Catalyst Exchange, Spartanburg Academic Movement, Utah's Promise, and Stronger Consulting teams at a recent StriveTogether convening
As Catalyst Exchange, we had the privilege of connecting Utah’s Promise and Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) with Stronger Consulting, a trusted provider in the Catalyst Network. Both organizations sought to rethink compensation, retention, and culture in ways that would support sustainable, high-performing teams: critical for achieving long-term social impact in their communities.
What unfolded wasn’t just a technical assessment or policy refresh; it was a deeper process of sense-making, clarity-building, and aligning people systems with mission. And when both organizations shared their experiences at a recent StriveTogether convening, the resonance was impactful with leaders across the country recognizing their own challenges in the stories.
The Challenge
Building Sustainable Talent Systems in Tight Conditions
Mission-driven organizations often face the same core question: How do we fairly compensate and retain talented people when budgets are tight and the work is complex?
- Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM): Rapid growth required a comprehensive evaluation of leadership roles, a compensation philosophy, and pay structures aligned to their expanded scope.
- Utah’s Promise: Wanted to rethink how it rewards performance and supports staff longevity, exploring models like results-based compensation and sabbaticals to reduce burnout.
Both organizations faced the “math and the meaning” challenge: balancing fairness, sustainability, and mission outcomes in complex environments. Bill Crim, President & CEO of Utah’s Promise, explained:
“Being fair isn’t just moral; it’s also how you keep people engaged and focused on the work.”
Compensation, performance management, and leadership development are not just administrative, they are impact strategies. Utah’s Promise and SAM recognized that aligning people systems with community outcomes was essential to achieving their mission.
As Mike Montoya, founder and CEO of Stronger Consulting, summarized:
“Seventy to eighty percent of your budget is going to people — that’s why talent strategy has to be a priority.”
The Approach
Clarity, Fairness, and Long-Term Alignment
Both organizations approached their talent challenges by first defining principles and philosophies.
- SAM: Worked with Stronger Consulting to clarify its compensation philosophy, laying the foundation for competitive, consistent pay structures. SAM emphasized how important Catalyst’s advising was to navigating complexity.
“The team had the expertise to understand our data and help us make sense of it. We’re trying to accomplish a thousand things at once, and they helped us understand how these resources can be leveraged to take action.”
The low-lift process and quick, clear communication were critical for SAM’s fast-moving environment.
- Utah’s Promise: Began exploring results-based compensation and sabbatical policies with Stronger Consulting as part of a longer-term retention strategy. While the model continues to evolve, the partnership pushed deeper thinking about how to align performance, sustainability, and staff wellbeing.
These examples highlight that sustainable talent strategies start with principles, then translate into practical systems that support both staff and mission outcomes.
Beyond processes and deliverables, SAM emphasized the cultural payoff:
“We’re thinking about how to connect all parts of the organization back to our mission and vision. When people have that clarity, it creates psychological safety and that’s a retention measure. This work helped us pull what can feel abstract into a clear umbrella.”
The Results
Turning Strategy into Practice
Both organizations emerged with clearer, more sustainable talent systems aligned to their missions.
Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM):
- Established consistent, competitive pay bands grounded in organizational values and accountability
- Gained clarity, strengthened alignment, and kept outcomes as the guiding focus
“Our remote work policy after COVID was good for morale, but a fully remote schedule wasn’t working for results. That tension taught us to keep kids at the center.” — Keisha Gray, Chief Strategy Officer
Utah’s Promise:
- Advanced results-based compensation and sabbatical policy design
- Built greater transparency and trust in pay decisions
“When people trust the math, they see where they fit and don’t feel like culture is being eroded by hidden pay gaps.” — Bill Crim, President & CEO
Across both organizations, the outcomes were similar: strengthened internal trust, clarified expectations, and stronger connections between how people are supported and the results communities depend on.
Why Catalyst’s Connection Mattered
For both Utah’s Promise and SAM, having the right partner at the right moment made it easier to navigate complex questions around compensation, culture, and sustainability. Leaders noted that the engagement felt manageable even amid competing priorities, and that Stronger Consulting’s expertise helped translate data and organizational dynamics into clear next steps.
The support also created space for deeper reflection: on how people experience fairness, how policies shape culture, and how talent systems can reinforce mission outcomes. Smooth communication, thoughtful pacing, and an approach grounded in each organization’s context helped keep the work moving forward, even during transitions.
Through this process, both organizations were able to move from abstract questions to practical, aligned solutions, building clarity, confidence, and a stronger foundation for long-term impact.
Take the Next Step
Get Started with Catalyst Exchange
If you’re ready to align your people, purpose, and performance with long-term sustainability, Catalyst Exchange can help connect you with trusted partners to guide that journey.
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