This week, guest blogger and strategic planning guru Michael Allison gives us the real scoop on what strategic planners need from us development folks. Next week, we’ll outline what fundraisers need most from the strategic planners.
Strategic planning is all about how to accomplish an organization’s mission in the most effective, efficient and impactful way. A clear and compelling strategic plan is a major asset to effective development work.
So, how can you, as a Development Director, contribute to a successful strategic planning process?
The work of strategic planning can be thought of as incorporating five components:
Environment: strategic planners work at understanding the environment, how needs may be changing, what new opportunities and threats are emerging, and identifying other external trends that will affect the direction and success of an organization.
Strategy: think mission and vision. Assessing the quality and effectiveness of current programs, in light of the competition and best practices in the organization’s field. Essentially: what are we trying to do, and how are we going to do it?
Business model: how is our organization funded? How sustainable is this mix of revenue streams? How can we strengthen our funding position?
Capacity: In order for a strategic plan to be meaningful, organizations also need to look at organizational capacity (from staffing to infrastructure).
Leadership: And planners need to look at the question of leadership at the staff and board level.
Second to mission and vision, the most important foundational question is: what is our business model and how well is it serving us? This is where you come in.
Nonprofit organizations support their work through a wide range of revenue streams: government grants, program fees, foundation grants, individual contributions, and so on.
Strategic planners can get the data on funding and expenses from the financial management folks. This is important to know what the current funding mix is, what the trends over the past few years have been, and how well individual programs are supported by dedicated sources of funding (whether contracts, grants, or steady sources of contributor support).
From Development Directors, strategic planners are likely to ask for four things:
- What is the current status of the development effort? Where are things working? Where are there challenges? Where is there potential for increasing contributed income or other funding?
- What does the Development department need from the strategic plan? Generally the development department wants a clear mission, vision and strategy to help make the “case” for your nonprofit. What else do you need? Do particular questions surface in discussions with donors? Is the Development Department clear about the overall direction and where extra effort may be warranted?
- What does the organization need to do to best support the development effort? Often a strategic plan prioritizes strengthening capacity in one or more areas to achieve more of your mission.
- Perhaps most importantly… an opportunity to give input into the planning process. The last thing a Development Director wants to receive is a completed strategic plan that includes expectations for significantly more funding, especially from contributions, without having been consulted!
Strategic planning can be a time where the whole organization comes together around an updated vision for its collective future, and where all the contributors (especially including board and staff) are both challenged and excited about putting their shoulders to the wheel.
Development Directors can play a critical role in developing both strategy and the plans for implementation. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!
Mike Allison has been working with nonprofit organizations for the past 25 years on strategic planning, organization development and governance. A former executive director, Mike previously served as Director of Consulting and Research at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services for 15 years. He is the co-author of Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations, 3nd Ed. Published by John Wiley and Sons, 2015. He is also an original member of the consulting team developing and implementing the Haas Jr. Fund’s nationally recognized Flexible Leadership Awards Program, launched in 2008. For more information see: www.maconsulting.org.
