The Challenge
As an organization serving thousands of higher education attorneys across the United States, NACUA offers a broad mix of programs, publications and services. While its portfolio was strong, NACUA wanted to better understand which offerings were delivering the most value, where there might be overlap or opportunities for refinement, and how to best align resources to sustain long-term impact. In particular, the leadership team sought greater clarity around how programs supported NACUA’s mission and how they could apply data more systematically to guide decision-making.
The Solution
McKinley partnered with NACUA to conduct a holistic, organization-wide portfolio analysis that combined quantitative data, stakeholder perspectives and strategic interpretation. The engagement included interviews, surveys and analysis of data NACUA had gathered for other purposes. Through this process, NACUA gained a unified view of its programs’ financial, strategic and member value dimensions. McKinley facilitated working sessions with NACUA’s leadership to interpret the findings, explore opportunities and align on actionable next steps — all designed to help the organization make confident, data-informed decisions about where to invest, refine or sunset.
Program Structure
The project unfolded through several key phases:
- Immersion and readiness assessment: Establishing a shared understanding of NACUA’s goals, data and decision-making culture.
- Framework design: Building a customized structure for evaluating programs across mission alignment, member value, financial performance and risk.
- Stakeholder engagement: Conducting surveys, interviews and task force discussions to gather perspectives and test early insights.
- Synthesis and visualization: Delivering dashboards and tools that allowed NACUA’s leadership and Board to easily interpret portfolio performance and scenarios for the future.
*This structure empowered NACUA’s leadership to engage deeply with the data, linking insights to organizational priorities in real time.
Outcomes
Through the analysis, NACUA achieved greater clarity and consensus around how its programs contribute to its mission and member experience. The organization now has tools and frameworks to guide ongoing portfolio decisions and discussions with its Board. The engagement also strengthened collaboration between staff and volunteer leaders, fostering a shared understanding of value and impact across NACUA’s offerings. The result: a stronger foundation for strategic investment and growth.
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A portfolio analysis helps associations move from intuition to insight to action. It's about ensuring every investment advances your mission and delivers measurable value.
Whether your organization needs a clear starting point, a structured framework or a comprehensive view of performance, McKinley’s Portfolio Analysis can help you make confident, transparent decisions that drive impact and sustainability.
