Strategic Planning for Non-profits

Strategic Planning is a structured way to map a non-profit's intended journey.  It allows everyone in the organization to be on the same page about the direction, to track progress, and to make decisions based on common understanding, data, and known best practices.  Below are some key components of a Strategic Plan. 

Mission, Vision

Begin with your organization’s Mission and Vision statements.  The Mission is what your non-profit does, and the Vision is what the world looks like when your Mission is complete.  These key foundational elements must be agreed upon before going further with the strategic planning process.  

Situational Analysis 

Situational Analysis describes the current state of your organization.  This includes things like number of volunteers and employees, Board size and structure, current Activities, and Finances.  Understanding the beginning state is key to mapping a pathway to the desired end state. 

SWOT 

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is an important part of your Situation Analysis.  What are you good at, and what areas can be improved?  What areas for growth exist?  What risks are there to your growth or existence? 

Priority Setting 

Identify the high-level priorities that will guide your organization’s actions. These priorities take on the most critical issues and opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis.  Use tools such as a Prioritization Matrix to guide and focus your next steps.  Then break down the list of critical priorities into actionable Goals for the plan period. 

Goals 

Strategy is essentially a plan to win, so no Strategic Plan is complete without a statement of what you’re trying to win, i.e. your goals.  This might include increased membership, higher revenue levels, more clients served, or new facilities.   

Once your team has a draft of the goals, these need to be rewritten as SMART goals.  SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based.   Writing goals in this framework greatly increases the chances of completion.  “Move into a new facility” is a loosely written goal, whereas “Move into a new 3,000 sq ft minimum office space by end of 2025 using existing cash reserves” is an example of a SMART goal. 

Metrics  

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” – Peter Drucker.  This statement applies to the vast majority of outcomes in the business or non-profit world.  Given that your organization is choosing to use SMART goals, your metrics should spring naturally from those, e.g.  revenue level, number of major donors, number of community members served, volunteer turnover rate. 

Owners 

No Strategy will come to fruition unless there are clear owners for the initiatives and actions outlined in the plan.  Think carefully about who should own these.  Is your org structure complete or optimal?  Do you need to hire additional paid staff or volunteers?  Consider casting the actions needed in the form of a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) Matrix, to improve decision-making efficiency, clarify roles and responsibilities, and ensure that ownership is understood by the whole organization. 

Risk Assessment 

Every venture involves Risk, and Strategic Planning is no different.  Create a detailed list of risks and possible mitigations.  To make efficient use of your resources in addressing these risks, evaluate each one for the likelihood of occurrence and severity of impact if there is an occurrence.  Prioritize tackling the high likelihood / high impact risks first. 

Summary 

Strategic Planning is a necessary process to obtain the best possible outcomes for your non-profit.  There are many aspects to consider, but this often lengthy and detailed introspection process will chart the way towards your future growth. 

If you would like to discuss these Strategic Planning ideas and several others, visit the CLASS Consulting Group.  

CLASS has been a trusted advisor to board and leadership teams of nonprofits since 2002. Learn more and reach out today.