Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated
    Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated
    Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated
    Ebook184 pages2 hours

    Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated

    By Bryan W. Barry

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    In an environment of increased competition, funding cuts, and other pressures, strategic planning is a sound management tool for nonprofits. This workbook provides a guide for developing, implementing, and updating a strategic plan. Sample plan and blank worksheets are included.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFieldstone Alliance
    Release dateMay 1, 1997
    ISBN9781618588821
    Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated

    Related to Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated

    Related ebooks

    Business For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Every Dollar Counts: How to Evaluate a Nonprofit

      Dec 3, 2021

      Donating to charity is an act of faith in the possibility of a better world — that’s why every dollar counts. And with the holiday giving season here, you may be receiving more requests from nonprofits and starting to think about the causes you want

      4 min read

    • Article

      Practical Ways to Turn Your Philanthropic Dream into a Reality

      Dec 6, 2021

      There’s a common misconception that you need to be a multimillionaire to be a philanthropist. This isn’t true at all. Philanthropy isn’t always about donating huge amounts of money. It’s about taking a more strategic approach toward supporting the ca

      2 min read

    • Article

      Which Type of Donor-Advised Fund Is Right for You?

      Jul 10, 2022

      When people first think of donor-advised funds (DAFs), they naturally turn to the national funds — the big-box stores of the donor-advised world. Yet, in 2021, nearly 30% of our new accounts at DonorsTrust rolled over from large, national DAF provide

      3 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      May 1, 2023

      Three ‘impact objectives’ have guided you in your career. Please describe them. I crafted these objectives over the years as I thought about the impact I wanted to have in my career and the principles that meant the most to me. The first objective is

      7 min read

    • Article

      Make Charitable Giving Part of Your Holiday Season -- and Part of Your Financial Life

      Dec 27, 2019

      The holiday season is wrapping up, and so is the charitable giving season. In 2018, roughly one-third (31%) of annual giving occurred in December, and 12% of all giving happened in the last three days of the year, according to the National Associatio

      3 min read

    • Article

      Retirees' Guide To Giving For The Greatest Impact

      Oct 7, 2020

      The recession and global pandemic are hitting charities where it hurts the most: in the wallet. Most fundraising professionals expect donations to decline in 2020 compared with previous years, a situation likely to continue through 2021, according to

      5 min read

    • Article

      How to Advocate for Bicycle Infrastructure

      Jul 13, 2018

      If you can help your city achieve a progressive bike policy, it will offer a number of benefits to your personal, environmental, and community health. However, navigating your local government’s willingness to improve bike infrastructure can be chall

      2 min read

    • Article

      Through the Gender Lens

      Jun 2, 2023

      Through the Gender Lens
      2 min read

    • Article

      Gianna Montinola On Advocacy

      Aug 5, 2020

      What is the first step in starting a charity? First find out what it is you care passionately about, what advocacy resonates with you: education, the environment, the arts, women empowerment, livelihood, history and culture, health. The choices are

      2 min read

    • Article

      Impact Investing in the Era of Black Lives Matter

      Dec 8, 2021

      Both Black Lives Matter and COVID have made more Americans aware of our society’s major racial disparities. In fact, since COVID’s start, investors have become considerably more interested in making impact investments that will benefit people of colo

      3 min read

    • Article

      Taking The Leap

      Feb 13, 2024

      Taking The Leap
      8 min read

    • Article

      Making Meaningful Connections

      Aug 26, 2018

      Just over a year ago I commenced my tenure as President of the Design Institute of Australia. In my first Comment column, I signalled a call to action – challenging our members and the design community to think about the different conversations we en

      3 min read

    • Article

      Taking the leap

      Dec 5, 2023

      Taking the leap
      8 min read

    • Article

      Q &A

      Jan 1, 2017

      QUESTIONS FOR Dan Pontefract, Chief Envisioner, Telus The importance of ‘having a purpose’ is not a new idea; it has been discussed since the time of the ancient Greeks. Why write a book about it now? Quite frankly, society has lost its way, and the

      7 min read

    • Article

      Aim For Fairness

      Nov 25, 2021

      Aim For Fairness
      9 min read

    • Article

      Earning A Social Licence To Operate: Implications For Brand And Profitability

      Nov 25, 2019

      IN LATE October I flew from Auckland to the United States capital for the Global Sabre Awards, bookended by meetings with key contacts and international colleagues. Our team was proud to be judged #8 of the top 40 global PR campaigns of the past 12 m

      2 min read

    • Article

      Giving To Charity When You're On A Budget

      Aug 29, 2019

      A few issues ago, I interviewed Doug Lynam, a former monk who now works as a money manager in Santa Fe, N.M. (see Building Wealth With a Higher Purpose). One of the topics we discussed was the importance of charitable giving, and it got me thinking:

      2 min read

    • Article

      How to Own Your D&I Strategy

      May 1, 2022

      IN MAY OF 2021, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founders of Basecamp, an American web software company, made the decision to limit political speech on the company’s open internal communication channels. The new policies were a respon

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated

    3.5/5

    2 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Revised and Updated - Bryan W. Barry

      e9781618588821_cover.jpge9781618588821_i0001.jpg

      Copyright © 1997 by Fieldstone Alliance.

      Fieldstone Alliance is committed to strengthening the performance of the nonprofit sector. Through the synergy of its consulting, training, publishing, and research and demonstration projects, Fieldstone Alliance provides solutions to issues facing nonprofits, funders, and the communities they serve. Fieldstone Alliance was formerly Wilder Publishing and Wilder Consulting departments of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. For information about other Fieldstone Alliance publications, see the last page of this book. If you would like more information about Fieldstone Alliance and our services, please contact

      Fieldstone Alliance

      60 Plato Boulevard East, Suite 150

      Saint Paul, MN 55107

      800-274-6024

      www.FieldstoneAlliance.org

      Edited by Vince Hyman

      Designed by Kirsten Nielsen

      Illustrated by Giora Carmi

      Manufactured in the U.S.

      Seventh printing, December 2007

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Barry, Bryan W.

      Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organizations / by Bryan W.

      Barry. -- Rev. and updated.

      p. cm.

      9781618588821

      1. Nonprofit organizations--Planning. 2. Strategic planning.

      I. Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. II. Title.

      HD62.6.B37 1997

      658.4’012--dc21

      97-8103

      CIP

      Limited permission to copy

      We have developed this publication to benefit nonprofit and community organizations. To enable this, we grant the purchaser of this work limited permission to reproduce forms, charts, graphics, or brief excerpts from the book so long as the reproductions are for direct use by the individual or organization that purchased the book and not for use by others outside the organization. For example, an organization that purchased the book to help its staff or board make plans relevant to the topic of this book may make copies of material from the book to distribute to others in the organization as they plan.

      For permission to make multiple copies outside of the permission granted here—for example, for training, for use in a compilation of materials, for public presentation, or to otherwise distribute portions of the book to organizations and individuals that did not purchase the book—please visit the publisher’s web site, www.FieldstoneAlliance.org/ permissions.

      Aside from the limited permission granted here, all other rights not expressly granted here are reserved.

      About the Author

      BRYAN BARRY is vice president of Leadership Foundations of America (LFA). Bryan leads LFA’s strategic planning, multi-city initiatives, resource development, and board support. He comes to LFA from the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, where he was director, senior vice president, and a consultant for over twenty-five years. Bryan provided consultation and counsel to several hundred nonprofit, faith, government, community, and business organizations, as well as networks and coalitions across the United States and other regions of the world.

      Acknowledgments

      Each day I learn things that help me in this work—from my colleagues, the people and organizations we team up with, colleagues around the country, things people send me to read, and family and friends. I am thankful for you all. Trying to name the individuals who have contributed seems too big a task for this workbook, so I’ll not start.

      I thank First Banks for their funding of the developmental costs of the original workbook. I also thank the leadership of North End Area Revitalization (N.E.A.R.), International Youth Foundation, Luther Theological Seminary, Metro Deaf Senior Citizens, Model Cities Inc., and Neighborhood Development Center for allowing us to use examples from their organizations’ strategic planning.

      Throughout the book I sometimes use the word we in making a suggestion about strategic planning or in noting something we at the Wilder Foundation learned through our work over the years. I am especially indebted to and appreciative of my colleagues for what they’ve taught me. Much of what you find useful in this workbook probably comes from back-and-forth discussions with them. The we is intended to acknowledge that fact. However, please note that there is considerable variety in how our staff approach strategic planning and help organizations do it. The shortcomings of this book should be attributed to me and not to them.

      Again, thanks to you all.

      Bryan Barry

      April 1997

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      About the Author

      Acknowledgments

      Foreword

      Section I - Introduction to Strategic Planning

      Section II - Developing Your Strategic Plan

      Section III - Appendices and References

      Endnotes

      Bibliography

      Worksheet Instructions

      Foreword

      In 1986 the Wilder Foundation produced the first edition of this Strategic Planning Workbook. The goal of the original workbook was to make available an easy-to-use primer for nonprofit organizations on strategic planning. Since that time we have received many helpful comments and suggestions from people who have used the workbook. We have also learned and tested new ways to assist nonprofit organizations, community groups, government, broad-based coalitions, and wider movements with their planning. We now approach strategic planning somewhat differently than described in the 1986 edition of this book.

      In this second edition, we have tried to maintain the primer-like quality of the workbook and also to incorporate a number of the helpful lessons and suggestions from Wilder Foundation (now Fieldstone Alliance) staff, from many nonprofit leaders and consultants, and from our experience since the first edition was published. Substantive changes include:

      Using a steering group to guide the planning so that a wider range of people and groups can contribute.

      Changes in suggested ways to take stock of your organization’s situation and to develop a shared vision for your nonprofit’s future.

      Addition of a fourth method for setting the future direction of your organization—the alignment approach—in Step 3 of the planning.

      More information on common strategies used by nonprofit organizations to address the opportunities and challenges we and the nonprofit sector now face.

      New suggestions on the format of strategic plans.

      A new, more detailed sample strategic plan.

      Additional tips for successfully implementing and updating your strategic plan.

      Material on how multiple organizations, coalitions, and communities can use strategic planning.

      We continue to ask for your suggestions about this workbook—what you find useful, where the book is not helpful, and what you are learning about strategic planning that might help other organizations. We hope that such planning will increasingly become an effective tool for nonprofit organizations and broader coalitions to clarify their goals and mobilize the resources required to improve our communities and society.

      Section I

      Introduction to Strategic Planning

      What Is Strategic Planning?

      Why Develop a Strategic Plan—and the Limitations of Formal Planning

      How to Develop a Strategic Plan

      Section I Summary

      In the early 1980s growing numbers of nonprofit organizations began to develop strategic plans. Many nonprofits have found such planning to be a key to their success. Others have not had such a good experience with planning. They got bogged down in the process or developed a strategic plan that was not particularly useful.

      This workbook will introduce you to an approach to strategic planning that has been used by nonprofit groups across the United States and in many other countries. The workbook is a step-by-step guide for developing and implementing a useful strategic plan.

      Over the past fifteen years, our consulting staff have received several thousand consulting and training requests from many kinds of nonprofit and government groups—citizen groups, community-based organizations, national and international nonprofits, foundations, government at all levels, and broad-based coalitions or movements dedicated to particular goals. Each year, the most frequent request we receive is for help with strategic planning. Such requests might begin:

      With the funding cuts we face, our financial situation looks very tight this year and horrible after that.

      The rules seem to be changing. Funders want to see measurable outcomes. The competition for support is stiffer. Collaborations are being pushed. Organizations are merging. We need to sort through these things and develop a clear plan for the future.

      Our city is rapidly changing. Despite the best efforts of our organization and many others, things are not improving.

      Over the past few months, people have approached us with ten new program opportunities. We need to decide which ones to pursue and how much growth we can handle.

      We’re being criticized for losing our focus and not being responsive to urban neighborhoods.

      We are about to begin the search for a new executive director and need to be clearer about our future direction in order to pick the right person.

      The last time our organization tried to do strategic planning, it was a nightmare.

      My board chair is encouraging us to develop a strategic plan. To be honest, with all the things on our plate, I don’t know if we can handle this now.

      ... or simply ...

      We need a strategic plan but are not sure how to proceed.

      It’s time to update the strategic plan we developed last year.

      These comments point to good reasons to develop a strategic plan. Rapidly changing community conditions often require new responses and alliances. A desire to have greater impact leads others

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1