Consulting
Strategic Planning
There it was, the Strategic Plan for Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley buried in a file folder.
It was thick with small print. It was a little bit dusty, as if no one had looked at the tired old document in years.
I myself was afraid to read it, knowing that there would be a lot to decipher. I distinctly remember jumping to the last page, where I found something absolutely ridiculous. A goal that was way more than a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).
When I arrived at the organization, the organization had been building two houses a year. What I saw in the plan was a goal of getting to jump that number up to 12 houses a year.
Resolutely, I shoved the plan back in the file cabinet. With the current state of affairs, I couldn’t understand how and why my predecessor had agreed to what felt like an outrageous goal.
After about 18 months in my position and I’d stopped feeling overwhelmed, I was ready to tackle the challenge of creating a strategic plan that my team and the Board could actually execute.
Without a plan, I felt like I had to focus on everything. So I thought it would be a great idea to put Post-it notes all over my office with each note representing an area of focus to pay attention to.
Next came a massive Excel spreadsheet that, with the guidance of a brilliant colleague from Air Products, became the blueprint for our plan.
Since then I’ve worked with X organizations on their strategic plans. and I’ve developed a proprietary method of strategic planning based on the work I did at Habitat. Rather than many pages of impossible, my strategic planning process results in a strategic planning document no longer than five pages with no more than five strategic touchstones.
Today at Think Good, we help organizations like yours who are serious about strategic planning but are worried about the expense and time involved in getting this project off the ground.
Our strategic planning program is designed to enhance the organizational capacity of your nonprofit through a structured process with four key deliverables:
1. Organizational Assessment and Data Collection:
We begin our work by looking at the current state of your organization. We do this by utilizing the iCAT Assessment:
Utilizing the iCAT tool, we evaluate the organization's current capacity across six functional categories and 25 sub-capacities. This process allows you to engage up to 25 stakeholders, including staff and donors, to engage in the strategic planning process.
We also utilize Focus Groups to gather additional insights from different constituents that are critical to assessing current needs and imagining future possibilities of your agency.
2. Board Education and Strategic Visioning:
At Think Good, we believe that strategic planning can only happen with a high-functioning Board. We spend lots of time with our clients helping them educate and elevate their Boards of Directors.
Our process includes essential Board member training through the robust online learning program called Merit and the 'Nonprofit Board Member Basics' training platform.
3. Moving Values into Action
During our two day planning retreat, which includes the Board Education piece, we focus on:
establishing organizational values
tying values into a motivating mission statement
reviewing all data from the iCAT and focus groups
developing 3-5 strategic touchstones
A strategic touchstone is a guiding principle that a nonprofit can use to filter future decisions, ensuring alignment with its core mission and values. Strategic touchstones prioritize the most impactful initiatives a nonprofit should concentrate on over the next 18-24 months, fostering focused action and sustainable growth.
4. Executive Leadership Support:
Any organization that engages with us for strategic planning also receives support at the Executive Director level. This includes enrollment in our bi-weekly Nonprofit Leadership Mastermind. This group coaching program offers a space for senior nonprofit leaders to engage in peer support and gain insights from our team, enhancing their leadership skills. Sessions are held bi-weekly for 60 minutes via Zoom.
We also facilitate Board Chair Coaching throughout the course of our engagement together. These monthly strategic coaching calls with the Board Chair are designed to support the Board Chair in navigating the strategic planning and implementation process effectively.
At the end of the strategic planning process, organizations will have developed up to five strategic touchstones that they can focus on to guide their direction for the next 18 to 24 months.
This comprehensive program is tailored to bolster the leadership at various levels of the organization, ensuring a cohesive approach to strategic planning and capacity building.
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