Building Strong Non-Profit Organizations: The Importance of Strategic Planning and Financial Management

2. As we begin, some thoughts From Captain Roland Cox, Area Coordinator If leadership is serious about change… If not, the result will be… ...an organization that will be lathargic and its eulogy will be less than praise-worthy. ...an organization that continues to do the same old thing getting the same old results. ...an organization that is trying to make it thru the day with no consideration of the future. ...an organization with its mission and name absorbed by another making it less and less marketable. ...an organization that will lose donor confidence in stewardship for the mission. ...they must do honest evaluation of current organizational performances. ...they must be discontented with ‘status quo’ service. ...they must accent the positive of the organization and strategically plan and implement for a progressing future. ...they must ensure that the identity of the organization is never lost in colloberation . ...they must ensure that donor’s intent is always priority in the stewardship of entrusted funds.

3. 4 Things Every Non-Profit Needs Work by Neil Edington, President, Social Velocity

4. Survey Results Common Basic Problems 3 6 A disconnected, disengaged , ineffective Advisory Board. An inability to raise enough money. 1 4 A lack of sufficient organized infrastructure. A lack of strategic direction. 2 5 * Lack of organizational leadership. An inability to ‘move the needle’ on a social problem.

5. A Theory of Change • Non-Profits exist to meet some sort of social need. • Non-Profits can’t simply use their financial bottom line as the measure of success but rather it must articulate what it exist to do. • A Theory of Change allows a non-profit to state (to the Advisory Board and staff, to donors, volunteers and other supporters) how it takes community resources and turns them into social change. • Without a Theory of Change, a non-profit cannot persuade anyone to be a part of its work or even measure the impact of its mission.

6. A Strategic Plan • Advisory Board and Staff should not ‘pretend’ and create something that can be shown donors or plaqued on the wall for a reminder of where we wish we could be. • Real strategic planning is done logically and methodically so that it guides the day-to-day work of the organization, compelling and inspiring all involved to create real impact resulting from real solutions. • Real strategic planning allows the organization to understand and articulate its contribution to the larger community. • Without real strategic planning, the organization is doing a lot of work but to what end?

7. A Financial Plan • A real strategic plan has a real price tag. • A good financial plan analyzes all potential sources of money, lays a clear road map for receiving those funds. • A good financial plan integrates the securing of funds into the other work of the organization.

8. A Pitch for Capital • Capital builds the organization’s infrastructure, as opposed to revenue, which is for the providing of services. • Most simply raise revenue and very few organizations raise money to build a stronger, more effective and efficient organization. • In the non-profit arena, we insist on starving organizations and forcing them to spend every dime on services and to abandon their infrastructure. The result is an anemic organization, needing help just to stay alive. • The real strategic plan must include a pitch to persuade donors to invest in capacity capital for organization building which will result in effective solutions to growing needs.

9. The Simple Conclusion Articulate & Measure Real Strategic Planning The organization that will be stronger and more effective and better able to tackle the community’s issues will be the one who has taken a step back and put in place the building blocks of a real strategic plan that will create impact . Plan financially to include capacity captial

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