Ascendant Strategy Management Group is pleased to announce its first annual Excellence in Mission-Driven Management Grant Competition. This competition will award a $2000 grant to the organization that best demonstrates how they utilized strategy & performance management principles to overcome a challenge and achieve their mission.

"Since our founding in 2008, we have been working to help social and public sector organizations execute their missions," said Ted Jackson, Ascendant Managing Partner. "With this grant challenge, we hope to reward one such organization for executing its mission and achieving breakthrough results."

Any nonprofit or charitable organization wishing to apply for the grant must submit a video or podcast of no more than three minutes, or an abstract of no more than 1,500 words, describing strategic challenges the organization has faced and how these challenges were overcome with effective strategic planning, communication, and performance management.

Ascendant is most interested in:

• What is your organization's vision/mission?
• What challenges or barriers to success were you facing?
• Did you use any strategic planning or performance improvement models or methodologies to overcome the challenge(s)?
• How did you communicate the plan to your staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders?
• Did you use any tools or software to help manage the process?
• Ultimately, did you achieve breakthrough results?
• And if so, what was the secret of your success?

Ascendant principals will review all submissions and announce the winner who best demonstrates their ability to overcome challenges by executing their strategy using performance management techniques. The winner will receive a $2,000 grant from Ascendant during the 2012 Mission-Driven Management Summit March 6-8, 2012, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2012. Please submit your entries to: mcutler(at)ascendantsmg(dot)com.

By submitting a contest entry, challenge participants agree to having their entry or a summary of it posted on the Ascendant Strategy website, the Mission-Driven Management Summit website and other social media outlets. The winner does not need to be present at the Summit to receive the award.

About Ascendant Strategy Management Group

Ascendant Strategy Management Group helps nonprofits, agencies, associations, and foundations manage strategy, collaborate with stakeholders, and build communities around their strategy execution efforts. Ascendant offers Balanced Scorecard and performance management training, facilitation, and consulting to help organizations accelerate mission results. For more information about Ascendant, visit http://www.ascendantsmg.com. For more information about Ascendant's strategy and performance management software solutions, visit http://www.clearpointstrategy.com.