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How
Important is
Strategic Planning for Philanthropy
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
President/CEO
CAPITAL
VENTURE
SM
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The
Issue:
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Development programs in many organizations,
even some larger institutions, still rely on grants,
special events or one major source of funding. Funding
sources can dry up due to government cuts, corporate
mergers, failed events, or disappointed donors.
Failure to plan strategically for development can
cause organization to be unable to respond to environmental
changes, internal weaknesses and changing demographics
of their constituents.
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What
Prompted Me to Write About This Issue?
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In my consulting
practice, I have come across many organizations, both
large and small, that fail to achieve their goals in fundraising
because they are dependent on a single source of funding,
they have set unrealistic goals, or they fail to involve
the organization’s leadership in their development
efforts.
In my first book, Recruiting
and Training Fundraising Volunteers, I addressed
the issue of how staff, board and volunteers should work
together to achieve fundraising goals. In my second book,
The Development Plan, I addressed the importance of an
integrated development plan, including the infrastructure
needed to run a successful development program.
I was also a contributing author to The Fundraising Feasibility
Study—It’s Not About the Money, in which the
importance of planning adequately before launching a capital
campaign was discussed at great length.
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What
Does the Research Show?
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“Cheshire
Puss,” Alice began, “Would you tell me please
which way I ought to go from here?” “That
depends a great deal on where you want to get to,”
said the cat.
“I don’t much care where,” said Alice,
“so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,”
said the cat. |
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Lewis
Carroll
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Jim
Greenfield says “Leadership of nonprofit organizations
must define their direction each year, prepare written
goals and objectives, and measure outcomes quarterly or
semiannually.” He states that strategic planning
is necessary for both the organization and the development
office. He further states that the organization must be
ready to deal with contingencies such as the desire to
develop new programs or expand existing ones, the loss
of a major contributor, new management staff, increased
competition for charitable dollars, and changes in the
economic environment of their community. Greenfield goes
on to state that, "Managing change while preserving
financial stability is a major challenge.”
D. Kerry Laycock, in The Nonprofit Management Handbook,
says the Cheshire cat, being a wise strategist, recognized
that a well-defined purpose is the key to planning.
He goes on to say that they key characteristics of strategic
planning are that it: |
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- Adapts to a changing environment
- Is future-oriented
- Is comprehensive
- Is based on a consensus-building
process.
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Every organization,
according to Laycock, is faced with certain opportunities
and challenged by certain barriers. The perfect world,
in other words, does not exist. He says that nonprofits
must ask whether their organization is stable, must determine
if there is a need for change, and must be committed to
planning.
Kay Sprinkel Grace states that the development plan is
not enough, but that an organizational strategic plan
is necessary before the development plan can be accomplished.
She goes on to say there are two primary reasons for planning:
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- To provide an internal management
tool to help board and staff assess performance.
- To provide an external document
to persuade potential donors and board members of
the effectiveness of the organization.
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Grace outlines
different types of plans—long range, strategic and
specific. |
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- Long range planning spans three
to five years
- Strategic plans are annual and
may be part of the long range plan
- Specific plans are for a specific
department, such as development.
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In what I
believe to be the premier book on strategic planning for
nonprofits, Allison and Kaye define strategic planning:
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“Strategic
planning is a systematic process through which an organization
agrees on—and builds commitment among key stakeholders
to—priorities which are essential to its mission
and responsive to the operating environment."
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They go on
to outline the components of a strategic plan as: |
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- Choosing how best to respond to
a dynamic and sometimes hostile environment;
- Following a process that is both
focused and productive;
- Choosing specific priorities for
both short and long term;
- Building commitment of key stakeholders.
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Allison and
Kaye say that strategic planning: |
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- Views the future as unpredictable
- Views planning as a continuous
process
- Expects new trends, changes and
surprises
- Considers a range of possible futures
- Asks, "What business should we
be in? Are we dong the right thing?"
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How
Does This Translate into Best Practices in the Philanthropic
Field?
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Too often,
even organizations that understand the value of long range
planning and strategic planning on an overall organizational
basis, fail to utilize these same strategies in their
development program. Development and fundraising is often
done in a haphazard way because, like Alice, the development
officer sometimes has no idea of where they want to be.
They are caught up in the day-to-day management of a myriad
of fundraising activities, many of which are often unproductive
or counter-intuitive to the building of lasting donor
relationships.
Undue pressure may be put on the development office from
boards and executive management who think fundraising
as a “necessary evil;” who, despite the body
of knowledge which is available, still think of fundraising
in the tin-cup mentality, or who refuse to make the necessary
financial investment in the development office.
First, the organization must commit to strategic planning
at an organizational level, if development planning is
to be successful. Second, the organization must allocate
sufficient funding to the development office, allowing
them to hire staff leaders who have the ability and interest
in planning for development. And, furthermore, the development
office must utilize good strategic planning techniques
to develop its own plan.
Many of the techniques that apply to organizational strategic
planning can be easily translated into development planning.
Assessment: A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats) analysis of the development office is a good
place to start, analyzing the internal strengths and weaknesses
of the development office, and evaluating the external
threats and opportunities for development. A full blown
development audit is often the most useful tool in evaluating
past successes and assessing future opportunities. The
audit can also provide comparisons with national, regional
or local statistics of similar organizations and provide
benchmarks by which to measure success of the development
plan.
Building consensus, a vital part of strategic planning,
is also critical in the development planning process.
Involving key stakeholders in the development program—board
members, volunteers, management staff, program staff,
donors and the entire development staff is critical.
Just as in strategic planning, the development plan must
be focused on the mission and vision of the organization.
Each development goal should be assessed in light of its
relevance to the organization's mission and vision.
Like strategic planning, the development plans should
focus on a limited number of goals in different areas
and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic,
and Time-defined) objectives should be listed for each
goal. The operational development plan also needs to contain
strategies and action steps for each objective. A measurement
system must be established and someone must be responsible
for the implementation and monitoring of the plan.
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Issues
for Further Discussion:
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Why
do organizations resist allocating the time necessary
to development planning?
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CEOs and development
officers are often under a great deal of pressure to raise
money quickly. Entrepreneurial board members who are shrewd
business people are often accustomed to working on the
basis of instant decisions, and may want the development
office to just “go out and do it” without
adequate planning. Development officers may be so caught
up in keeping their heads above water that they do not
have the time to plan.
Organizational leadership must take the time to plan strategically;
otherwise their organization will be left behind in the
dynamic and ever-evolving world on the nonprofit sector.
Leadership should look at the Return on Investment of
careful, strategic planning.
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“The
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results.” —
Albert Einstein
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How
do we convince CEOs and Board members that they need to
be part of the development planning process?
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Successful
organizations have visionary leadership. One way to convince
our leadership of the importance of strategic planning
for development is by having them interact with the key
nonprofit leaders in their communities. A CEO or board
chair from a highly respected and successful nonprofit
can often convince a struggling CEO of the value of strategic
planning for development.
Leaders want their opinions to matter, but may feel that
development is not their area of expertise and may want
to spend their time on organizational planning which they
are generally more comfortable with. Development officers
need to help their organization’s leadership reach
a comfort level with development and philanthropy and
convince them that their insights as the organization's
leader are critical to the development program.
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How
do we prepare the development office for a “dynamic
and sometimes hostile” environment?
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Involving
community leaders in the philanthropic process and the
development planning process is one good way to assure
that community concerns and changing environments are
incorporated into the nonprofits’ development planning
process.
Marketing people, key business leaders, political personalities
are generally in tune with environmental factors that
could affect the organization's development program, and
should be invited to participate in the philanthropic
planning process.
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How
does the development officer assure that their plans are
truly strategic and that they will be implemented?
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Incorporating
into the planning process the points Allison and Kaye
make about strategic planning are critical: |
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- It must be a systematic process
- It must build consensus among key
stakeholders
- Priorities must be set
- It must be future-focused and respond
to a rapidly changing environment.
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A system to
monitor the plan is critical. A leader must be assigned
to monitoring the plan on a regular basis, holding accountable
all those who are involved in the implementation of the
plan, and being prepared to make adjustments to the plan
when necessary.
Assuring that the plan is future-focused at each step
of the process is essential.
William Sturtevant quotes Victor Hugo:
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“The
future has several names.
For the weak it is impossible,
For the fainthearted, it is unknown,
For the thoughtful and the valiant, it is ideal.
The challenge is urgent, the task is large, the time is
now.”
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How will
your organization meet the future?
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Bibliography:
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Allison,
Michael & Kaye, Jude: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit
Organizations, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, New York
Connors, Tracey Daniel, Editor: The Nonprofit Management
Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, 1993, New York
Grace, Kay Sprinkel: Beyond Fundraising. John
Wiley & Sons, 1997, New York
Greenfield, James M: Fund Raising, 2nd edition.
John Wiley & Sons, 1999, New York
Lysakowski, Linda: Recruiting
and Training Fundraising Volunteers. John Wiley
& Sons, 2005, New York
Lysakowski, Linda: The
Development Plan. John Wiley & Sons, 2007,
New York
Sturtevant, William: The Artful Journey. Bonus
Books, 1997, Chicago
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