Preparing Your Organization for Transformational Change: Lessons from Shineforth's Rebranding Journey

I recently had the privilege of hosting Nancy Toscano, CEO and President of Shineforth (formerly UMFS), for our winter webinar. Nancy shared invaluable insights on managing transformational change, drawing from her organization's recent rebranding experience. As someone who has served Shineforth since 2007 in various capacities—from volunteer to donor to board member—I've witnessed firsthand Nancy's passionate leadership and her skill in navigating complex organizational change.  

Nancy's Journey to Change Management Expertise  

Nancy's expertise in change management didn't develop overnight. She shared that the concept of having 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert resonates with her experience. Growing up with her sister Joanne, who has autism, Nancy spent countless hours helping her navigate change—something that was particularly difficult for Joanne. This early experience became the foundation for Nancy's career path.

Her professional journey took her from working as a therapist with homeless families in California, to starting a school for children with autism in Malaysia and helping the community own that school, to working in England with college-bound students with special needs. Each role involved significant change management challenges. Eventually, Nancy found her way to Richmond and to Shineforth, where she has spent 19 of her 30 years improving the lives of children, families, and communities.

About Shineforth  

Shineforth is a remarkable 125-year-old community nonprofit that started as an orphanage. Today, it operates in eight different locations as a multi-site, multi-service organization dedicated to helping children thrive. Their services include foster care, adoption, specialized education, counseling services, advocacy services, and more.

Their mission is powerful: to be the unwavering champion that every child deserves. They believe that by serving children, they strengthen humanity one child at a time—not just through their work for each child, but by strengthening the people who do the helping as well.

Six Years of Massive Change  

Over the past six years, Shineforth has undergone tremendous transformation. Some changes were beyond their control, like the global pandemic. Others were planned, including:

• Executive retirements, including a CEO who had served for 40 years
• Complete leadership transitions—the entire senior leadership team is different than it was six years ago
• Sunsetting some programs and launching new ones
• Selling their Senior Living programming, which was outside their core mission
• Using those funds to completely transform their campus with a $23 million enhancement project that is still ongoing

The Rebranding Journey  

Within this context of significant change, Shineforth embarked on a rebranding effort. Nancy emphasized that the rebrand wasn't just about a new name—it was a reflection of who they were becoming. When they started the process, they weren't even certain they would change the name. They just knew they needed to refresh their brand.

Over an 18-month period of research and reflection, they realized that a name change made sense. Nancy described how emotional this change was for people. They spent hours speaking with:

• Alumni who grew up at the organization
• Staff who had worked there for 20, 30 years
• Volunteers
• Foster parents
• Children in foster care who knew them as UMFS (United Methodist Family Services)

Nancy noted that they're still in the change management process, but she considers it a textbook effort in applying change management models effectively. She measured success not by the absence of pain, discomfort, or differing opinions—those are inevitable in any significant change. Rather, success was measured by how well they helped people navigate through the change.

The Foundation: Starting with Why  

Nancy emphasized that any transformational change must start with the "why." For Shineforth, the rebranding became important for specific strategic reasons tied to their mission and future direction.  

Reframing Resistance as Information  

One of Nancy's key insights was about resistance. She encouraged us to reframe resistance not as an obstacle to overcome, but as information that can help move an organization toward readiness for change. By the end of her presentation, she aimed to help us understand how to transform resistance into valuable data that informs the change process.  

Key Takeaways  

Nancy's presentation grounded the concept of change management in the real-world experience of a major organizational transformation. Her approach demonstrated that:

1. Effective change management requires intentional effort and cannot be rushed
2. Emotional responses to change are normal and expected
3. Success isn't measured by universal agreement, but by how well you help people navigate the transition
4. Starting with a clear "why" is essential
5. Resistance provides valuable information when properly understood

Nancy's passion for this work and her organization was evident throughout her presentation. After working alongside her in various capacities for nearly 18 years, I can attest that this passion translates into real results for the children and families Shineforth serves every day.

For organizations considering or currently undergoing transformational change, Nancy's experience with Shineforth's rebranding offers a practical, empathetic model for navigating the complexity of organizational transformation while keeping mission and people at the center.

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