Strategic Planning Consultant
Strategic Planning Consultant
About Thrive Regional Partnership
Thrive Regional Partnership (Thrive) is an independent nonprofit organization that inspires responsible growth across the greater Chattanooga, tri-state region through conversation, connection and collaboration. An unprecedented, collaborative, multi-state organization, Thrive unites people across 16 counties and three states to preserve community and natural character for generations to come.
Our Core Values
Stewardship: Stewardship drives our organization. We are trusted stewards of time, financial and human resources, and the region’s natural and cultural resources.
Relationship-Building: The people of this region are at the core of our work. We recognize that progress moves at the speed of trust, and trust is built when collaborative solutions are designed around the voices of the people we serve. We prioritize relationship-building and listening to the voices of our region as a critical foundation of our work.
Inclusiveness: We include, embrace and honor the cross-cultural diversity of our region and continually work to foster an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences throughout our entire 16-county region.
Results-Oriented: Our focus is on achieving measurable outcomes based on clear, strategic goals that align with our mission and purpose, rather than the appearance of results.
Quality: The quality of our work reflects the quality of our organization and the region’s aspirations.
Knowledge-Driven: Our work product encompasses the strength in which we build knowledge. We invest in the knowledge growth of our staff, volunteers and general public of the tri-state region.
Background
Thrive Regional Partnership is an independent nonprofit corporation that inspires responsible growth through conversation, connection, and collaboration across the tri-state greater Chattanooga region.
Thrive unites people across the region to build a prosperous future, while preserving its community and natural character for generations to come. The Thrive Region includes 16 counties and 77 incorporated municipalities across southeast Tennessee, northwest Georgia, and northeast Alabama.
For the past 9 years, Thrive has been building its mission and reputation as a trusted, reliable and resourceful standalone entity established to listen, respond and equip the region to make the most of its economic opportunities while preserving what is most loved and cherished about its home communities and the natural world that surrounds and sustains it.
Prior to that, in 2012 and known previously as Thrive 2055, the leaders of this region invited thousands of citizens across multiple sectors, communities, and backgrounds to take ownership of their future by working together to identify, address, and build solutions for shared growth challenges. This collaborative, intensely engaged work produced a regional action plan and the most pressing priorities that still stand firm today, and the organization that sustains the strategic action plan.
In December of 2016, Thrive Regional Partnership, Inc. (Thrive), was formally established as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to sustain the vision and help implement the 40-year action plan set forth during Thrive 2055. Now entering its 10th year of independent incorporation, Thrive’s mission and reputation across the tri-state stands strong.
Today, this standalone entity is governed by an independent board of trustees (29 individuals), representing the entirety of the tri-state region. Thrive is staffed with ten full-time positions, including operational, programmatic, analytic and communication and outreach roles. Thrive’s funding model includes a diversified portfolio of local and federal government entities, local businesses and industry, private philanthropic individuals and foundations, as well as chambers of commerce, non-profit organizations and individuals from throughout the tri-state. Thrive does not operate under a membership model.
Having completed an organizational assessment in 2025 of momentum built by Thrive over the past 10 years since its initial launch, we now seek a structured, forward-looking plan to maximize our impact, strengthen internal capacity, and respond to emerging challenges in funding sustainability, policy positions, and adequately addressing regional growth pressure needs. This three-year strategic plan is needed to explore Thrive’s work with a holistic approach, and explore opportunities for cross-collaboration and deepen organizational sustainability and stability toward inspiring responsible growth.
Purpose
The purpose of this RFP is to identify and engage a consultant/consulting team with expertise in nonprofit strategic planning to lead Thrive Regional Partnership through a collaborative process that:
- Builds on our 10-year 2025 organizational assessment.
- Aligns organizational priorities with sustainable growth and emerging trends.
- Incorporates measurable goals and stretch outcomes.
- Strengthens internal structures to support external change.
- Produces a clear, phased roadmap to guide the organization through 2029, with a finalized long-term plan beginning in 2027.
Scope of Work
The selected consultant will be expected to:
- Assess Current Organizational Landscape
- Review previous strategic plan, current work plan, prior and existing programs, including Thrive’s 5-year Appalachian Regional Commission ARISE project, “Thrive Regional Resource Hub.”
- Identify external threats (funding sustainability, land-use changes, tri-state complexities, and competing efforts).
- Assess internal capacity, governance, leadership, and operations
- Facilitate Stakeholder Engagement
- Engage board, staff, volunteers, and external partners through interviews, surveys, and other feedback methods.
- Use this input to build consensus around Organizational Priorities – programmatic, financial, governance.
- Develop Strategic Plan
- Define measurable goals and strategies under the three categories.
- Integrate both sustainability priorities and bold, stretch goals.
- Provide tools for implementation (dashboards, evaluation measures, accountability structures).
- Support Implementation Readiness
- Facilitate at least one joint board/staff workshop.
- Recommend governance and operational alignment strategies.
- Deliver a clear roadmap with indicators for success.
Deliverables
- Final 3 year strategic plan (2027–2029).
- Executive summary for board and external partners.
- Implementation roadmap for board and staff, with measurable indicators.
- Recommendations for sustaining organizational capacity beyond the life of existing grants.
Proposal Requirements
Interested consultants should submit proposals that include:
- Cover letter with summary of interest and qualifications.
- Approach and methodology for strategic planning.
- Proposed timeline and work plan.
- Budget, including fees and anticipated expenses.
- Examples of similar projects and references from at least three nonprofit clients.
- Bios of consultant(s) who will lead the project.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated on:
- Demonstrated experience in nonprofit strategic planning.
- Ability to integrate community input and organizational data.
- Quality and feasibility of proposed methodology.
- Evidence of successful facilitation with diverse stakeholders.
- Cost-effectiveness and overall value.
Timeline
- RFP Release Date: February 10, 2026
- Proposals Due: March 10, 2026
- Selection/Interviews: March and April
- Consultant Selected: April 17, 2026
- Project Start: June 2026
- Strategic Plan Completed: December 2026
Submission Process
Proposals should be submitted electronically in PDF format to:
Bridgett Massengill, President & CEO
Thrive Regional Partnership
bmassengill@thriveregion.org
For questions, please contact Haley Horne, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, at hhorne@thriveregion.org, or by phone at (423) 541-3888.
About Thrive
Thrive Regional Partnership inspires responsible growth through conversation, connection, and collaboration across northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia, and southeast Tennessee.
Stewardship
Just as we steward the region’s natural and cultural resources, we are trusted stewards of Thrive’s time, financial and human resources.
Relationship-Building
Progress moves at the speed of trust, and trust is built when collaborative solutions are designed around the voices of the people we serve. We prioritize relationship-building and listening to the voices of our region as a critical foundation of our work.
Inclusiveness
We include, embrace and honor the cross-cultural diversity of our region and continually work to foster an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences throughout our entire 16-county region.
Results-Oriented
Our focus is on achieving measurable outcomes based on clear, strategic goals that align with our mission and purpose, rather than the appearance of results.
Quality
The quality of our work reflects the quality of our organization and the region’s aspirations.
Knowledge-Driven
We grow our knowledge to grow our work. We invest in the knowledge growth of our staff, volunteers, and general public of the tri-state region.
Not Sure You're The Right Fit?
We are always accepting resumes from interested candidates. If that’s you, please share your resume and brief letter of interest to info@thriveregion.org.