Having helped many nonprofits with strategic planning over the years, I’ve heard the gauntlet of excuses as to why organizations don’t have a strategic plan. Ranging from objections based on size, perceived need and even the occasional “been there, done that,” I’ve watched time and time again as nonprofits without a strategic plan struggle to push themselves to the next level.
Surviving in today’s business climate — as erratic as it can be — means planning not months, but years in advance, and taking a hard look at where your organization is headed, how you will get there and the resources you will need along the way.
Strategic planning shouldn’t begin after your organization’s growth has begun to level off or, even worse, decline. You want to start looking towards the future as early as possible, which means rolling up your sleeves and diving into the strategic planning process.
Debunking the Reasons Why Many Nonprofits Say They Don’t Have a Strategic Plan
Reason #1: we’re too big (or too small) for strategic planning
Whether your organization is bringing in revenues of $50,000 or $50 million, any nonprofit, regardless of size, will benefit from strategic planning.
For smaller organizations, a strategic plan will help catapult your organization forward, support growth initiatives and help further leverage your organization’s presence in your target market.
On the flip side, organizations with larger revenues will benefit from the top-to-bottom review of current organizational strategy. Through this process you can eliminate tactics that are dragging you down and create new strategies to ensure your future growth and impact in reaching your organization’s mission.
Reason #2: we don’t know where to start
Strategic planning starts by identifying a facilitator with the skills and experience to ensure that your organization gets the most out of the process. Hiring an impartial facilitator from an outside firm ensures that your strategic planning sessions are not only effective, but honest, by asking the hard questions that may otherwise be swept under the rug when attempting to facilitate the process in-house.
Reason #3: but we’ve already done it!
Attempting to perform CPR on a strategic plan that expired a decade earlier can actually send your organization backwards. Not only are you working with strategies that were most likely created over five years ago, but it’s inevitable that, if executed correctly, your organization has already achieved many of the action steps identified in the plan.
Without new goals and initiatives to keep your momentum going, your organization’s growth will begin to slow, leaving you with a stagnant, or even decreasing, stream of revenue, an increasingly disengaged staff and no plans for the future.
Reason #4: I’m the executive director, and I’ve already set the direction for the organization
As the executive director, you have a lot of responsibilities, and strategic planning can be a great way to recruit help from your team to help lessen the load.
A strategic plan allows you the powerful ability to include multiple perspectives into the planning process, drawing on expertise from different areas of your organization such as finance, program management, fundraising, etc. This encourages buy-in from multiple departments, giving you a wide pool of resources to draw on when it comes assigning any action items that are identified in the planning process. This case study illustrates how one nonprofit's staff gained a voice from strategic planning.
Reason #5: we don’t have the money to do it
Like any investment, availability of funds is going to carry weight in your decision. Strategic planning continues to be linked with increases in growth, satisfaction from employees, board members, volunteers and donors, public relations and more. Seeing these benefits, many nonprofits, even small organizations, recognize the value in allocating funds to developing a new strategic plan every five years.
Reason #6: we don’t have support from the board/top management
Those who oppose strategic planning often do not have a complete understanding of the process or may have worked with an inefficient facilitator in the past and, as a result, written off the entire process. The benefits of strategic planning can be exponential with the right facilitator, organization, and a commitment by both parties to create goals that will supercharge your organization and help move you to the next level.
If you’re struggling to get decision markers on board, remind them of the numerous benefits of strategic planning or schedule time for them to speak with an experienced strategic planning facilitator who can walk them through the process.
Need Help?
Contact our Nonprofit Group online or call 800.899.4623.
