“A major benefit for the Board of PSR/RPS Canada was the expertise of Endeavour in helping with practical strategies that will enable us to provide the best possible services to our members. As a result of the survey, we are now in the process of updating our website to include a membership forum/blog and a membership e-bulletin as a means of keeping in touch. We expect our membership to continue to grow as a result of the implementation of the above noted action plans. We continue to make inroads and look forward to development of chapters in other provinces.” We look forward to the possibility of working with Endeavour in the future and do not hesitate to make a recommendation to other community-based and nonprofit groups.”

Carole Eaton
President/Chairperson, PSR/RPS Canada

“My engagement with Endeavour has helped me to achieve both personally and professionally. I have gained communication, project management and time management skills. Professionally, I’ve learned a lot about the non-profit industry. The consulting approaches that typically work for the for-profit industry do not apply to the non-profit industry because it works very differently. Finally, I believe my team’s work has provided our non-profit client insight and recommendations that would improve the organization as a whole. Because of the positive feedback I received from PSR/RPS Canada, I experienced a sense of accomplishment, knowing the impact I have made.”

Frank Zhang, Consultant Engineering Grad,
OME Group Consultants Inc.

The Endeavour Process

Statement of Work Development— Endeavour was retained by PSR/RPS Canada in Winter 2008 to recommend methods to improve their existing membership retention and revenue generation strategies. Endeavour’s research methods included discussions with the PSR/RPS Canada Board of Directors, a comprehensive survey of existing PSR/RPS Canada members, and secondary research of similar non-profits.

Statement of Work Execution— The Endeavour team reevaluated the current member benefits structure to allow PSR/RPS Canada to better respond to member needs, potentially leading to increased member base and retention. The Endeavour team focused on three key activities; they carefully analyzed data collected from three fiscal years financial statements to identify gaps causing slowdown in revenue growth; investigated activities of PSR/RPS Canada’s peer organizations with a similar mandate to determine alternate service offerings; and developed an online member survey for members of PSR/RPS to capture member needs and reasons for joining.

Statement of Work Deliverables — The Endeavour consultants, along with the guidance of their Endeavour advisor, integrated feedback from the online survey, peer research and other best practices into several recommendations to present to the PSR/RPS Board of Directors. Endeavour recommended a focus on enhanced membership benefits (e.g. more networking opportunities, increased communication with members) with a potential corresponding increase in membership fees, a reduction in operational costs related to delivery of membership benefits, and finally, an exploration of alternative funding opportunities. The Endeavour team developed an action plan and list of priorities for the organization to ensure ease of implementing these sustainable solutions.