July 8, 2019

Your Nonprofit Strategy: How to Cook Up a Success

It’s summer, so fire up your barbecue. Whether you cook steak, chicken, or tofu, there’s a thin line between raw, outstanding, and charred. Likewise, when you plan your strategy, the effort requires a fine hand to cook up success.

By success, I mean clarity, consensus, and enthusiasm about your future. You also seek the peace of mind you gain when your organization moves forward on its goals.

New clients tell me they’re frustrated and bored with their existing strategy development process. Often, you and your boards get served the same old, same old methods, such as SWOT.

Know-how involves gathering information and facilitating your group’s decisions so you can generate a roadmap. This kind of engagement is well worth the investment of time. It challenges participants to think strategically.

The results of burnt or raw strategic plans?

Generic strategies include “Let’s grow our donors, customers, and social media.”
Massive, wishful, and under-resourced assignments, such as, “We’ll add another event to triple our revenue.”
You don’t use the strategy; instead, you hide it.
When you complete every method and objective, nothing changes, except you have fewer resources and less energy.

No wonder nonprofit execs resist going through strategic planning. The truth is that effective strategy creation takes more than just going on a retreat.

Imagine your strategic plans, not just in writing. Instead, they’re in the hearts and heads of your board, staff, and supporters—the communities buzzing about your nonprofit. You no longer feel like Sisyphus pushing the ball up the eternal hill. You are too busy sprinting to keep up with your staff and supporters.

What makes the difference?

Facilitation that:

1. Tap your vision so you remember your dreams and dream new ones.

2. Opens a big umbrella to provide room for everyone to give input

3. Help you to make decisions based on objectives, alternatives, and risks

What will success look like?

When you use the plan, your brilliance shines bright. You can’t wait to get started. You sing in the shower on Monday mornings and nod with satisfaction on Friday afternoons.

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Author

Karen Eber Davis

Karen Eber Davis provides customized advising and coaching around nonprofit strategy and board development. People leaders hire her to bring clarity to sticky situations, break through barriers that seem insurmountable, and align people for better futures. She is the author of 7 Nonprofit Income Streams and Let's Raise Nonprofit Millions Together.

Your Nonprofit Strategy: How to Cook Up a Success

The results of burnt or raw strategic plans?

What makes the difference?

What will success look like?

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