Panthera was founded in 2006 by scientists compelled to take action for our Earth’s most threatened and most iconic predators – the 38 species of wild cats. Operating in 47 countries as of 2015, Panthera is exclusively dedicated to securing the future for all wild cats across their ranges, bringing together leading scientists to translate research into effective and relevant conservation action.

Panthera grew rapidly in both programs and organizational capacity since it was founded. In 2014, Panthera’s Global Alliance, a groundbreaking international coalition formed of environmental philanthropists dedicated to saving the world’s wild cats and their ecosystems, provided an initial $80 million investment to scale the organization over the next ten years. This investment provided the cornerstone funding for Panthera’s $200 million initiative for wild cats, and enabled Panthera to make key hires and prepare for additional growth.

Panthera engaged Impact Catalysts (through its predecessor firm, Root Cause) in 2015 to develop an integrated, results-driven, three-year strategic plan.To kick off the strategic planning process, Impact Catalysts and Panthera designed and facilitated a four-day retreat that brought together 40 global leaders, ranging from scientists to fundraisers and communications experts. This retreat helped to achieve clarity and build consensus around what Panthera’s vision is, how it defines success, and how the Panthera team can work together most effectively.

Using the retreat to catalyze the planning process, we worked collaboratively with Panthera to create a comprehensive strategic plan integrating three key areas: impact, financial sustainability, and performance measurement. We developed a plan for Panthera built around a network strategy, proactively pursuing new and redesigned partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders to advance joint strategies. For financial sustainability, that strategy called for broadening the base of high net worth donors and transforming their partnership model from a funder-contractor relationship to a joint investment approach. Impact Catalysts also created both performance measurement frameworks that will enable Panthera to rigorously track its progress towards impact, make course corrections as it implements it strategy, and report progress to donors.