CLIENT STORY: YMCA OF THE NORTHERN SKY

From Growing Pains to Growing Together: How Strategic Planning Aligned Merging YMCAs

Many organizations reach that critical moment when growth creates both opportunity and its fair share of challenges. For the YMCA of the Northern Sky, that moment came when the YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties merged with the Fergus Falls YMCA. The merger promised expanded reach but also meant they had to do the tough job aligning two distinct cultures, governance structures, and visions under a single mission. At stake was more than operational efficiency. It was about honoring their commitment to serve their communities while uniting staff, board members, and neighbors as one.

Steve Smith, CEO of the YMCA of the Northern Sky, recognized that navigating this transition required more than a consultant—it required a trusted partner who understood YMCA culture and could guide them with expertise and empathy. Enter DBD Group and Senior Consultant Richard Clegg, who brought extensive experience, specifically in large YMCA strategic planning.

Together, Richard partnered with Steve’s team to embark on an eight-month journey of governance restructuring and strategic planning that unified the newly merged organizations and positioned them for growth.

In this case study, see how a trusted partnership and a great strategy can help merging teams and structures move together as one.

The Client: YMCA of the Northern Sky

The YMCA of the Northern Sky serves Fargo, North Dakota; Moorhead, Minnesota; Fergus Falls, Minnesota; and soon Bemidji, Minnesota. With a history dating back to 1886—predating North Dakota's statehood—this YMCA has been part of the region for nearly 140 years. Today, the organization operates multiple facilities, owns a resident camp established in 1904, and has grown from a $5 million organization in 2005 to nearly $30 million today.

Background: Why Their Work Matters

What makes this Y particularly unique is its extraordinary commitment to childcare. With 2,000 children in childcare programming every single day, the YMCA of the Northern Sky is one of the largest childcare providers in the country relative to its community size, serving a region of approximately 250,000 people.

One thing we appreciate about their work is their commitment to accessibility. For example, 35% of children in their childcare programs receive financial assistance, 30% of campers attend for free (with special emphasis on foster children), and 25% of members receive financial assistance. The organization also serves 93,000 meals annually to children in rural communities through its summer programs.

When Steve describes the organization's recent giving tree project, the impact becomes tangible: 1,400 children had their names placed on trees in the Y lobbies, and through partnerships with members, businesses, and churches, every single child received gifts. “All made possible by our membership, our community, and making sure that the Y is here for all," Steve shares.

The Challenge: The Tension of Merging Cultures & Strategies

Following the merger, Steve realized they had two distinct cultures operating under one name. The Fargo team had a "get it done" mentality with tremendous operational momentum. And the Fergus Falls team had a family-oriented culture that knew how to have fun and foster a sense of belonging. Both brought unique value, but Steve recognized that the different approaches could create tension and potentially stall momentum. "We want a culture of one," Steve explains. "We didn't want a culture of ‘us and them.’"

Compounding this challenge was their organizational structure. On the governance side, they had 10 different committees (a common nonprofit situation in which a new initiative spawns a new committee), while simultaneously merging two foundations into one as well.

Steve wanted to reset strategic direction without getting bogged down in the logistics and minute details. He knew he needed to be thinking about the future while keeping day-to-day leadership moving. That’s where DBD Group came in. "I've done a ton of strategic plans in my career, and I could lead a process, but sometimes you need that person who is 60 miles away that can come on in and speak truth," Steve reflects. "And Richard [DBD Group’s Senior Consultant] could do that in a way that moved the process forward."

The Goal: Alignment, Clarity & Unified Growth

The YMCA of the Northern Sky needed three things:

Unite as one organization around a shared vision and strategic priorities that would help them move forward together rather than as separate entities competing for resources.
Streamline governance from ten committees to a lean, strategic structure that would keep the board focused on direction-setting rather than operational details.
Embrace ambitious growth thinking that would match their budget increase over 20 years. It was time to stop thinking like a small Y and start dreaming bigger.

"If we've gone from being a $5 million organization to being nearly a $30 million organization, and we're still doing the small Y plan, maybe there's something we should be dreaming about that's a little bit bigger," Steve says. "We had to think differently about our next strategic set of goals."

From DBD Group's perspective, Richard Clegg recognized additional opportunities even before they articulated them. Steve and his team needed help not just documenting a plan, but fundamentally reframing how they thought about and communicated their work, shifting language from program-specific goals to mission-driven outcomes that would engage the entire organization rather than siloing departments.

The Partnership: Co-Creating the Path Forward

DBD Group proposed a collaborative partnership where Richard Clegg would work alongside Steve and his leadership team, bringing decades of generational experience while honoring the organization's unique context and culture.

The process unfolded in two interconnected streams:

Board Governance Restructuring: Richard helped the organization rethink its entire governance model, moving from ten committees to six streamlined committees with clear roles and strategic focus. This included restructuring the executive committee so that every member chairs a committee, and creating intentional leadership development pathways in which vice presidents rotate through operational and fundraising roles to build well-rounded board leadership.
Comprehensive Strategic Planning: Rather than a typical consultant-driven assessment, Richard facilitated conversations with board members, staff, and community stakeholders to co-create the organization's strategic direction. He brought strategic questions that pushed people to discover their own answers rather than simply following what other Ys were doing.

Balancing competing perspectives was valuable to Richard's role. For instance, staff tend to emphasize what needs work rather than what's possible, while boards tend to dream bigger but sometimes lose touch with operational reality. Richard held space for both, guiding the organization toward ambitious but achievable goals.

The Process: Language, Leadership & Living Documents

The eight-month journey was marked by one valuable insight: the words you use to describe your work shape who feels ownership.

During the strategic planning process, Richard flagged something that seemed small but proved to be a key factor in shaping the path forward. The previous plan stated they would "strengthen our childcare program." But Richard challenged them to reframe it to, "Work on youth development through childcare."

Steve initially pushed back, but then he saw the power of the shift. He soon realized that the original framing isolated half the organization—childcare was its own silo. But when you reframe the language toward overall youth development, you create more crossover. They got to thinking, What if everyone on the team had the mindset to think about their role in the context of advancing youth development, whether or not they work in the childcare department?

"I think it was around the wording of how we went about this that was the biggest lift for the organization moving forward," Steve reflects. This became the template for the entire plan. How do you talk about your work in a way that invites the whole organization to participate rather than siloing departments?

The organization also made space in its new board structure. By early September, the board approved the strategic plan in what Steve describes as "one of the most succinct processes of strategic planning that I've been through!"

Once the process was complete, it was important to Steve that the plan didn't sit on a shelf. Richard was sure to connect strategic priorities directly to board committee responsibilities, ensuring accountability for implementation. Within months, the VP team held a retreat to discuss progress and address gaps. "Keep it a live document, keep it in front of you, keep it working," Steve emphasizes.

The Impact: An Organization Aligned and Moving Forward

The results extend far beyond a plan document. Here are just some of the highlights.

United Culture: The merged organization now operates with a genuine "culture of one" rather than an "us versus them" mentality. Different Y’s learned from each other. The Fargo location brought execution excellence and Fergus Falls brought joy and connection. Both qualities now characterize the entire organization.
Strategic Governance: Six focused committees replace ten sprawling ones. Every executive committee member chairs a committee, creating clear ownership and accountability. Vice presidents rotate through operations and fundraising roles, building versatile leaders.
Transformational Vision: The strategic plan shifted from tactical (i.e. remodel the locker room) to transformational (expand mental well-being support, develop deeper community partnerships, grow youth development across programs). The organization now has space to dream bigger while staying grounded in operations.
Capital Momentum: With strategic clarity, the organization has launched ambitious initiatives, including raising $22 million for a new facility in Bemidji, Minnesota (a groundbreaking project for 2026), and expanding camp capacity from 1,100 to 2,000 kids annually. They also received a donation of a six-floor office building to consolidate administration. Their eyes are set on growth to serve the greater community!
Freed-Up Leadership: Most practically, Steve regained bandwidth. "About five weeks into the strategic planning process, I thought, ‘This is the best money I've ever spent.’ The amount of work that is going on that's beside me that I do not have to lead right now is absolutely huge." Richard held the process while Steve managed operations.
Enhanced Mental-Wellbeing Focus: The strategic plan's emphasis on mental well-being is already driving new initiatives, including pursuing grants for mental health first aid training for staff.

Continued Partnership: The success led to ongoing collaboration. In addition to the strategic planning process, DBD Group recently completed a fundraising evaluation and is now conducting a feasibility study.

Key Learnings & Discoveries

There is much to learn from the partnership between DBD Group and the YMCA of Northern Sky, especially for organizations who want to be strategic about expanding their reach without losing their foundation and momentum.

External expertise brings objectivity that internal leaders cannot provide. Steve could lead strategic planning—he'd done it many times. But sometimes you need that person who can bring an outside perspective and expertise. An external consultant can ask challenging questions, push back on assumptions, and guide boards to discover their own answers in ways internal leaders cannot.
Language matters. How you frame strategic priorities shapes who feels responsible and whether you create silos or integration. Reframing "strengthen childcare" to "strengthen youth development through childcare" transformed organizational engagement across departments.
Keep your plan alive. The biggest strategic planning mistake is creating a document, celebrating the retreat, then filing it away. It’s important to integrate it into the board structure, reference it in every meeting, and adjust as you learn.
Co-creation builds ownership. When board members, staff, and community leaders actively participate in creating the strategy rather than passively receiving recommendations, they develop a deeper commitment to implementation.
Growing from a small organization to a large one requires different strategic thinking. Small nonprofits often create tactical or operational strategic plans because they have limited capacity. But as organizations grow, they must shift to more transformational thinking.
Mergers require intentional culture work. Mergers fail not because of finances or operations, but because cultures clash and "us versus them" takes hold. Intentional strategic planning that honors both cultures while building a unified vision is essential.

Conclusion: Why Organizations Choose DBD Group

The relationship between the YMCA of the Northern Sky and DBD Group represents what's possible when a nonprofit chooses partnership over going it alone. Steve Smith and his team didn't need someone to tell them what to do—they needed a trusted thought partner who could bring objectivity, expertise, and strategic facilitation to help them discover their own best path forward.

Richard Clegg provided exactly that: a collaborative process rooted in decades of experience, strategic wisdom, and genuine care for the organization's mission and people. The result wasn't just a strategic plan—it was organizational transformation, cultural unity, governance clarity, and renewed momentum.

"I would say, number one, it is well worth the money," Steve shares without hesitation. "The best money I've ever spent.”

The partnership continues to evolve. Following the strategic planning success, the YMCA of the Northern Sky has engaged DBD Group for fundraising evaluation, feasibility studies, and ongoing support for mission advancement. "We are always looking for new ways to use DBD Group," Steve notes.

For us at DBD Group, working with clients like the YMCA of the Northern Sky—organizations deeply committed to serving their communities, especially the most vulnerable—represents why we do this work. For more than 20 years, we’ve been honored to have partnered with hundreds of nonprofits and YMCAs to navigate pivotal moments of growth, change, and transformation. Each partnership is unique, collaborative, and designed to empower organizations to lead with confidence.

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Is your organization navigating a growth transition or in need of strategic clarity? The path forward becomes clearer with a trusted partner who cares about your mission. Our team would love the opportunity to meet you and learn about your goals.