June 2008– The Denver Zoological Foundation has hired Schultz & Williams (S&W) to develop a ten-year strategic business plan for the Denver Zoo that will guide and position the Zoo to fulfill its mission and vision.

Over the next six months, Schultz & Williams will conduct and facilitate a strategic planning process for the Denver Zoo, which will guide the development and implementation of key planning activities such as business strategies, audience development, Board leadership/governance, funding opportunities and programs. In addition, S&W will work in partnership with CLRdesign, the Philadelphia based architecture, landscape architecture and exhibit design firm to develop the Zoo’s facility concept plan. S&W will participate in key facility planning activities with CLR to ensure these are fully integrated into the final and comprehensive strategic plan for the Zoo.

S&W is taking a three-step approach to developing the strategic business plan, which includes a current assessment and evaluation of the Zoo, its mission, and Board of Trustees to establish and document benchmarks. The second step is designed to identify opportunities and priorities and to establish strategic goals. The third phase utilizes information from the first two steps, as well as key findings identified in the facility concept plan, to develop strategic "plans of action" for each of the identified goals and objectives. Denver Zoo’s final document will include a detailed strategic financial plan, including strategies to further leverage the Zoo’s marketing, fundraising and organizational/leadership plans.

"With a broad source of funding from the community and new leadership, Denver Zoo is poised to remain as one of the leading zoological institutions in the country. The strategic planning process will identify a new institutional ‘roadmap’ that will allow the Zoo to fulfill the community’s expectations through realistic and achievable plans of action that will leverage resources from all its stakeholders: visitors, members, the Board, staff and the community at large," said Rick Biddle, Vice President of Strategic Planning for Schultz & Williams.

Founded in 1987, Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today S&W works with nonprofits throughout the United States and continues to exemplify its legacy as one of the first firms in the country to combine the principles of development, management and marketing into our consulting services—an approach that proves successful for nearly every client challenge.