Case Study: The MHz Foundation

In late 2015, MHz Foundation found itself in a unique and new position: with much of their previous broadcast operations subcontracted out, they needed to manage the oversight of these operations, while preparing for the future and the receipt of a modest amount of additional funding. The challenge was to simultaneously maintain the status quo and develop a strategy that would revolutionize how they served their community, all while recognizing they had a transitioning Board of Directors that needed to grow its size and expertise.

This was an organization with roots in the public broadcasting space. And while there was still a desire to serve an audience with valuable and unique content, Open-i Advisors (OiA) quickly concluded that the approach needed to be modernized. As spectrum was literally dwindling through an FCC auction, OiA worked with the Foundation’s Board to build a strategy that focused on curated content from around the world, delivered to an English-speaking audience, via the World Wide Web.

Serving dual roles, simultaneously, Open Eye kept the organization running while researching, planning and building their product of the future. Leveraging expertise in board governance, human resources, project management, sales and product development, OE built and executed every action over the course of a multi-year engagement. This included the coordination of a multi-tiered team to imagine and build the Content Management System that will become the flagship program of the Foundation. In support of this new product, OiA delivered staffing plans, content curation strategies, privacy policies, revenue strategies and more. Open Eye also recruited and onboarded new directors, whose experience and expertise enriched the board. All of this was done while ensuring the ongoing good standing of the foundation and its status as a 501-c3.

MHz Foundation is now in the middle of its pivot into the new Internet-based content market shift. Open-i Advisors set them on this new path, and has seeded it with the tools to both actualize on, and measure its future success under this new strategy.