Strategic Plan

Zelie’s Home’s Strategic Plan (2026–2028) is a roadmap to deepen impact, strengthen organizational capacity, and responsibly prepare for growth. Rooted in the legacy of St. Zélie Martin and shaped by stakeholder input, this plan focuses on what makes Zelie’s Home distinct—safe housing, wraparound support, and a longer-stay model that provides mothers the time and stability to take meaningful steps toward independence.

Vision: A community where women thrive as they embrace motherhood.

Mission: Zelie’s Home is a caring community that empowers pregnant and parenting women to take positive and effective action on behalf of themselves and their children by providing physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional support.

Core Values

Human Dignity
Safe Learning Environment
Supportive and Collaborative Community
Commitment to Growth
Resiliency and Creativity

Strategic Priorities (2026–2028)

Guidance & Connection: Better connect mothers to the programs and services they need by reducing access barriers and creating bridges to other offerings in the community. This includes reducing obstacles that limit participation (childcare, transportation, flexibility for changing life demands), strengthening pathways to external providers (such as educational credentialing and longer-term housing), and activating alumnae mothers as a trusted source of information for current residents.

Expansion & Growth: Establish the blueprint for a third maternity home to meet strong regional demand. Zelie’s Home will build on its track record of disciplined expansion, trusted reputation, strong financial position, and philanthropic support—ensuring growth without compromising quality or mission fidelity.

Building Capacity: Increase capacity to support effective operations and sustained organizational growth by strengthening governance, senior leadership structure, and staffing systems. This priority includes evolving board structure and engagement to match future scale, supporting leadership sustainability beyond the Executive Director, and building a more sustainable staffing model that reduces burnout risk and keeps pace with expanded operations.

Funding: Build and diversify funding to support both ongoing operations and growth. Zelie’s Home will deepen donor and foundation engagement through continued investment in development capacity, strategic fundraising efforts, and strong partnerships—including continued collaboration with the Catholic Diocese and broader community stakeholders.

Impact & Messaging: Create a clear definition for success in the context of Zelie’s Home’s mission and determine how to measure and communicate progress. Zelie’s Home plays a vital role at the beginning of a mother’s journey, offering stability and support during pregnancy and early postpartum and connecting mothers to next-step services beyond their stay. As the organization grows, it will strengthen how it communicates this impact to internal and external audiences.

Summary: This strategic plan positions Zelie’s Home for a strong and sustainable future—deepening mission impact today while preparing for responsible expansion tomorrow. By strengthening connections to services, increasing organizational capacity, investing in sustainable funding, and clarifying how we share our story, Zelie’s Home will continue building a caring community where women and children can thrive.