THE PROCESS
A clear mission helps you focus your efforts on what you do best.
Vision and mission are not the same:
Maintain a
constant vigil over changing demographics and other community variables
that can and should affect your program or service delivery. Be sensitive
to changing community needs and evaluate how well your programs and
services are working to meet those needs.
Take stock of your resources, both human
and financial, and project the level of increase or decrease you expect
in the future.
The vision and mission must be reaffirmed
to set the stage for the development of goals.
Identification and discussion of strategic
issues from the community should drive the development of relevant,
market-responsive goals.
Must have human, financial and time resources
to make it a success.
Setting GOALS AND OBJECTIVES is a several-step process of
A long range plan must include a financial
plan and budget.
By setting goals and objectives, the
organization selects the path it will follow to achieve its mission.
Action plans are vital tools which ensure the plan's implementation
and evaluation and its power as a dynamic force within an organization.
Evaluation is
the key to keeping the plan vital.
Evaluation happens on a number of levels:
Evaluation happens on a number of intervals:
Full-blown strategic planning usually
takes place every three to five years. A three-to-five year plan should
have a "rolling base". At the close of each year, the progress
is evaluated, that year is retired from the plan, and a new final year
is added.
A plan should be structured enough to
keep the organization focused, yet elastic enough to accommodate a new
idea or an emergent community need. An organization's power to remain
relevant in the community's perception is related to its capacity to
evaluate both its plan and the community's need for its services.
THE RETREAT (A DAY)
STRATEGIC PLAN: A working document that discusses the organization’s mission.
GOAL: A statement of desired long-term
outcomes that define the accomplishment of the mission. Goals descend
from and are validated by the vision. Goals are general.
OBJECTIVE: A more specific statement
that supports the goal. It must have a deadline, be realistic, be quantified
and have an assigned responsible person/committee or organization. There
can be many objectives to implement a goal.
Objectives are "SMART":
ACTION STEPS: Supports the implementation of an objective.
• INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN
• THE PLANNING PROCESS
• HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION
• THE AGENCY TODAY
• THE WORLD WE WILL WORK IN
• GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
• ONE-YEAR PLAN
• TIME LINE
• EVALUATION AND UPDATE METHODOLOGY
Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
The goal of the SWOT analysis is to examine
the non-profit's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in
order to identify the top three to five issues facing the organization,
and state them in the form of the top three to five goals for the organization
to pursue.
Consider:
2. What could be the effects of these
changes in terms of threats or opportunities?
1. What changes must we make to address the threats?
2. What strengths can we build on to take advantage of the opportunities?
3. What is important? What is urgent?
If we don't address this issue, will it stop or harm the organization?
Attend to the important issues and not the urgent issues?
Getting new information
spawns new, up-to-date perspectives and generates enthusiasm for planning.
Consider assigning a planning subcommittee or a marketing consultant
to collect any useful information about trends.
Issues and goals usually come from strengths
to be bolstered, weaknesses to be corrected, opportunities to be capitalized
upon, and threats to be avoided.
Issues that are too narrow do not warrant
planning and issues that are too broad will bog you down. Deal with
issues that you can do something about.
Issues should be clearly articulated
so that anyone can understand them.
Do not ignore current major issues in
the interests of pursuing more creative and forward looking goals.