Nonprofits are the purview of
dreamers. They attract people with goals
of, if not changing the world, at least working to change a part of a problem
that others might see as intractable or impossible. Therefore, nonprofits frequently have lofty
(and vague) missions such as “[uniting and focusing] the community to create measurable results in changing people’s lives and strengthening our community.”
Which is something that anyone can get on
board with. What is less clear is how
that is actually attained. Enter:
strategic planning. Without strategic
planning the above mission is a set of nice words that form a sentence. With strategic planning it is a raison d’etre for that particular,
chosen completely at random, organization.
Above is a basic model of strategic
planning. As the reader reads the process from
left to right the first benefit of strategic planning should appear: Lofty goals can be translated into concrete
actions. By turning a vision into a strategy into a set of concrete plans
the work of the nonprofit can be less a stab in the dark in the general
direction of a problem but rather tied to the underlying motivations of the
organization into a work process that can produce the measurable results that
our example mission statement holds in so much regard.
Of course, this doesn’t happen because I
made a fancy diagram in MS Publisher that says so. It happens because within that diagram are
implicit actions that are taken during the strategic planning process. These actions bring resources to the table
that could potentially go underutilized.
This brings us to the second benefit of strategic planning: Stakeholder engagement.
In order to collect the inputs needed for the
strategic planning process (listed on the far left) nonprofit leaders will need
to engage not just their own staff but everyone that touches the
organization. This can potentially lead
the organization to tap previously unacknowledged potential within the
stakeholder crowd who have been underutilized up to this point. Stakeholder
engagement also doesn’t end at the input collection stage. Instead, to the extent possible stakeholders
ought to be integrated into the entire planning process. Ongoing stakeholder engagement not only
provides planners with an ongoing stream of needed information but also ensures
that information is diffused regularly straight back to stakeholders. Finally, if stakeholders are involved in
planning for the future it is more likely that they will buy-in to the plan during
implementation making the overarching changes possible.
The next benefit is that strategic
planning allows a nonprofit to understand
its role in a broader dynamic environment.
The second bubble – SWOTS – refers to ‘strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats.” The last two are environmental concerns and a
byproduct of knowing them will permit a nonprofit to also know who they are
themselves. For example, a nonprofit
that works in affordable housing exists in a complicated, detail orientated
environment full of clients with a myriad of needs and a complex policy
structure. Strategic planning will allow
this nonprofit to take a step back and see the broader picture. In the process they can anticipate threats as
well as locate new opportunities that be unnoticed in the day to day
operations.
The final benefit is that evaluation is embedded throughout. The process hinges on integrating evaluation
throughout the organization and the planning process. This
reduces the possibility of mission creep and ensures that the focus that
strategic planning can force a nonprofit and its stakeholders to gain will
continue into the future.
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A Word on Sources:
I have condensed the ideas of a number of
authors for this blogpost. Because of
the nature of the format I found it difficult to do direct citations. However, I would strongly suggest that
interested readers move onto these sources to learn more:
Renz, David O, ed. 2010. The Jossey-Bass
Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management. Ch. 8 & 9 Jossey-Bass. San
Francisco, CA.
United Way of Dane County. Strategic
Planning Process
