#2 The Secret Life of Surveys Surveys can be scientific instruments offering statistically reliable guidance for important decisions. This article is not about that. It is about communication.
#3 Untangling the Web Oh, what a tangled Web... Not so long ago, a website was just a brochure, a bulletin board, or a fundraising portal. Now the interactive possibilities are boundless.
#4 On Boards Nonprofit boards have been defined as ineffective groups of effective people. What does it take to energize and get the most out of a board?
#5 The Structure of Planning There are many reasons to plan and many effective ways to go about the planning process. There are also some common ways that planning goes wrong, but a well-conceived structure can tilt the odds toward success.
#6 Financial Modeling A financial model can help an organization to explore, predict and control the repercussions of its decisions. It sounds more complicated than it is.
Future topics
Measure results Some things are measurable, some are important, but they may be different things. Can measuring results help your organization?
Mind your RFPs & Qs What is an RFI, an RFQ, an RFP? How can they help to save money, reduce risk, and improve quality in hiring consultants, designers, architects?
Focus mission & vision What is the role of a mission statement? How can an organization make the most of statements of mission, vision and values?
Wednesday Webinars
—now two weekly
The Wednesday Webinar series for summer 2010 features offerings by experts in nonprofit governance and management, planning and organizational development, fundraising, communications, technology, and facilities.
The webinars will be presented at 1:00 Eastern / 10:00 Pacific & 2:30 Eastern / 11:30 Pacific.
All are free through the links below. Click on the title for a description and free registration. Scroll down for more listings.
For the complete schedule sorted by date and time and categorized by subject area, go to http://bit.ly/SyPwebinars
The purpose of planning is not to write a plan - it is to increase your ability to serve your mission. The several different kinds of planning - most prominently strategic, program, business and facility planning - each with its own purview and approach, share some basic principles. The discussion below is framed to convey the many benefits of strategic planning in challenging times. With some adjustments of who is involved (professional staff or faculty, rather than all stakeholders), most points apply to program planning as well. The first three points apply to most forms of planning.
In challenging times organizations have to find ways to cut back wherever possible and forgo any apparently discretionary expenditures, not only of cash, but also of time and energy. The problem, of course, is to determine what to eliminate and what to protect.
Organizations plan for a number of reasons. Many of them sound as if they would best be done reflectively, in quiet times:
a new organization may need to articulate and agree on purpose and means
a mature organization might need to
- find new challenges
- shake complacency
- invigorate stakeholders
- move to the next level
a challenged organization might need to solve a problem of direction, consensus, or funding
Notwithstanding these usual intentions, the real reasons to plan are even more pressing during periods of impending crisis. When strained resources are about to require a choice between cutting programs or cutting staff, strategic planning can seem to be pretty far down the list of priorities. However, planning is not a luxury that is best sacrificed when stresses and strains mount. It can be exactly what is needed to illuminate a path through difficult times.
Here’s why:
If you don’t take the time to step back and re-evaluate when conditions change, when will you?
H.L. Mencken said that “for every complex problem there is a simple solution... and it is always wrong.” The simple solution of doing less of the same - or taking other ostensibly obvious steps - in times of heightened need may not be the best approach to serving an organization’s mission.
In the face of a complex situation, the combined experience of many minds is likely to identify options and suggest nuances that any one decider would miss. Looking at a situation from a variety of perspectives is more likely to flag the truly critical issues and to find the new opportunities in them, as well as the challenges.
Challenging times provide an opportunity through a good strategic planning process to move everyone out of their comfort zones, to challenge their own assumptions and to find better strategies to support the organization’s mission. This will produce a benefit that will last well beyond the precipitating crisis.
