Every non-profit that raises more than $500,000 per year needs a strategic plan (and even if you don’t raise that much, a strategic plan can be a big help!)
Your strategic plan outlines your organization’s vision for the near future (typically 3-5 years) and the key steps required to achieve that vision. When one strategic plan ends, another begins, meaning that you will need to create a new strategic plan every 3-5 years.
Yet, many non-profits (even large ones) do not have an up-to-date strategic plan in place. The primary reason for this is that in order to create a strategic plan, you need to go through a strategic planning process… and that process can feel intimidating. But it doesn’t need to be!
In this article, I’m going to walk you through what a successful strategic planning process looks like. Your organization’s process doesn’t need to look exactly like this, and some non-profit leaders and consultants use different methods. But the process I will describe below has worked well for thousands of non-profits over the years, and will work for you too, with a minimum of stress.
First Things First: Should You Use a Consultant?
One of the first things you’ll probably ask as you embark on a strategic planning process is, “Should we use a consultant?” The answer is almost certainly yes.
I know I’m probably biased, because my firm oversees strategic planning and creates strategic plans for clients (check out our services by clicking here). But the truth is that strategic planning takes time and bandwidth – and those are probably things that are in short supply at your organization. It’s almost always better to hand the process off to a consulting team that has handled dozens of strategic plans in the past and can take much of the work off of your plate so you can continue to run your programs and fundraising activities.
Whether you use a consultant or not, it will benefit you to understand what the strategic planning process should look like! If you decide not to use a consultant, the staff member that is directing the process can fill in wherever I reference “your consultant” below.
Step #1: Form a Steering Committee
Your Strategic Plan Steering Committee will oversee the entire strategic planning process. It should consist primarily of board members and one or two key staff members of the organization (such as the CEO or Executive Director). This committee will be responsible for making decisions regarding the planning process, reporting progress to the board as a whole, and approving the draft plan that will be submitted to the board for final approval.
Step #2: Review the Data & Materials and Complete Research
The Steering Committee and your consultant should have access to all of your organization’s data and materials, including budgets and financial information, donor data, program metrics, outcomes information, etc. They should also use this opportunity to research peer organizations (both locally and nationally), look at best practices, and conduct any research that can inform your strategy going forward.
Step #3: Interview Stakeholders
This is the most time-consuming portion of the process. Your consulting team should conduct interviews with key stakeholders to identify current issues, understand the organization’s vision, and pinpoint its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The interview process also helps your stakeholders feel more engaged in your work and will generally benefit your relationship with these individuals. Most strategic planning processes should include anywhere from 20 to 40 interviews, focusing on board members, staff members, volunteers, donors, clients of the organization, community members, leaders of peer or referring organizations, and others.
Step #4: Hold a Strategic Planning Day or Retreat
After the interviews have been completed, your consultant should aggregate the findings and present them to the Steering Committee as part of a strategic planning day or retreat. This meeting will usually be a full-day in-person or video meeting where the findings will be shared, and the following items will be completed:
Determine a Landmark Goal
First, the consultant will assist the committee in determining a landmark goal for the plan. This is the overarching goal the organization wants to accomplish during the period covered by the strategic plan. (For example, “Over the next 5 years, our shelter will increase its capacity by 50% and be able to serve 100% of the homeless who need our help.”)
Determine Strategic Choices Necessary to Reach that Goal (3-5)
Next, the committee will need to determine 3-5 strategic choices (strategies) that will be necessary to reach the landmark goal. (For example, “We will renovate our East Wing to be able to fit 20 additional beds.” “We will hire a new outreach director to oversee our street-level homeless outreach.” Etc.)
Determine Resources Necessary to Implement the Choices You Made, and the 1-3 Strategies that Will Be Required to Acquire Those Resources
Once those strategic choices are made, the committee will need to determine a rough estimate of the resources required to achieve those goals. (This is usually expressed in terms of money/fundraising, but could also include things like increased volunteer hours). The committee should decide on the best strategies to acquire those resources (for example, “We will grow our major gifts program and find new sources of major gifts support.” “We will grow our board of directors.” Etc.).
Step #5: Create the Roadmap
Once the strategic planning day or retreat is over, the consultant will flesh out the plan and build a detailed roadmap for each of the strategic choices, which should include specific goals for satisfying each strategic choice, detailed timelines for implementation, and responsible persons for each of the primary tasks called for in the plan.
The consultant will also create implementation guidelines in four key areas: programs, operations, development, and communications. These guidelines will help your staff implement the plan successfully by providing a quick reference of the timelines, goals, KPIs, and responsibilities outlined in the plan.
Step #6: Write the Plan
Your consulting team will then combine all the work above into a comprehensive strategic plan, which the strategic planning committee should approve before presenting it to the board for final approval.
Step #7: Oversee Implementation
Finally, the strategic planning committee should, with the help of your consultant, oversee the implementation of the plan. Ideally, the strategic planning committee should meet quarterly to review the organization’s progress and key metrics, and should hold a strategic planning committee retreat day once per year to go through the plan fully, review where the organization is exceeding or failing to meet expectations, and determine any course correction that may be necessary or any edits to the plan that need to be made.
You Can Do This, We Can Help
You don’t need to fear the strategic planning process! It takes time and hard work, but it doesn’t need to be overly complicated. The guide above shows you a common strategic planning framework that you can use to guide your efforts.
Remember, our team is here to help. At Garecht Fundraising Associates, we have decades of experience in creating successful strategic plans. To learn more about how we can partner together on your next strategic plan, get in touch with us by clicking here!
Photo Credit: Firmbee.com on Unsplash
