Diabetes Hands Foundation - Strategic Plan 2012-2014

2012-2014

Strategic Plan (abridged version)

Strategic Plan 2012-2014 | Confidential

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Diabetes Hands Foundation believes no one touched by diabetes should ever feel
alone, because together we become stronger and have the power to generate positive
change in ourselves and our community. Diabetes can be a very isolating disease, so
we provide platforms where people with diabetes and their loved ones can connect and
have an open dialog about their experiences with this chronic condition. Instead of
looking at the disease, Diabetes Hands Foundation seeks to understand, connect and
energize the millions of people living with this condition.

In this 3-year strategic plan, Diabetes Hands Foundation reviews all its programs with
their goals, funding structure and future plans. In the three-year period ending
December 2014, priority will be given to DHF’s online communities, the Big Blue Test,
Diabetes Advocates and DHF Seeds. These have been identified as the organization’s
core programs, based on its Strengths and Weaknesses and the potential Opportunities
and Threats it is likely to face in the context of the current environment it operates in.

The plan is built on top of the foundation laid during 2011 as a result of the Capacity
Building grant from Helmsley Charitable Trust. Key strategic organizational priorities will
be centered around three elements:
• Building a strong and sustainable organization: through an expanded and
diversified Board of Directors with no directors as paid staff; and by engaging
and retaining key staff members and consultants in high priority areas.
• Pursuing and growing partnerships: with other groups and sponsors, in English
and Spanish. This includes positioning DHF as a reliable hub for diabetes
advocates to connect and collaborate effectively with each other.
• Developing a comprehensive fundraising program: with an emphasis on major
gifts, tailored to speak to DHF’s primary audiences, and supported by a
comprehensive donor management system.

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www.diabeteshf.org | 1962 University Ave #1, Berkeley, CA 94704 | 650.283.4862 | info@diabeteshf.org


I. About the Diabetes Hands Foundation

The Diabetes Hands Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity that was
formed in 2008 to provide opportunities for people with diabetes to interact with other
people with the same condition, and to improve access for these people to a wide
range of resources and services. Central to its work are several pioneering programs
for people touched by diabetes of all ages and circumstances. DHF provides its
programs to people that speak both English and Spanish. By building vibrant
communities, sharing knowledge, and raising awareness, each of its programs directly
helps real people living with diabetes and their families. Based on the number of unique
visitors to DHF web sites, Diabetes Hands Foundation offers support and information
about diabetes to more than 200,000 people every month.

Vision, Mission, and Values
Vision
A world where people with diabetes and their loved ones:
• Do not feel alone;
• Understand and manage a life with diabetes;
• Work together towards a better future.

Mission
To connect, engage and empower people touched by diabetes.

Values:
• Respect: Diabetes Hands Foundation recognizes that everyone’s journey is
unique, and provides a safe space for people to share diverse points of view.
• Connection: people with diabetes and their loved ones are not alone. When they
connect, they can become extraordinary sources of support of for one another.
• Diversity: the Diabetes Hands Foundation welcomes people of all types with
diabetes and their loved ones. The organization partners with individuals, non-
profit organizations, and companies alike.
• Transparency: DHF is committed to openness and accountability.

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• Personal Empowerment: The Diabetes Hands Foundation helps people to take
ownership of their diabetes in order to improve self-management and to help
each person to be a more effective advocate for themselves and others.

The Diabetes Hands Foundation carries out its work with a deep commitment to
accountability. It holds itself accountable to both governmental entities and to the
public. It seeks to make use of every dollar donated to the Foundation with careful
attention to effectiveness and efficiency.

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II. Programs

Online Communities
The Diabetes Hands Foundation operates two social networks with more than 40,000
registered members in total. TuDiabetes.org (in English) and EsTuDiabetes.org (in
Spanish) connect people touched by diabetes by offering a culturally sensitive
experience to members (people with diabetes as well as their loved ones), helping them
to connect with others. Participants can track, share and compare their diabetes data
and participate in diabetes surveys using the TuAnalyze and EsTuAnálisis applications,
which have been developed in collaboration with Children’s Hospital Boston.

The Big Blue Test
The Big Blue Test is a diabetes awareness program started by DHF to raise awareness
of the importance of exercise for people with diabetes. The program takes place every
November leading up to World Diabetes Day (November 14) and it reinforces the
importance of exercise in managing diabetes by having participants test their blood
sugar, get active, test again, and share the results online at bigbluetest.org. The results
typically show how exercise reduces blood sugar levels for both people with diabetes
and people without diabetes. For each Big Blue Test submitted, a donation to a
diabetes charity has been made to help people with diabetes in need of supplies and/or
education.

In 2012, DHF seeks to get 20,000 participants doing the Big Blue Test. The organization
will also seek to establish Big Blue Test as a brand that helps people make the
connection between testing/exercising/testing again at any point throughout the year.

Diabetes Advocates
Diabetes Advocates is a program that serves as a platform for connecting individuals
and organizations that have taken a leadership role in improving the world for people
touched by diabetes1. Members of the program are individuals and organizations that
have taken a leadership role in improving the world for people touched by diabetes. The

1
DHF is not in charge of the individual advocacy initiatives led by members of Diabetes Advocates

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program empowers leaders to have a bigger impact on the diabetes community by
helping members improve their reach and effectiveness.

In 2012, Diabetes Advocates membership is expected to become further diversified in
terms of types of diabetes, geography, and gender. In order to support the program
growth, dedicated program management and an improved platform for collaboration
will be necessary. Over time, the program will have an increased presence at diabetes
events. Additional benefits to be offered to program members are conference
scholarships, access to DHF Seeds grants and a weekend-long meet-up.

DHF Seeds
DHF Seeds is a fund to foster and support forward-thinking ideas to empower, connect
and inform people touched by diabetes. DHF launched this program in March 2012 to
support creative ideas from members of the diabetes community focused on making a
better life with diabetes possible, by providing them with an outlet and the necessary
resources to help take them to the “next level”. It will incorporate the best practices in
innovation design and strategy in order to maximize the quality and effectiveness of
ideas from the community.

HealthSeeker
Health Seeker is a social game that helps people with diabetes make healthy lifestyle
changes with support from their Facebook friends. The program was launched in June
2010 in English, in November 2010 in Spanish, and companion mobile apps in English
were made available to players in 2011.

Creative Programs
Word in your Hand
Since 2007, this initiative invites people touched by diabetes to contribute photos
showing a word in their hand that describes how they feel about diabetes. In 2012-
2013, Word In Your Hand will continue to expand through support in Latin America and
Spain.

No-Sugar Added Poetry

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This program invites people with diabetes to write and share poetry about their life with
diabetes and the impact that it has on them and their families. In 2010, the Diabetes
Hands Foundation edited, published and distributed an English poetry book, entitled
No-Sugar Added Poetry, compiling some of the poems submitted by members of
TuDiabetes in 2009. A new call for diabetes poems started in April 2012. A second
book, eBook, or app could be developed, contingent on funding.

Diabetes Supplies Art
This program encourages people with diabetes to create art using diabetes supplies,
such as insulin syringes, insulin pump infusion sets, blood sugar test strips, and insulin
vials. The program is especially useful with children, and provides a way for people to
convey feelings and aspirations to others. In 2012, DHF will seek to align this resource
with initiatives such as Diabetes Art Day (an initiative by Diabetes Advocates member,
Lee Ann Thill) that have taken on a life of their own in the diabetes online community.

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III. Strategic Direction

Since 2008, DHF has achieved significant accomplishments through a very lean
organizational structure. The organization is now poised to grow, to better capitalize on
opportunities, to augment and strengthen its capacities, and to better support its
partners. In order to lay a solid foundation for the future, the Diabetes Hands
Foundation has determined that it will pursue the following strategic directions during
the three-year period covered in this plan.

Build a Strong and Sustainable Organization
The Diabetes Hands Foundation will undertake a series of activities to strengthen its
governance, financial performance, and service-delivery performance. The activities
will include improving board governance, adding staff and consultants in key areas, and
building a comprehensive fundraising program.

Pursue and Sustain Partnerships
The Diabetes Hands Foundation will actively pursue and sustain partnerships with other
people and organizations serving the diabetes community. It will work whenever
possible and appropriate with other individuals, nonprofits, as well as with sponsors,
donors, governmental entities, and others to advance its mission. It will also support
the ability of other organizations working with people with diabetes to fulfill their
missions, whenever such involvement does not harm DHF or impede its ability to
pursue its own mission.

Strategic Program Development
The Diabetes Hands Foundation understands that – regardless of how well its revenue
generation activities may go – it will inevitably have more opportunities to pursue its
mission, more demand for its services, and more options for activity than it will be able
to undertake. The time and energy of its staff members, board members, and
volunteers will always be limited. The intention is to allocate time, energy, and finances
primarily in those programs and activities that the board of directors has determined are
most likely to advance the organization’s mission.

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Become the hub of things new and innovative from people who know what
it’s like to live with diabetes around the world.
Diabetes Hands Foundation will continue to invest in primary current programs in
English and Spanish, in priority order, to sustain their visibility and usefulness within the
diabetes community. The organization will keep pace with all development in social
media to maintain relevance for program and marketing strategy purposes.
Partnerships with Helmsley Trust’s initiatives that are aligned with DHF’s vision and
mission, increasing the number of people who visit and become registered members of
the online communities, the Diabetes Advocates program and the number of Big Blue
Test participants remain key in the years ahead, as will ensuring a sufficient number of
fruitful DHF Seeds proposals are received every funding round.

Sponsor and Support Diabetes Awareness Initiatives
Whenever consistent with the mission, with the other strategic directions outlined in this
plan, and with the underlying business requirements of the organization, the Diabetes
Hands Foundation will work to strengthen global understanding of life with diabetes. In
doing so, it will work with individuals, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. DHF will
create and implement educational programs about life with diabetes for those living
with it as well as for the general public. Similarly, it will develop and support programs
and projects (both its own and those developed by others) that are consistent with this
vision.

Develop a Comprehensive Fundraising Program
The program will feature a traditionally structured annual fund program with direct mail
and web-based solicitation opportunities, as well as a larger gift effort. The program will
emphasize major gift cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities designed to
secure larger gifts. As a key part of this activity, DHF will more systematically identify
major gift prospects and more attentively introduce them to the organization and
educate them about its work. The program will not rely on event-based revenue.

Team: Staff and Consultants
In 2012 and 2013, the Diabetes Hands Foundation will explore the addition of several
key staff and consultant positions. The work of most of these positions will be directly

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connected to the initiatives identified in this plan (fundraising, program management). In
every case DHF will not make staff changes until the revenue needed to support that
position or salary change is fully identified and deemed to be sustainable by the board
of directors.

Pursue New Opportunities that are Consistent with the Mission
The Diabetes Hands Foundation will explore ventures that are consistent with its
mission, especially where such ventures and activities show promise to enhance its
current activities, improve its financial situation, or broaden its influence. The
Foundation will pursue such partnerships and activities only when they can be
undertaken in a fiscally sound manner and when they fall generally within the overall
mission of the organization.

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Diabetes Hands Foundation - Strategic Plan 2012-2014

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