Strategic Planning

What is a Strategic Plan?

A strategy encompasses a nonprofit's Goals, Target Segments, Programs and Differentiation, and Required Capabilities & Systems to achieve those goals.

The Strategic Plan is the set of initiatives required to deliver the Strategy.

Nonprofits often require two related sets of strategies, for each side of their operations:

To define their Mission, Target Segments, and how they will provide help, and,
To define their Fundraising Strategy, which usually targets different groups with a separate value proposition, and is supported by a separate set of activities

Mental Health Nonprofits: Market Trends & Strategic Imperatives

Assessment of market trends and strategic imperatives for Mental Health nonprofits

How Nonprofits Should Prepare for a Recession

Recessions are an inevitable part of our economy, and they can severely impact a nonprofit’s ability to operate. With an economic...

How to Use Strategic Planning to Drive Change

Many nonprofits engage in Strategic Planning reluctantly, and may see it as an unnecessary distraction from the day-to-day activities and...

Our approach to building your Strategic Plan

Focus Strategy Advisors brings a structured process, thought-provoking external perspectives, and analytical rigor to Strategic Planning.

Our North Star is building a plan that works for your organization, so we focus on collaboration with key stakeholders, data and analytics to guide difficult decisions, and designing an achievable implementation roadmap.

Build

Fact Base

Surface key strategic issues for the plan to address, collect initial stakeholder perspectives, and perform baseline analyses

Key stakeholder interviews and focus groups
Market analysis
Competitive analysis
Financial analysis
Operational analysis
Collaboration workshops

DEVELOP & Validate Strategy

Identify, test, and refine leading options for strategic directions

Survey beneficiaries, financial sponsors, staff and volunteers, Board directors, community stakeholders, etc.
External benchmarking and analysis
Financial and operational pro forma modeling
Socialization and refinement with key stakeholders
Collaboration workshops

Execution

Planning

Develop implementation roadmap and management processes

Develop and refine strategic initiatives
Establish program management processes and cadence
Collaboration workshops
Documentation
Roll-out planning

Tailored Strategic Planning Engagements

Focus Strategy Advisors offers right-sized engagements to fit the needs and resources of every nonprofit. Our tailored Strategic Planning service offers balance how much help you need with where you need the help.

VOICE OF MARKET

Gather perspectives from internal and external stakeholders on needs, impact, and key strategic questions

Sample Activities:

Focus groups
1:1 discussions
Surveys
Competitive benchmarking
Collaboration workshops

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Create a Strategic Plan by building a fact base, developing and validating the strategy, and designing a strategic roadmap

Sample Activities:

Voice of Market activities
Strategic decision framing
Financial & operational data analysis, pro forma modeling
Detailed market analysis
Competitive analysis
Strategic initiative development
Roll-out planning
Plan socialization
Collaboration workshops
Strategic Plan documentation

IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT

Make sure the Strategic Plan gets implemented with a focused Program Management team

Sample Activities:

Project tracking and reporting to Steering Committee
Change management
Decision-making facilitation
Targeted analyses

Request Assistance with Strategic Planning