Clean House!
The current economy makes it essential that you are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. To get there...you must have your "house in order." There are key infrastructure components needed in every nonprofit organization that make a significant difference in how well the organization functions and how successful it is in fulfilling its mission. Those components are: Mission Evaluation & Strategic Planning. In the spirit of the spring season.... check to see if your nonprofit's house is in order in these important areas. Doing so will ensure that staff, volunteers and the
public view and interact with your organization in the most meaningful way possible.
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Mission Evaluation & Visioning
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Mission is what drives your nonprofit. It answers the question: " Why does this organization exist?" But it is sometimes difficult to keep on track. A successful program begets another program and another and yet another.....and all of sudden you're providing services in an area that was not originally included in your mission. It's costing you funding to provide the additional services and your core area of competency is now being short-changed. Mission should be evaluated frequently. What needs did you set out to provide to your community? Are they still relevant? Are you duplicating services with another non profit? What are the external forces impacting your organization's ability to provide services? What is your vision for the future?
Evaluating mission and creating a vision help to keep the board, the staff and volunteers focused and moving forward in an agreed upon direction. Having said that, sometimes needs do grow within the scope of your mission and it may be necessary to rewrite your mission to include a more comprehensive approach. The point being, if you are evaluating the mission on an regular basis then you will have the chance to be proactive and make any needed changes...or not. Creating a vision for the future answers the question: What we want the organization to be in the future?
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Strategic Planning
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Operating a nonprofit is an incredible responsibility and a tremendous
amount of work. Much like making a trip around the world, you wouldn't
set out on that journey without a map or plan as to where you were
going, who's going with you, what you need to take with you and how much
it will cost. Your organization's journey is very much like that road
trip. You need to plan in order to use your resources wisely and to
exact a route that will help you realize what you want to see happen.
It's amazing to me to learn how many organizations have no plan or have a
plan they haven't touched in years. A good plan has action steps, a
time line, a person or department responsible and identifies what
specific resources are needed to accomplish it. With the technology
available today, your strategic plan should be on your organization's
intranet so that those who have responsibility can interact with the
plan on a regular basis- making it possible for leadership (staff and
board) to check on the plan's progress at any point in time.
BoardSource reminds us that strategic planning helps your organization to: - Prepare for the future
- Anticipate and manage change
- Improve decision-making
- Promote stewardship
- Align board and staff
- Provide an opportunity to recommit to the cause
- Educates participants in institutional history
- Identify existing strengths
- Analyze systems and processes
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