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In an increasingly competitive, resource-constrained world, great nonprofit strategy is less a luxury and increasingly a necessity. To be truly effective at creating social change, a nonprofit must have a strategy for the future and a plan for how they will get there. Because without a long-term strategy for what your nonprofit is trying to accomplish and how you will marshal people and money to reach it, you are just spinning your wheels.
In fact, charting a future direction is a fundamental first step in your nonprofit’s journey to achieve your mission and become financially sustainable. Through the process of creating a strategy for the future, you will build the momentum and
resources needed to get there.
A GREAT STRATEGY TAKES YOUR NONPROFIT TO NEW HEIGHTS
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Strategic Planning
ABOUT SOCIAL VELOCITY
Social Velocity, led by Nell Edgington, is a management consulting firm that leads nonprofits to become more effective and financially sustainable. Nell works one-on-one with nonprofit leaders who are at an important inflection point. They are poised to create more social change but need help becoming more strategic, financially savvy, and confident leaders.
CASE STUDIES
To learn more about how Social Velocity works with clients, read case studies.
A great strategic planning process:
• Starts from an in-depth understanding of the outside world (clients, funders, competitors)
• Articulates how your organization creates social value • Puts everything on the table and allows no sacred cows• Aligns programs with your nonprofit’s financial model • Includes a tactical plan so that your broad goals can be achieved• Sets forth a bold vision with a specific road map, inspiring confidence and
investment
A thoughtful, evidence-based, actionable strategic plan sets your nonprofit on a path to energize your board, staff and funders; raise more money; broaden your reach; and ultimately -- and most importantly -- achieve more of the social change you seek.
Smart nonprofit strategy can completely transform your nonprofit. It will:
© Social Velocity socialvelocity.net 512.694.7235
Strategic Planning
Create Momentum
To really tap into the potential of your funders, board members, staff, volunteers,
and partners you must inspire them to larger heights and help them understand their role in reaching those heights. A great strategic
planning process does that.
Become a Management Tool
An effective strategic plan doesn’t sit on the shelf, but rather is a living, breathing guide to the daily work and decisions of
your organization. It’s not a final product, it’s a way of life.
Attract Deeper Funding
People and organizations that make large gifts to a nonprofit are in effect investing in
the future of that organization. In articulating your future plans in a thoughtful, compelling way, you compel funders to make that larger
investment in your nonprofit.
Realize More Change
A great strategic planning process forces you to do the analysis, conduct the research,
make the hard decisions, and track your progress so that at the end of the day you
actually are making a difference.
Filter Future Decisions
A great strategic plan doesn’t tie your nonprofit’s hands, rather it becomes a lens
through which you can thoughtfully analyze future decisions and make the best moves
for your organization.
1. Create a TeamWith guidance and criteria from Nell, you will create an
8-12 member strategic planning group including board, staff
and external stakeholders. This group will meet, led each time
by Nell, three times over the course of the strategic planning
process to do the analysis, have challenging conversations,
and create recommendations for the board to review and
approve. Nell leads the staff work necessary to prepare for
each of these meetings.
2. Look InsideNell takes the strategic planning group through a series of
analyses to determine your target populations, the outcomes
you want to achieve, the value your nonprofit creates, your core
competencies, the financial and social impact of your programs,
and more.
3. Look OutsideNell then leads the strategic planning group to research your
competitors and collaborators, your funders, and the populations
you serve in order to understand where your organization should
operate. Nell leads your staff to conduct market research that will
inform these conversations.
The Strategic Planning Process
The creation of a strategic plan takes approximately 6 months from start to finish. Nell leads this entire process through the following 9 steps:
CASE STUDIES
To learn more about how Social Velocity works with clients, read case studies.
LEARN MORE
To find out more about Social Velocity’s
consulting services or to schedule a free
consultation, call 512.694.7235 or email
© Social Velocity socialvelocity.net 512.694.7235
Strategic Planning
4. Refine Vision and MissionGiven these internal and external analyses, Nell helps you
revisit and refine your vision and mission. The vision is the
social change your nonprofit seeks, and the mission is the
day-to-day activities driving toward that vision.
5. Develop Goals and ObjectivesNell then helps determine what your nonprofit wants to
accomplish in the next 3+ years. She leads your organization
to create 3-5 broad, measurable, achievable goals in the
specific time frame of your plan, and then breaks each goal
into the objectives to get there.
6. Create the Financial ModelA successful nonprofit realizes that goals cost money and there
must be a plan for the revenue and expenses necessary. Nell works
with your staff to create a multi-year projection of the revenue
and expenses necessary to realize your strategic plan goals.
7. Seek and Integrate FeedbackThroughout the strategic planning process, Nell helps the stra-
tegic planning group to seek and integrate feedback from staff,
board and important external supporters at every step of the
process. Nell also leads a full board and staff retreat to review and
revise the resulting draft strategic plan. Once the board is happy
with the final strategic plan, they will vote to approve it.
CASE STUDIES
To learn more about how Social Velocity works with clients, read case studies.
LEARN MORE
To find out more about Social Velocity’s
consulting services, or to schedule a free
consultation, call 512.694.7235 or email
© Social Velocity socialvelocity.net 512.694.7235
Strategic Planning
8. OperationalizeOnce the strategic plan is finalized and approved by the
board, it is operationalized so it doesn’t just sit on a shelf.
For each objective, Nell will help you create an operational
plan with milestones, activities, deliverables, people responsible and due dates.
9. MonitorNell will help you develop a process to monitor and measure
the achievement of your strategic plan. Staff and board
meetings will be driven by the goals and status of the plan
so that the strategic plan begins to drive daily activity at your nonprofit and becomes a new way of life.
© Social Velocity socialvelocity.net 512.694.7235
Strategic Planning
LEARN MORE
To find out more about Social Velocity’s consulting
services, or to schedule a free consultation, call 512.694.7235 or email
