Success Through Collaboration: Hope for Tomorrow & DECK

SUCCESS THROUGH COLLABORATION: HOPE FOR TOMORROW & DECK

This post is part of our ongoing series on how our members are finding success through collaboration here at the Cooperative Venture Workspace. To find out more on how you can join the community, drop us a note at membership@coveworkspace.com.

Jim Broom heads up the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation, established to build and raise money for the new St. Patrick Academy set to open on Banfield Road in Portsmouth (St. Patrick Academy replaces the St. Patrick School on Austin Street in Portsmouth, which was in operation for almost 150 years). Mike Teixeira is the founder of DECK, a company that makes presentations more compelling.

Their proximity to each other at the Cooperative Venture Workspace at 36 Maplewood Avenue in downtown Portsmouth, NH, has created a professional collaboration that is helping Jim and his organization tune their message and tell their story as their project nears completion.

“We work with the client to identify who the audience is, what they expect from a presentation, what their goals are in the meeting, and what they want the audience to do after the meeting is over,” said Mike. “Once we understand that we can help an organization like St. Patrick’s tell their story in their words in a targeted, cohesive way. We also do a fair amount of work in using visuals to capture the heart and soul of an organization.”

“Our legacy was long and complicated,” said Jim. “Mike helped us break it down and create a clean presentation of our story that covers our history, present and future.”

The effort was not only toward a visual message but a spoken one too. “Speaking in front of an audience can be intimidating,” said Mike. “So, we worked with the executive team to help them practice and tweak mannerisms to relay the strong leaders they truly are.”

The DECK approach strengthened the story St. Patrick’s is trying to tell to volunteers, donors, and students.

“With a simplified and coherent narrative, we were then able to more effectively communicate and engage the organization more strategically,” said Jim.

The Workspace became the facilitator of the effort, offering the means by which Jim and Mike could effectively collaborate with each other. “The whole environment is just so easy to collaborate in,” mentions Mike. “If we need a conference room it’s there. If we want to casually grab coffee and chat, we can do that. If we need privacy we can jump into a breakout room or office. (In addition), the mix of members help inspire me almost everyday and makes me feel like I have partners available for help or advice.”

Jim agreed: “The Workspace was very conducive in facilitating this process. Conference rooms, cafe area, presentation screens — we used the space for small group meetings and large group presentations. The space helped take us from the creative stage to the finished product in presenting the 150-year history of St. Pats with vision for the next 150 years.”

St. Patrick’s registered enrollment has already increased 40 percent as it opens for the new academic year this fall for prekindergarten to Grade 8 students.