Is KindTru right for us?
It's a fair question, and I'd much rather you ask it before you buy than after. When I did this work as a consultant, I saw that consultants often charged in the thousands for an organizational assessment alone, and strategic planning could run much higher. Over time I came to believe that the value was never mainly the consultant in the room. It was the structure: good questions asked in a sensible order, honest answers gathered safely, and a clear way to turn them into a decision.
KindTru is my attempt to offer that structure to community-based nonprofits for a one-time $299, and it does two things. It helps you know where you stand: a confidential survey of your board and staff, and a plain-language report that proposes one priority for the next ninety days and the decision your board would make about it. And it helps you decide where you are going: a Planning Check that names the kind of planning you need now, a Planning Room of guides and printable tools, and a half-day retreat your own people run, built from your own results. Board Development and check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days then help keep the work moving through the year.
A good fit
Where I think it fits well
You have a board and some staff to ask
The survey goes to board members, senior staff and program staff, each by name. Board members and senior staff spend about 40 to 55 minutes on it, and program staff about 7 (a calculation from the number of questions each role is asked, not a stopwatch reading). The more people who answer, the more the report can safely say.
You're steady enough to look up
Not calm, necessarily (few nonprofits ever are), but not in the middle of an emergency. The work asks for a season of attention: the survey, a board conversation, and ninety days on one priority.
Your board is ready to decide one thing
The report proposes and your board decides, whether that is to adopt the priority, change it, defer it or decline it. A one-hour meeting guide and the Facilitation Kit help you hold that conversation yourselves.
You'd rather run it yourselves
The planning half is built for your own people to run: the Planning Check, the Planning Room's guides and printable tools, and the Strategic Planning Kit's half-day retreat. You keep everything, and nobody has to come back next year for you to use it.
Not yet, or not us
When I'd suggest something else
You're in a crisis right now
If payroll is in doubt this month, a leader has left without warning, or something is unfolding in public, you need help this week, and a survey and a ninety-day plan will arrive too slowly. I'd call a trusted advisor first, or your state nonprofit association, or an attorney or accountant who knows nonprofits. KindTru will still be here when the ground is steadier.
You need a skilled person in the room
A merger conversation, a leadership transition, or a board and executive director who disagree deeply about direction: when the dynamics in the room are the problem, a good facilitator who can read the room and adapt as it goes is worth paying for. No tool replaces that, and I would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
There aren't yet enough people to ask
KindTru writes no report until at least three people have answered, and it only says that views differ once five or more have. If your organization is a founder and one or two helpers, with no board in place yet, I'd start with the free tools below and come back when there are more voices to hear. (Even with enough people, a very small organization should know that a determined reader can sometimes narrow down who said what. KindTru can protect the data, but not the conversation afterwards.)
You need proof that your programs work
KindTru asks your own people how the organization is working. That is valuable, and it is not an evaluation of your programs' results. If a funder needs outcome evidence, that is a different piece of work.
See it before you decide
The sample report is a complete report for a made-up organization, so you can read exactly what your board would. Pricing sets out everything included for the one price, with no subscription.
Not sure yet? The free Planning Check takes about five minutes, and the free guide walks through the key categories of organizational health. Whatever you decide, I hope your organization finds the right kind of help for the season it's in.
Questions? hello@kindtru.org