Is it time to take a step back and collectively envision your organization's next 3-5 years?
It's time if:
- You're wondering whether you have agreement and alignment between the board and staff about your future direction
- You've completed everything in your last strategic plan
- It has been a while since you did any strategic planning
- Your organization has never done strategic planning before
- You're unsure whether your governance and staff structures and roles and responsibilities are in line with what the organization needs as it continues to grow and develop
- Your organization has grown recently or been through a major change and you need to take a fresh look at your future direction
Organizations that benefit from this type of strategic planning:
- Are ready to invest energy into a planning process that engages their whole organization
- Understand that much of the value of the planning process is in the conversations it sparks that uncover untested assumptions and open up new possibilities.
- Want to be intentional about their organization’s future
“The strategic plan itself looks phenomenal. These are seriously some of the best working sessions I’ve seen a board go through, with high level strategic goals that can be divvied up into action steps defined by board/staff. That is everything a strategic plan should be. So many get lost in the weeds.”
- Bridgette, Board member, human service nonprofit
What to expect
There are many reasons organizations engage in strategic planning and each organization starts with a unique set of circumstances.
The planning process provides you with the opportunity to take a step back, collect input from key stakeholders and have a series of focused conversations about the pressing strategic questions facing your organization.
Through those conversations, the group will identify 3-5 top priorities, action steps they will require and criteria to measure your success. You will also develop a tool you can use to assess future opportunities and challenges as they emerge. The group will review and update your mission, vision and values statements. In 1-2 pages, you will have your organization’s future direction mapped out with agreement on what demonstrates success. The group will also commit to when and how you will revisit your plan in the future.
Staff then identify tasks, accountability and timelines in your Year 1 action plan.
Depending on your needs, you may decide to tackle additional elements such as a strategic portfolio review or developing a theory of change.
The planning process provides you with the opportunity to take a step back, collect input from key stakeholders and have a series of focused conversations about the pressing strategic questions facing your organization.
Through those conversations, the group will identify 3-5 top priorities, action steps they will require and criteria to measure your success. You will also develop a tool you can use to assess future opportunities and challenges as they emerge. The group will review and update your mission, vision and values statements. In 1-2 pages, you will have your organization’s future direction mapped out with agreement on what demonstrates success. The group will also commit to when and how you will revisit your plan in the future.
Staff then identify tasks, accountability and timelines in your Year 1 action plan.
Depending on your needs, you may decide to tackle additional elements such as a strategic portfolio review or developing a theory of change.
By enaging in this process, you will:
- Create a road map for your organization’s future to follow as it move ahead
- Agree on a common language that help your stakeholders align
- Develop tools for assessing challenges and opportunities as they occur
- Achieve clarity about what your big goals are for the next few years.
- Create a plan that your team can put into action immediately
“There was structure about organizational needs and growth and where the organization was growing from a short term perspective and long term. It also allowed us to think about our organization from a continuity aspect as well amid the current state of events. I think it also allowed us to get creative on how we can offer more programming in an ever changing world.” – Kiel, Board member, disability nonprofit
How we partner with you
Grace Social Sector Consulting, LLC will customize our approach for your organization's unique needs.
We typically organize our strategic planning process into 4 stages:
Your plan will set you up for success because:
We typically organize our strategic planning process into 4 stages:
- Discover: We will do a deep dive into where your organization stands today and what the key strategic questions you want to tackle. This typically happens through a combination of meetings with leadership, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and/or surveys.
- Explore: We'll convene your major stakeholders to review the insights we reap from our discovery process and help you consider what this means for your organization’s future. You will explore the wider landscape and environment you work within and identify the top trends that could impact your future. You will brainstorm options as well as criteria for future decision-making.
- Decide: You'll come to agreement on your big goals, the action steps they'll require and how you will measure success in a 1-2 page 3-5 year strategic plan.
- Plan and act: You'll then translate your big goals into a Year 1 implementation plan that nails down the details and defines who is responsible for what and by when.
Your plan will set you up for success because:
- It is written in plan English
- Everyone is clear about what success looks like
- You have a tool for evaluating opportunities and challenges as they emerge
- You have outlined the concrete actions you'll take in the coming year
“Thanks for a productive and successful session today. It went very well - significant engagement from all involved, a better sense of the direction we are to go to.” – Matt - Board member, environmental nonprofit
Frequently asked questions
Q: I have been through strategic planning processes before. There was a lot of brainstorming, but not a lot of prioritizing. We ended up with a laundry list of things to do but no clear way forward. How will this be different?
A: We structure the process so that there is time and space for brainstorming AND prioritizing. If the group identifies more than 5 strategic priorities, we'll work with you to narrow your focus to no more than 5 big goals.
Q: The last organization I was with had a strategic plan that was so long and complicated no one could wade through it or use it.
A: Grace Social Sector Consulting believes in creating plans that marry aspirations with the real world (i.e. reasonable and doable) You will finish our process with a 1-2 page strategic plan that:
Q: My organization has a lot of stakeholders. I am not sure how to effectively involve them in the process without it feeling like an overwhelming number of voices and opinions.
A: You will choose your ad hoc strategic planning committee or team, a small group of up to 5 people to guide the process. This group will decide who will be interviewed, who will be invited to a focus group or asked to answer a survey.
Then the planning process with your key leaders will include a series of guided conversations. Grace Social Sector Consulting will kick off these planning sessions with a summary of the key themes that emerged from the interviews, focus groups and surveys. Each session will be a focused 2- to 3-hour conversations that builds on the previous session. By breaking the process into manageable bites with time to digest in between, it's much easier for the group to envision your future, identify key priorities and success criteria. And we ensure buy-in from your key constituents by building in rounds of feedback and input.
Q: What happens after Year 1? How will we proceed?
A: Life changes too fast to invest too much detail into more than a 1 year implementation plan. As part of our work together, you will agree on how and when you will review your Year 1 implementation plan and create your Year 2 plan.
Q: The last time we did strategic planning we had an in person retreat. I don't know when everyone I would want to have involved will comfortable meeting in person. Can this be done remotely?
A: Absolutely. Using a combination of video conferencing and digital collaborative tools, your group will have a series of focused 2- to 3-hour conversations. Each session builds on the previous session. By breaking the process into manageable bites with time to digest in between, it's much easier for the group to envision your future, identify key priorities and success criteria. It makes the process more affordable your your organization. It is often more accessible and manageable for your volunteers and staff.
A: We structure the process so that there is time and space for brainstorming AND prioritizing. If the group identifies more than 5 strategic priorities, we'll work with you to narrow your focus to no more than 5 big goals.
Q: The last organization I was with had a strategic plan that was so long and complicated no one could wade through it or use it.
A: Grace Social Sector Consulting believes in creating plans that marry aspirations with the real world (i.e. reasonable and doable) You will finish our process with a 1-2 page strategic plan that:
- identifies the high level goals
- establishes success metrics and or criteria
Q: My organization has a lot of stakeholders. I am not sure how to effectively involve them in the process without it feeling like an overwhelming number of voices and opinions.
A: You will choose your ad hoc strategic planning committee or team, a small group of up to 5 people to guide the process. This group will decide who will be interviewed, who will be invited to a focus group or asked to answer a survey.
Then the planning process with your key leaders will include a series of guided conversations. Grace Social Sector Consulting will kick off these planning sessions with a summary of the key themes that emerged from the interviews, focus groups and surveys. Each session will be a focused 2- to 3-hour conversations that builds on the previous session. By breaking the process into manageable bites with time to digest in between, it's much easier for the group to envision your future, identify key priorities and success criteria. And we ensure buy-in from your key constituents by building in rounds of feedback and input.
Q: What happens after Year 1? How will we proceed?
A: Life changes too fast to invest too much detail into more than a 1 year implementation plan. As part of our work together, you will agree on how and when you will review your Year 1 implementation plan and create your Year 2 plan.
Q: The last time we did strategic planning we had an in person retreat. I don't know when everyone I would want to have involved will comfortable meeting in person. Can this be done remotely?
A: Absolutely. Using a combination of video conferencing and digital collaborative tools, your group will have a series of focused 2- to 3-hour conversations. Each session builds on the previous session. By breaking the process into manageable bites with time to digest in between, it's much easier for the group to envision your future, identify key priorities and success criteria. It makes the process more affordable your your organization. It is often more accessible and manageable for your volunteers and staff.