Options Pregnancy Centre: Too Many Options?

In December 2021, the director of Options Pregnancy Centre (Options) was challenged with determining how to expand the services offered by the organization in its Montreal, Quebec, community, as the need to support women who planned to carry their pregnancies and pursue parenting was becoming more acute. Options already offered counselling, grief and loss support, and a variety of parenting programs; it also facilitated required medical services and provided opportunities for pregnant teens to live with host families on either short- or long-term bases. The organization occasionally had opportunities to develop its own residential program. Doing so would mean shifting its strategy from providing services on a non-residential basis to having its own residential program. Should Options expand its current non-residential programs? Should it more actively recruit families who were willing to take pregnant teenagers into their homes for short periods of time? Should it take the bold step of making an offer on a residential building that was currently available? The director recognized that it would be necessary to carefully prioritize Options’ programming to ensure that it could secure the resources it needed to run effective programs.

This case would be appropriate for use in a module on strategy or change in a non-profit management course or a module on resource analysis in a strategic management course. <br><br>After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify issues and opportunities related to a shift in strategy.</li><li>Prepare a theory of change and a logic model.</li><li>Analyze the resources required for such a strategic shift.</li><li>Evaluate program needs and assess risks.</li><li>Consider the role of ongoing sustainability in funding and service provision.</li></ul>

• non-profit
• strategy
• sustainable funding
• social services