STRATEGIC PLANNING: TRANSFORMING YOUR NONPROFIT VISION INTO REALITY

It is the dream of every non-profit to realize its vision and achieve its mission but most times this does not actualize without effective strategic planning. Strategic planning plays an important role in Non-profit Management, most successful organizations in the non-profit space today, went through months and years of rigorous strategy and brainstorming sessions to help direct plans. Before we scratch the surface of Strategic planning, let us look at what it entails; Strategic planning helps organizations turn their vision into reality, it ensures that organizations can define their mission, goals and objectives and guides the non-profit as it sets out to achieve its purpose.

It is important to note that in a strategic planning process, the aim of the organization is to identify best strategies that will produce results. Ideally as staff and board members strategically engage in the process, they become committed to achieving organizational measurable goals, revisit strategies regularly and put more focus on activities that are of priority to the organization's growth. Strategic Planning uses the SWOT analysis model which focuses on identifying the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of both internal and external factors that may affect or influence the process of planning.

You may be wondering how you can effectively transform your non-profit vision into reality? Well, the secret is not farfetched from the primary focus of planning as it plays a crucial role in the process of transformation. Most organizations after birthing a vision rush into the implementation phase which may be detrimental to the growth of your organization. The process of planning is not a one-off process but a continuous process. As factors change it is pertinent to adjust plans to suit the changes. 

With this understanding, let’s look at how you can effectively transform your non-profit vision into reality; In non-profit management, the process of strategic planning should be designed in such a way that it takes into consideration the needs of key stakeholders. 

The first stage of strategic planning is getting started; yes, you read right, not every organization needs the in-depth strategy process, most times a 2-page strategy plan can get you through a few months of activities; this is mostly for grassroot organizations, non-profits in the start-up phase, and volunteer groups. Key questions that will guide you in this phase include.

1. Why do you need a strategic plan? maybe you are just starting out as an organization and struggling to get traction, you need to have a full understanding of why you need to plan.
2. How many years will the strategic plan cover? Are you looking at a short-, medium- or long-term strategic plan?
3. Would you need the help of a planning consultant or professional?
4. When do you need to have a finished strategic plan in hand? your planning should include timelines and milestones. 

The second stage is the information gathering stage; after you must have answered all the questions, the next phase of strategic planning focuses on gathering information that describes your organization's current situation and the environment it operates in; this is called a situation analysis and operational audit. Information gathered may include descriptive narrative of the organizations’ vision, mission, values, history, management structure, SWOT and PEST Analysis. 

Stage three is the decision-making stage; this stage is a crucial stage in the planning process as the output from this phase is because of information gathered from the first two stages as inputs. It is the responsibility of the planning team to decide on the strategic direction of the organization based on priorities, this would ensure that everyone’s contribution is being taken into consideration. 

The draft plan phase is the fourth stage which involves careful identification of goals and objectives of the organization which are of priority, strategies on how to achieve the plan and a timeline to turn the vision into reality. In this phase it is important to ensure that all reviews, adjustments, and corrections are presented to the governing committee for approvals, after which feedback can be effected.

The last stage is the implementation stage; in this phase the focus of the organization is to ensure that the rigorous work put into planning is being executed; No matter the amount of time put into planning the structure of a strategic plan, if there are no measures to ensure a smooth implementation process, the effort would be worth very little. Lastly you can always monitor the process at different intervals during implementation.

It is the goal of every organization to succeed and the most efficient way to achieve this is through putting in place processes that would support and direct you on your quest. So, there you have it, we have scratched the surface of strategic planning in response to the question of how you can transform your non-profit vision into reality, just remember as you get ready to plan for your short-, medium- and long-term timelines, have in mind that an effective strategic planning involves leadership, commitment, dedication, competence, trust and participation of everyone. Lastly, don’t forget to be honest and transparent in your planning process.