Chart Your Nonprofit’s Path to Success Through Planning

Every year, those of us in nonprofit management run into the same issue: we need to plan for how we can increase our impact this year. But that doesn’t mean that day-to-day operations come to a standstill. 

While it feels like you’re caught in a catch-22 where you need to find ways to make your nonprofit run more efficiently, yet it’s hard to find the time to do so when your nonprofit is functioning with processes that have a lot of room for improvement.

So let’s take a step back and find some ways to free ourselves from this cycle. We’re going to walk you through the steps to setting your nonprofit up for success in the midst of your day-to-day work this year. 

Your Organization’s Capacity

Before any nonprofit begins the planning process, there’s a major question that needs to be asked. Does your organization have the capacity to take on this process at this time?

If your organization is stretched too thin right now, it doesn’t mean that you table the idea until next year. Identify what months are typically slower and would allow your team the time to fully commit to the planning process. Maybe there’s a project that can be pushed back to make time for critical planning. 

If your capacity is too tight to commit to an intensive planning process, you can also consider meeting with a nonprofit consultant. Sometimes, bringing in an outside expert to take a look at where you are and where you want to go is a great help.

What does your organization want to accomplish this year?

It’s pretty hard to plan where you want your organization to go if you don’t have an idea of what your goals are. So you’re going to have to think about what success looks like to you in the short-term and the long-term.

Pick a few priorities that your team wants to think about; Are your priorities focused on internal organizational efficiency, or do you need to focus on how you engage with and help the community you serve?

It’s also helpful to look to past planning successes, whether these were accomplished at the organization where you currently work or something that worked well in a previous position. It can also be helpful to talk to others in your network who work in nonprofit management and listen to what feedback they might have about what worked well in their organization. 

At this stage, one of the most important things is to not take too broad of a scope with what you hope to achieve. Having clearly defined, specific ideas about what needs to happen is going to increase the likelihood that the planning process will help you operate more efficiently.

What are my nonprofit’s options for the planning process?

Now that you’ve identified a few goals for the planning process, you have to choose which method is actually going to get you where you want to go. While there are many options for different situations, we picked a few of our favorites that we’ve seen work wonders for the nonprofits who we’ve worked with.

Revenue & Organization Analysis for Nonprofit Organizations

If your needs include improving your nonprofit organization’s internal operations, Revenue & Organization Analysis could be a great place to start!

When the nonprofit consultants at the Harper Consulting Group assist in this process, we take a holistic approach. We look at every aspect of your organization and the revenue that’s coming in to identify areas where a change could make a big impact.

Maybe the internal structure of your nonprofit’s staff needs some adjusting to make sure your capacity isn’t being consumed by roadblocks that could work better with some restructuring. There could be internal processes like task management that could be made more efficient by a slight adjustment.

Revenue opportunities and inefficiencies are also identified during this process, which can make a huge difference in your daily operations down the road.

Donor Data Analysis, Research, and Prospecting

In the planning process, we’re guessing that most nonprofits have goals like “bring in more donations.” One of our favorite ways to work on planning to do just that is to engage in donor data analysis. 

It’s easy to think about new donors in terms of “who are some new people we can reach?” But you may have an even bigger opportunity within your existing donor base. By looking at both new and existing donors, your organization can start making decisions that lead to a place where you are able to fund your mission through individual, company, or foundation donors.

Nonprofit Strategic Planning

If what your organization needs is help envisioning what the future of your organization’s impact could be, maybe strategic planning is a great avenue to explore. The beauty of this process is that there are valuable options to consider that are as short as a half-day visioning session or a much more extensive project. 

And we always make sure that revenue building is a big part of the plan when we work with nonprofits on this process, so you can feel confident that your planning is resulting in a sustainable future for your organization.

What are the next steps in nonprofit planning?

If you’re confident in your organization’s ability to take on planning this year, we have all kinds of resources for you to explore. Check out our Strategic Planning Roadmap or our Guide to Improving Your Nonprofit’s Programmatic & Operational Efficiency.

If you’re still looking for some direction, you can always reach out to our team as well! Whether you need a quick chat about your next moves or in-depth assistance on the planning process, we always offer free consultations to nonprofit leaders!