Our Approach
We strive to be the best and make impact work.
Making a bigger and better impact just simply starts feeling essential.
Strategy
We’ll work with your senior team, and help access advisors and leaders as part of strategy development and articulation. It's about determining the best strategic process that is tailored to envision, build agreement and commitment to the strategy and direction, designed to build buy in and participation. Strategic planning and objective setting for your organization or group along with setting initiatives and actions to help meet strategic goals.
Evaluation
Evaluation for us is as significant as formulation and action. Once the strategy has been deployed, the effectiveness of all that planning and measures of success that were identified as appropriate to the strategic value need to be examined and shared. The process of setting front end performance measures and analyzing activities and variances along the way - or for next time - is a fundamental that can't be glossed over. It's about getting better, and better and better, or saying, no go, that didn't work and here's what we can do next time.
6 Reasons To Work Together
Clients = Partner Allies
Client isn’t a four letter word, but we don’t encourage the use of it. Instead, we've opted to shift the connection to that of an ally. From that lens, we're uniting to create something exceptional and uniquely associated with our ``client`` partner allies and alliances.
Your Audience Is The Superstar
We eat, breath and sleep what engages and influences your current and future customer or stakeholder to act. We tailor the message and approach to meet each audience's desires, needs and values. We're talking about the general public, businesses, associations, decision-makers, funders, donors, policy makers, media, patients, health care professionals, boards and committee members, current and potential partners.
We Don’t Steal Your Watch To Tell You The Time.
You’ve heard of the group of people who get paid to address what’s wrong and how to improve with lots of promises, little delivery and frankly wasting a lot of valuable time, energy and money? Well, those aren’t our people and that's not our community.
Let’s Make It Happen Is Us
Being a catalyst and driver or gaining what’s needed to have the courage to act sure doesn’t sound to us like bungee jumping in the Amazon. Try telling Sara about something you want to do but don’t think is possible. Now, that's just brain candy. Ignite the engines and hang on! Love it!
Awesome On Its Own is Dull
Would you agree that this word just doesn’t always cut it and that it’s so overused it isn't awesome anymore? How about bringing to the table something like thriven and thro; jam-up; deevy, fizzing; boss; or, supernacular instead? Over the top? Yes. But, maybe instead something like uber, impressive, outstanding, or really fun might also mean something to you? How magnificent.
We will….
Be passionately committed and loyal… provide insights and connections between ideas and opportunities… bring unique experiences and creativity alongside of practical contributions…provide straight up honest talk that’s elegantly delivered…provide exceptional service and on-going attention, think about your business whether on a project file or not at the time.
We engineer and design impact by constructing and building awareness, visibility, engagement, influence, action and reputation.
The Rafuse Group
Essential Insights, Connections & Capabilities
Don’t let the lack of a floor of employees fool you or wonder why we don’t charge the big consulting firm and agency fees. With a Principal Impact Director at the helm, you are always assured of one point of contact with Sara’s attention and involvement on all aspects of the work. Whether it’s from our Essential Impact Services offer or aligning with Sara in either an Impact Lead Service role, Virtual Impact Service or both, you not only get value, efficiencies and effectiveness, but, you will also get in all scenarios, a real and influential force of impact. Sara provides clients with essential insights, connections and capabilities to get the right things done, the right people and organizations involved, and drives what is needed to make it happen.
Sara Rafuse, BA, MBA, CPF
Principal Impact Director
Sara Rafuse is a Senior Strategist and an International Association of Facilitators Certified™ Professional Facilitator that works with profit and non-profit organizations, cross sector and cross industry with executive and leadership teams, staff and all levels and their stakeholders and the public. Sara brings over 20 years of developing and connecting strategy, creativity and business objectives, marketing communications and engagement work to build or enhance a brand in the public and private healthcare and life sciences innovation fields, not-for-profit organizations and associations. She is an inspired and highly conceptual thinker that is able to see the big picture and all the painted elements at the same time. People describe Sara as bringing a pragmatic approach, creativity alongside direction, initiative without losing oversight, and a driver type make it happen mindset that’s at all time focused on results.
Her areas of expertise include leadership and active roles in building the value of innovative technologies, consulting, strategic marketing and communications, advocacy, facilitation, stakeholder engagement and consultation, project and initiative oversight and building the voice and presence of not-for-profit and charity supporters, members and sponsors. Sara has extensive experience working with executives and senior organizational and community leaders, departments and teams, boards, associations, committees, advisory groups, volunteers, donors and task forces. She oftentimes take on the role as a dedicated advisor and acts in that capacity with individuals and teams. She is the main contributor and primary contact for clients. It makes working together understandably easy. The Rafuse Group was founded 2008.
Plus…
Who else helps Sara architect impact with client partner allies and alliances? The Rafuse Group works with specialized experts and generalists who are brought into an engagement when fitting. We have proven working relationships and source expertise if we do not have someone in our go-to work roster that can help. Our associates are skilled representatives for our work and reflect our brand values.
Experts help Sara in delivering strategy and implementation requirements, creative design, advertising and promotions, specialist writers (e.g. policy, business, public facing), administrative support and coordination as well as the technical smarty’s (e.g. website related and digital). On a regular basis, an incredibly talented – and really valued – graphic designer, Kristin Grimshaw Rankin, along with a marketing communications assistant and project coordinator is on-board as part of a core team.