Establishing a plan to follow for every department of your nonprofit is crucial to experiencing growth and expanding reach. Obviously, plans created for development, volunteer, community outreach, etc. are helpful in a targeted way, but an overarching strategy keeps your team on the same page and outlines goals that are attainable for everyone. This is the third issue to address this week that we have found most nonprofits face. Does YOUR nonprofit create a quarterly and/or annual plan to follow? Here’s how the DonorLynk team has found that strategic plans are powerful.
Connect Your Mission to Your Outreach
Your mission encompasses all the impactful work you do, but be sure to connect your mission to the programs you offer. Make it known through marketing, email subject lines, newsletter content, and event themes that you are incorporating the objectives of your mission into your outreach. Work a checklist into your overall plan that each department can follow to ensure that the mission statement’s handprint is on all programs conducted throughout the year. If your supporters understand your mission, then they can get behind the role your outreach plays in the big picture of your nonprofit’s impact.
Determine Resources to Assist in Delivery
You have your mission minded checklist, what’s next? Include in your annual plan what resources will be required to deliver programs to your community. Funds, volunteers, marketing materials… all of these require advance planning to make sure your organization is able to deliver the best services to those you help and empower. This is where your budget document comes into play. The all familiar budget is necessary for all departments to understand and have a hand in building as a part of your annual strategy.
Set a Rubric for Organization Performance
Mission minded checklist, budget document, and, lastly, your rubric for performance throughout the year. Using final report data from the years before, you can best determine where resources have been allocated, what contributions have been made, what marketing efforts were successful, and, most importantly, how many people’s lives were changed because of the nonprofit mission being lived out. This past data gives you enough to work off of to build a rubric to measure up to in the year ahead. This can also take into account staff activity and departmental goals made and met.
Need a starting place for your next development strategy or strategic plan for progress at your nonprofit? Connect with the DonorLynk team through this website or at 615-988-4600.
Marianna Woodruff is Director of Brand Awareness at DonorLynk, LLC. DonorLynk aims to provide nonprofits with tailored solutions that work for you, not against you.