Strategic Planning

This strategic planning work is one of the most common, most recognized activities for nonprofits, as well as other types of businesses. At its worst, it involves a half day where a consultant works with the board. A summary of goals is made. And everyone is happy. Until two to three years later when the plan is taken off of the shelf.

At its best, strategic planning is a process that provides feedback to the organization about how it is seen in the community, the difference its programs make, the program goals and priorities, goals for finance and fund development, and goals for governance.

There is a lot of good that can come from effective strategic planning. And, even with tight budgets, much of the work can be done by staff, volunteers, board members and other stakeholders. It’s usually a good idea to have a consultant facilitate the board retreat. And, a good consultant will probably want to help shape the process, review the feedback, and have input into the final plan draft.

1. Develop a planning team comprised of board leaders, the executive and one or two staff.  If there are active donors and volunteers, having a representative would be an asset.
2. Set a timeline, if possible, of about six months. The team will do pre-work, schedule the retreat, and manage the plan drafts.
3. Create strategies for gathering feedback from stakeholder groups: clients or customers, community members, volunteers, and any other groups. Some agencies have small focus groups, and use them as a way to not only gather feedback, but to keep stakeholders apprised of the agency’s work. This builds relationships. Often, your customers fill out feedback forms as part of program work, and they should be included in the planning process. However, it might be helpful to have one or more small group feedback sessions. It would be good to have one or more staff meetings devoted to providing feedback and answering questions developed as part of the pre-planning process.  And, you’ll want to have some discussions with the board. There are questions that might only be answered in private one-on-one interviews or anonymous surveys. I’ve work with boards using both approaches, and they both seem effective, especially with the ease of internet-based survey programs like Survey Monkey and Zommerang. If there are any difficult issues, that is when individual interviews conducted by a third party are most helpful.
4. Based on the feedback gathered, discuss those findings with the planning group, along with a summary of the programs and services, funding and any changes in funding, shifts in the budget, and analysis of the fund raising activities. A discussion of these issues will bring forth some of the most important topics to be discussed in a planning retreat, and some important goal areas.
5. Develop a retreat plan, with an agenda, and summary materials. In most cases, people discuss the following goal areas in the retreat: programs and services, staffing, governance, finance, fund raising, community outreach and marketing, and managing change.  If board members have program data and analysis, budget analysis, an analysis of funding and donor activity, and other information, then their discussions will be much better informed.
6. Facilitate the retreat. I always recommend that people meet away from the agency, in a pleasant space. Looking out at beautiful scenery can literally shift the mind, and provide for more creative discussion.  During the retreat, someone should take notes covering the topic areas, goals identified and strategies. Sometimes the consultant gathers up notes, and provides a draft to the organization. Other times, the consultant either provides an initial summary to the executive, or reviews a draft. I’ve worked all of these ways, and all work well.
7. The planning group would work with the Strategic Plan until a final draft is complete and taken to the board for approval. Once the board approves the Strategic Plan, then the work begins.
8. The executive (and the rest of the planning group if that fits) would then track progress on the plan. Each area of the organization would have goals and strategies assigned, like finance goals for the finance department and the board finance committee. Or, for fund raising, the fund staff and board would have specific strategies related to different types of fund raising. Every month, the executive should track and report progress. Each quarter, there should be a report, with an identification of areas needing more work and strategies required; and a celebration of progress.

What make a plan a living document is the work that is done during the quarter following the retreat. If there are assignments, accountability and reporting, then things will go well.