Theory of Change: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

@CNEColorado #NPDC2015 #governance /emilydavisconsulting /AskEmilyD

THEORY OF CHANGE: STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR NONPROFITS

Center for Nonprofit Excellence Nonprofit Day 2015 Emily Davis, MNM, CGT March 3, 2015


TURN ON YOUR TECH

@AskEmilyD @CNEColorado #NPDC2015



A LITTLE ABOUT YOU…

30 seconds or less

Name & Title

1 Question for Today

1 Nonprofit Governance Buzz Word


How many of you are…

q Serving on 1 board committee? q Serving on 2 or more board

committees? q Currently serving on one board? q Currently serving on 2 or more

boards? q Have been through strategic

planning?

QUICK POLL


WHY STRATEGIC PLANNING?


Set organizational

direction

Provide oversight

Ensure necessary resources

BOARD ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES


Board Leads

Shares values thru policies that put mission in action

Hires, supports, assesses ED

Opens funding resources in community

Oversees financial due diligence

Recruits & retains new board members

ED Leads

Develops/ Proposes policy questions

Hires, supervises, motivates staff

Develops & implements programs

Shared Leadership

Strategic plan

Fundraising plan & strategies

Evaluations

Prep board meetings

SHARED LEADERSHIP


WHAT STINKS?


Generative

Fiduciary

Governance as

Leadership

Strategic

WHY are we going to do it?

HOW are we going to do it?

WHAT are we going to do?

•  Confronting challenges in traditions & values

•  What matters most to us? •  What does this mean to us? •  Meaning •  Framing the right issue

•  Tangible •  Operations •  Legal •  Results •  Resources

•  Scanning your external environment

•  Comparative advantage

•  Strategic plans

•  High performing board deals with all 3

•  Great boards know the differences and deals with them.

•  Fundraising fits within all three

•  Generative – what would we do or not do for $$?


WHAT IS A STRATEGIC PLANNING?


WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

Discovery

Document review Organizational assessment Stakeholder input Situational analysis

Retreat

Board education Priorities discussion SWOT Misc. activities

Strategic Plan

Plan narrative Drafts revised Implementation dashboard Appendices

Implementation

Plan highlights Dashboard Champions Review quarterly, reports Update annually


WHO CONDUCTS PLANNING?

Objective perspective Time to commit and compile info Serve as “bad guy” Expert Keeps focus on priorities Costs $ Board/staff resistance

Less money Understand org best Can get bogged down in details More subjective Time accountability

Self-Facilitated

Consultant


Identify budget: $5,000 - $7,5000

Timeline: 5 – 6 months

Outcomes

Request for proposal: Competitive process

References by similar orgs

ED and Governance Committee leads

HIRING A CONSULTANT


PLAN ELEMENTS

Introduction

• Process steps • Strategic plan purposes

Situational Analysis

• Lifecycle stage • Opportunities for consideration

• SWOT • Visioning

Strategies, Goals,

Objectives

• Resources

Implementation

• Accountability • Next steps • Sample docs


STRATEGY VS. GOALS VS. OBJECTIVES


GOALS & OBJECTIVES


Strategic Priorities

• Broad, functional business area that will be addressed, changed or modified • Board and ED provide oversight

Goals

• More specific benchmarks that define strategic priority. Goals speak to a qualitative shift in the organization.

• Board and ED provide oversight

Objectives

• Building blocks to achieve the goals, often quantitative • ED, staff, and committees begin to operationlize

Tactics (aka Activities)

• Specific actions, events, or organizational shifts that assist in meeting goals, objectives, and strategic priorities.

• ED, committees, and staff get into the details for implementation

Work Plans

• Action plans around necessary tactics connected to milestones and deadlines to meet learger objectives, goals, and strategic priorities

• ED, staff, committees


IMPLEMENTATION


DASHBOARD*



REMEMBER



Emily Davis, MNM Emily Davis Consulting

(720) 515-0581 [email protected]

emilydavisconsulting.com

Theory of Change: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

Government & Nonprofit

strategic planning

nonprofit governance

board committees

new board members ed

funding resources

priorities costs

organizational direction

fundraising fits