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It’s not over until it’s over…what to do with your strategic plan!

So you ask…now that the planning is over now what do we do with the plan?

It is time to package it up!

Once the initial goals and objectives are drafted and approved by the planning team and board of directors, the organization needs to look at the two main audiences both internally and externally and in what form they should receive a copy of the plan.

And just like a case for support, there are several ways of packaging and for different reasons and audiences.

From my experience you will want to have an internal plan for executive management staff and board purposes that outlines priorities and goals, key objectives and tasks, along with any new staff requirements needed to achieve the plan, budgets to support the efforts and timelines for turning the vision into reality.  This internal plan becomes the day-to-day operational plan.   This  version while very specific and detailed is less formal than what is presented externally. It can be kept as a very informal, rudimentary working document with an eye towards task management and internal benchmarking.

Externally, while not as specific, this document can be more formally polished and presented to a wide variety of stakeholders according to traditional modes of communication.  These modes might include brochures, articles in newsletters, insider updates, websites, social media and other mediums as desired depending upon the particular cultural needs and expectations of the stakeholders including potential funders, donors and community partners.

Consider:

1. Distributing a full copy to every board and management team member.

2. Distributing all (or highlights from) the plan to everyone in the organization from the newest employee to direct care staff.

3. Posting your mission, vision and values statements on the walls of your main offices.

4.  Consider giving each employee a card with the mission, vision and values statements (or highlights from them) on a card.

5. Publishing portions of your plan in your newsletter, advertising and marketing materials (brochures, ads, etc.).

6. Training board members and employees on portions of the plan during orientations.

7. Including portions of the plan in policies and procedures, including the employee manual.

8. Providing copies of the plan for major stakeholders, for example, funders/investors, trade associations, potential collaborators, vendors/suppliers, etc.

So how have you gone that final step and packaged your strategic plan?

Share your thoughts, suggestions and samples!

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How to raise $75,000 in 7 months through grant writing

I raised $85,000 for an organizations in 7 months. How?

Grant writing!

I bet you didn’t know that was a skill set of DCS, oh but it is!

In the past 7 months that I have worked with an elder care facility, I have been busy raising money through grants.

In fact, lots of money. Over $75,000 to be exact.

How?

Well, grant writing just like any component of fund development takes skill and has a definitive body of knowledge around it.

Can you hire someone who can write, sure! But a fund development professional has the breadth of experience and knowledge that can take effective efforts and make them extraordinary ones.

I start off by conducting a search of all the potential funding sources that exist both privately and corporately using subscriber on-line sources. From there I put together a grants management plan – a road map you might say of the next year ahead.

I know exactly what is due when and what needs to be my priority.

I spend time building relationships in the office and on the board to help match organizational priorities with funding priorities to ensure success. Then I work with your board to see what existing and/or potential relationships that there might be to leverage each funding potential.

It doesn’t end there, reporting is key. And donor-centered, relationship enhancing reporting takes you to another level.

So, yes…you can hire a “copy writer,” “a former newspaper writer,” or any other kind of writer…but why not a fund development professional.

The body of knowledge is powerful of thing.

Don’t waste time and money – instead hire someone who can raise it!

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Moves management actions

In need of some “moves management” suggestions for your donors?

Try some of these out:

  • Follow up a thank-you call to a donor with a video or photos of your mission in action.
  • Post videos of your mission in action on Facebook, and ask your donors to share and like it.
  • Provide donors with meaningful information about their gifts at work before another gift ask.
  • Record an interview with a major donor talking about the effectiveness of your organization’s missions.
  • Invite a major donor to visit your offices and meet your staff.

Share some of your “moves management” suggestions and I will post them in an upcoming newsletter.

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Your board of directors…whats up with them?

I know, I know.  The BOARD…we all seem to cringe when we hear that word.  The board is the way the board is because…

Perhaps the board is the way the board is because… we haven’t done our jobs.Board of directors challenges

Whether as executive directors or development professions, we do have a job to do you know!

Are you shocked yet??!!!

Are we developing and setting expectations for board members INCLUDING expectations for fund development?

Do they have position descriptions?

Are we asking them to apply and then screen them properly?  (Heck it is THE most important job in an organization, right?  Why would we treat it any less, duh!)

Are we choosing the right board board members or do we just take folks on recommendations of other members or because we need to fill empty slots?

Are we as Simone Joyaux saying “thanking and releasing?”  Do we properly assess their performance to their job description and expectations.  And then do something about it?

How many of us have actually let a board member go for not performing?

It is time to add “ban under performing” boards to our to-do list or perhaps even to our job descriptions and I can assure you that once you do, your performance will sky rocket.

I want to hear about your board!  And, oh, email me for a sample board diversity and skills composition inventory form I created this week.  I will gladly share with you!

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Have you strategically planned?

Throughout my career, I have found that it is oftentimes not fund development issues that impact the effectiveness of fundraising, but, larger organizational ones.

After doing many development audits and assessments, I can say that the top items that are lacking within an organization are:  a vision for the future, a case for support, and a long-range plan to get there.

In my opinion, nothing is worst than not having these tools in your fundraising toolbox.  In fact, the “new” donors of today, are different in the sense that they want to know what your vision and plans are and how their gift is going to make a difference today as well as tomorrow.

Strategic planning not only charts that future course, but, it also ensures that your organization will remain relevant to your community and constituents, as well as to your donors.  It is the framework for ALL of your organizational activities and is the backbone of your fund development program.

How can you raise money without knowing who you are, where you are going, and how you will get there?

Without a compass to provide direction, you will be lost in the woods.  And the same holds true for your strategic plan.

It is the vision for the future and the compass to get you there.  I should add that strategic planning is more than that as well.  It is also just as much about process is as it is about product.  In fact, launching a strategic planning process engages all of your key constituents and stakeholders in your organization and creates greater community ownership and donor investment.  Let’s face it, our organizations are not “ours” but belong to the community and those we serve.  By engaging them in the process, you ensure that they have a voice.

It is also about organizational commitment, dialogue, change, and learning.  And, we all know that those organizations that are “learning” organizations are by far the most successful.

So, if you are looking for direction for your fundraising efforts, start at the beginning.  Who are you?  Are you relevant?  Where are you going?  And, do you have a plan?  We must remember that the “fundraiser” is limited by how effective an organizations’ overall health and well-being is.  Don’t set their expectations to high without giving them the proper tools to do the work.

How has your strategic planning efforts enhanced your donor relations in your organization?

 

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