Strategic Planning in Smaller Nonprofit Organizations
The purpose of strategic planning is to help organizations do a better job. Specifically, strategic planning enables an organization to best focus its energy, to ensure that its members are working toward the same goals, and to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort aimed to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.
This process is strategic because it involves determining the best way to respond to circumstances in the organization's environment, whether or not its circumstances are known in advance.
Being strategic means being clear about the organization's objectives, being aware of resources, and incorporating both into being consciously responsive to a dynamic environment.
This is not a hard process and is not about developing a six-inch thick planning document. It is about thinking --- and thinking strategically. It means asking, "Are we doing the right thing?" In answering that question, organizations must consider four key requirements.
- What are we doing? Have a definite purpose in mind.
- Where are we doing this? Understand your environment - particularly the forces that affect the fulfillment of that purpose.
- How are we doing this? Creatively develop effective responses to those forces.
- How do we know it matters? Build into your plan outcome measurements.
We are pleased to suggest the guide, "Strategic Planning in Smaller Nonprofit
Organizations: A Practical Guide for the Process". This short guide by
Jan W. Lyddon, Ph.D., a member of the Nonprofit Leadership and Administration
faculty at Western Michigan University, is designed to help board members
and staffs of smaller nonprofits develop strategic plans that can help
strengthen and sustain their organization's achievements.
If you have trouble reading this e-newsletter due to formatting issues, or visible HTML code, or if you would like to discuss content-related issues, please contact Bill Freeman, NRC e-Newsletter Editor at wjf@daremightythings.com.
Hypertext links and other references to non-CCF products and services are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement or warranty, express or implied, by the CCF, DHHS, or U.S. Government, as to their suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.