What you need to know about the strategic planning process
Be collaborative, but not too collaborative.
From my experience as Chief Strategy Officer at Civic News Company and working as a consultant with several nonprofit organizations, here are my thoughts:
Start with the right people
Strategic plans must be the vision of the leader of the organization (CEO, exec director, etc.), and the final document should be owned by this person. Delegating the vision of the strategic plan to another leadership team member or a mid-level employee or a consultant never works because the best strategic plans take bold and controversial stances, and only the top leader has the authority and power to push those through. Yes, a consultant or other employee can manage and facilitate the process, but they should not be the ones to make or sell the strategic decisions back to the stakeholders.
Use a "cautiously collaborative" approach
Yes, do conduct listening tours with staff, board members, funders, and community members. But be selective about what input makes it into the final plan. You'll hear contradicting opinions—that's normal. Your job is to find the signal in the noise.
Engage your board early
Start with your executive committee if you have one. Keep them involved throughout the process, but be prepared to say no to some of their suggestions. Your board should be strategic partners, not just reviewers at the end.
Gather real evidence
Support your strategic direction with both data and qualitative evidence. At Chalkbeat, we analyzed our grant renewal rates before deciding to focus on philanthropy (turns out, our renewal rates were excellent). Look at your track record and proven strengths, and turn to your community members for genuine testimonials and case studies. Don't make claims unless you’re willing to put the effort into backing them up.
Choose a reasonable time frame
Five-year plans are the norm, but realistically detailed planning is only logical for a two- to three-year time frame (everything after three years is just guessing; you might as well be upfront about that). If your organization is really new, I suggest a maximum three-year outlook, and maybe even shorter, depending on your funders. Remember that plans need flexibility; we all learned that lesson during COVID.
Keep It Simple
Whether your final plan is one page or thirty, the core elements should be memorable and easy to communicate. Create simple frameworks for decision-making. If staff can't remember your key strategic priorities, the plan won't guide daily choices and will sit on that metaphorical (and maybe actual) shelf.
These insights are excerpted from this 2022 strategic planning workshop. Watch the full video below.