Leadership
Founder Decision Gate
Every decision leadership must make before The Institute for Women's Rebuilding moves from architecture to operations. Fourteen decisions across six domains. One approved. Thirteen pending or not yet raised.
Rebuild Her Pilot
D01
Delivery format for the first Rebuild Her cohort
Recommendation
Virtual-first — 90-minute weekly sessions via video, with one optional in-person Triangle gathering midway through the cohort.
Alternatives
- • In-person only (Raleigh venue required)
- • Hybrid with alternating virtual/in-person weeks
- • Fully asynchronous with discussion forum
Operational Effect
Determines facilitator requirements, venue needs, participant geography, and technology infrastructure. Virtual-first enables broader participant access and lower launch complexity.
Details
Owner: Founder
Deadline: Must be decided before application window opens
D02
Pilot start date and application window
Recommendation
Applications open for 21 days. Orientation one week before Session 1. First session no earlier than Q1 2027, with exact date set once facilitator is confirmed.
Alternatives
- • Q4 2026 (aggressive — requires facilitator, forms, and assessment ready within 90 days)
- • Q2 2027 (conservative — allows more infrastructure time)
Operational Effect
Triggers the 90-day board countdown. Determines marketing, recruitment, and facilitator preparation timelines.
Details
Owner: Founder
Deadline: Must be decided before public announcement of pilot
D03
Pilot cohort capacity
Recommendation
12 women — large enough for meaningful cohort dynamics, small enough for facilitator attention and pilot learning.
Alternatives
- • 8 women (more intimate, fewer data points for learning)
- • 16 women (more data, harder to manage as first cohort)
- • 20 women (maximum per pilot specs, risks dilution of experience)
Operational Effect
Determines facilitator-to-participant ratio, selection criteria strictness, and pilot budget. Affects data quality for post-pilot evaluation.
Details
Owner: Founder
Deadline: Must be decided before application review begins
D04
Pilot facilitator
Recommendation
Founder facilitates the first cohort to establish program fidelity. A trained co-facilitator supports and documents for future facilitator training.
Alternatives
- • External facilitator with founder oversight
- • Trained mentor as lead facilitator
- • Co-facilitation by two trained staff
Operational Effect
Affects founder time commitment, program fidelity, facilitator training materials, and scalability of future cohorts.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Must be decided before facilitator training begins
D05
Program fee or sponsored participation for pilot cohort
Recommendation
Pilot cohort fully sponsored — no fee to participants. Funded by donations or a pilot sponsor. Post-pilot, establish a fee structure with scholarship availability.
Alternatives
- • Sliding scale ($50–$250 based on ability to pay)
- • Fixed fee ($150) with scholarships available
- • Free for all cohorts permanently
Operational Effect
Determines budget requirements, sponsor ask, accessibility, and long-term sustainability model. Free pilot removes the barrier for early participants; fee model needs to be tested for sustainability.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Must be decided before application form is published (must state fee or sponsored status)
Mentor Network
D06
Mentor application opening date
Recommendation
Open mentor applications simultaneously with Rebuild Her applications — mentors need screening and training before participants are matched.
Alternatives
- • Open mentor applications 30 days before participant applications
- • Open mentor applications after first cohort completes
- • Continuous rolling applications
Operational Effect
Determines whether trained mentors are available when the first cohort needs them. Mentor pipeline must lead participant pipeline by 6-8 weeks.
Details
Owner: Founder
Deadline: Must be decided before mentor recruitment begins
Volunteer Center
D07
Volunteer application opening date and initial roles
Recommendation
Open volunteer applications 30 days before Rebuild Her pilot begins. Launch with 3 roles: Program Support, Community Outreach, and Event Support.
Alternatives
- • Open all 12 roles at once
- • Open only 1 role (Program Support)
- • Wait until after pilot to recruit volunteers
Operational Effect
Determines volunteer availability for pilot support. Too many roles at once dilutes supervision capacity. Too few leaves gaps.
Details
Owner: Founder / Operations
Deadline: Must be decided before volunteer recruitment begins
Rebuild Circles
D08
First Rebuild Circle dates and format
Recommendation
Launch one virtual Circle and one Triangle in-person Circle, staggered — virtual first (lower complexity), in-person 4 weeks later. Both in Q2 2027.
Alternatives
- • Simultaneous launch of both Circles
- • Virtual only for first year
- • In-person only, Raleigh only
Operational Effect
Virtual-first validates the model with lower logistics overhead. Staggered launch allows learning from virtual pilot before in-person delivery.
Details
Owner: Founder / Program Director
Deadline: Can be decided after Rebuild Her pilot begins
Sponsorship
D09
Sponsor tier amounts and benefits
Recommendation
Publish tier names and benefits. Label all dollar amounts as 'Investment range pending board approval' until approved. Begin outreach with the benefits framework — pricing can be finalized during conversation.
Alternatives
- • Publish full amounts now (risk: unapproved figures become public)
- • Delay all sponsor outreach until amounts approved
- • Use suggested minimums without published tiers
Operational Effect
Sponsor outreach cannot begin without a benefits framework. Specific amounts can be finalized in conversation but the structure must exist.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Benefits framework needed before outreach begins. Specific amounts can follow.
Legal & Compliance
D10
Data collection consent and privacy infrastructure
Recommendation
Engage pro bono legal counsel to review: participant data collection, assessment data storage, mentor/volunteer background check policy, story consent and release forms, and SMS/email consent language on all GHL forms.
Alternatives
- • Use template consent language without legal review
- • Delay data collection until counsel is engaged
- • Rely on GHL default consent fields
Operational Effect
Determines legal risk exposure. Data collection for assessments, stories, and outcomes must have proper consent infrastructure before the first cohort begins.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board / Legal Counsel
Deadline: Before any participant data is collected — ideally before Rebuild Her applications open
Impact & Reporting
D11
Public impact reporting schedule and methodology approval
Recommendation
Quarterly updates on 1,000 Women Rebuilt page. Annual impact report at /impact-reports. All figures labeled by verification status. Methodology published before first public update.
Alternatives
- • Annual only
- • Monthly public updates
- • No public reporting until verified outcomes exist
Operational Effect
Determines public accountability cadence and data collection requirements. Quarterly strikes a balance — frequent enough to show momentum, infrequent enough to have real data.
Details
Owner: Founder / Impact Director
Deadline: Methodology should be finalized before first data collection
Media
D12
Media approval process and spokesperson designation
Recommendation
Founder is primary spokesperson. Media inquiries route through a dedicated form (to be built). Founder reviews and approves all media responses. A media policy document governs approval, preparation, and follow-up.
Alternatives
- • Designate a communications director as spokesperson
- • Board chair handles media
- • No media engagement until programs are running
Operational Effect
Determines who speaks for the institution and how media relationships are managed. A clear process prevents unauthorized statements and ensures consistent messaging.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Before any media outreach or press release distribution
Summit
D13
Summit planning authorization
Recommendation
Authorize planning (venue research, budget modeling, speaker identification) but do not set dates or open registration until at least one program cohort has completed and there is something real to gather around.
Alternatives
- • Set a fixed annual date now (e.g., 'October 2027')
- • Defer all Summit planning until 2028
- • Begin full planning and registration immediately
Operational Effect
Allows venue and budget work to proceed without committing to dates the institution cannot yet back with program outcomes. Prevents a Summit with nothing to report.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Planning can begin now. Date commitment should wait.
Hiring & Operations
D14
First operational hire
Recommendation
Program Director or Operations Director as first hire — the role that carries day-to-day delivery of the Rebuild Her pilot, volunteer coordination, and mentor network operations.
Alternatives
- • Development Director first (fundraising focus)
- • Administrative Assistant first (support focus)
- • No hires — founder and volunteers run everything
Operational Effect
Founder cannot simultaneously facilitate the pilot, manage mentors, coordinate volunteers, conduct partner outreach, handle media, and run operations. The first hire determines which domain gets sustainable attention.
Details
Owner: Founder / Board
Deadline: Before Rebuild Her pilot begins if founder is facilitating
What Happens When These Decisions Are Made
No decision needs to be rushed. But every decision listed here blocks at least one operational pathway. The institution does not need all fourteen decided at once — it needs D01–D05 (Rebuild Her pilot) decided first. The rest can sequence behind the first cohort.