5 Strategic Planning Practices for Nonprofit Organizations

Jan 11, 2019

5 Strategic Planning Practices for Nonprofit Organization to bring in the New Year!

It is a New Year and for many of us in the social sector a New Year signals not only a new start for our calendar, but also our fiscal year. This clean slate brings us an opportunity as nonprofit leaders to set the stage and layout our plan for 2019 and beyond. Strategic Planning is the backbone of any nonprofit for organizational effectiveness. Actually, the same could be said of any well-run organization in either the public or private sector. “When we plan our work we can work our plan” to achieve greater fundraising success and mission impact. Below is a checklist of the Top 5 Strategic Planning Practices that you, your Board and your teams should be thinking about to set the stage for a successful New Year.

  1. Complete and Distribute an Annual Report

Since the last fiscal year is now closed, it is time to celebrate the accomplishments of your donors and volunteers who have supported your agency in fulfilling its mission. This is the time to share stories highlighting individuals who have been served, as well as donors, volunteers and staff. Illustrate your success with statistics, info graphics, quotes and pictures. Celebrate your wins and don’t shy away from using this piece as a chance to educate your supporters on the struggles your organization faces. An Annual Report should serve not only as your organization’s annual report card to stakeholders, but also an educational and marketing piece to the community. If you just fill out your 990, donors and potential donors may only get part of your organization’s financial story, not in proper context. Be the author of your own story.

  1. Hold both a Board and a Staff Retreat

Annual retreats should be held off site for several hours and used to accomplish three main objectives: 1) setting organizational priorities including defining roles, responsibilities and timelines, 2) providing additional training to equip our leaders with the most current skills and tools in our field needed to fulfill their positions, and finally 3) individual and group brainstorming sessions that result in big picture, long-term goals or strategies. It goes without saying that a Board of Directors and a Staff retreat should be held separately, but key staff should be present for part of the Board retreat where their expertise and insights for setting annual goals may be needed for informational purposes. It is also strongly suggested your organization bring in an outside facilitator for these meetings as they can help break down perceived power dynamics and guide difficult conversations while keeping everyone on track with desired agenda outcomes.

  1. Dust off the Strategic Plan

Dr. David Renz, Chair of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at UMKC, delivered one of my new favorite quotes, “You should never be more than three years into a five year strategic plan.” I couldn’t agree with him more! A Strategic Plan is the road map for any organization and the road often come to a fork. It should be a living, breathing document that is reviewed quarterly or at a minimum bi-annually. This document should be in every employee and board member handbook, as well as available to funders and donors. A Strategic Plan is a tool used to guide our nonprofits to greater impact through focus and targeted outreach. It is a plan to be referred to when making decisions that affect the organization’s constituents and to measure positive impact and social change.

  1. Review Development Plan and Fundraising Calendar

Along with your Strategic Plan, the Development Director in concert with key contributors from the fundraising team should create a document outlining all key development activities. This report does not need to be heavy in prose but rather an outline of goals, tactics, timelines, benchmarks and responsibilities for the upcoming year. Each fundraising campaign should be carefully thought out with benchmarks at key measurement points throughout the year. Campaigns should be tracked against both this year’s annual goals and last year’s final numbers. It is easier to pivot and course correct along the way than make up a large deficit in fundraising at the end of the year. There are many templates available or feel free to create one that better works for you and your organization. (For a template please email me at KLord@ByrnePelofsky.com) Always have your Strategic Plan with you and review it at every development team meeting. Especially in fundraising, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

  1. Take a Deep Dive into Organizational Financials

As you close out one fiscal year and we get into audit and 990 seasons, it is important to spend a fair amount of time reviewing the new budget at least by categories, if not line by line. It is an understatement to say that most nonprofit professionals, board members and volunteers are not as well versed in NGO finance as we could or should be. After all, most of us have a banker or an accountant on boards that assist with these matters. However, as a stakeholder of the organization it is everyone’s responsibility to have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the process and to be able to answer questions from the public. Bring in an auditor or have your Finance Committee Chair review all budget items, policies and procedures. Make sure all of your questions are answered on all levels even if it means going “back to basics.” I speak from experience, not everyone is a finance aficionado, but all of us can understand basic organizational finance concepts when given the opportunity to learn.

When thinking strategically, remember the “best way to work your plan is to plan the work.” After that, the rest of the year can be spent in critical thinking, problem solving, altering course, outreach, and community impact; making sure your focus in all areas involve your team, your constituents, your volunteers and your donors.

 

About the Author:

Written by our friends Katie Lord over at Byrne Pelofsky  + Associates! They are experts in nonprofit fundraising! Their goal is to advance philanthropy in our community through purposefully connecting stakeholders to nonprofits mission. Katie has been in the nonprofit sector her entire career and is currently Vice President of Byrne Pelofsky + Associates. Katie brings to Byrne Pelofsky a strong background in development planning and training, marketing, corporate and major gifts, fundraising and board development. She has worked closely with major donors, corporations, small businesses, civic organizations and volunteer groups throughout her career. Katie is also a BoardSource Certified Consultant in board governance. Find out more about Katie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Tips and Tricks to Help Grow Your Nonprofits Social Media Influence

Oct 25, 2018

Like the over 2 Billion social media users spread out all over the world, nonprofits (NPOs) use these platforms for a multitude of reasons. Whether it’s to connect with their constituents, raise awareness for certain community causes or upcoming fundraisers and charities, social media now plays a vital role in any NPO’s success story.

But just because you have, say, a few thousand Facebook and Instagram followers doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. If anything, having those numbers is grounds to go all-in on boosting your social media presence. And even if you’re follower count is more in the hundreds range rather than the thousands, you can still leverage your base to increase both your NPO’s awareness and upticks in donations.

Keen on seeing how you can grow and use your social media following to the betterment of your NPO? Here are seven simple ways you can grow your nonprofit social media followers, ASAP!

1. Start Putting Out Video Content

It’s no secret that video-based social media postings are quickly becoming the most popular (and viral) of any kind generated, regardless of the platform. Also, social media algorithms take advantage of the most popular and engaging content currently posted, with video content tending to perform well toward both those characteristics.

Want to grow your following base and, thus, increase your donations? Consider generating quick 60-second video clips that tie in with your NPO’s activities, be it an on-the-site tour, live update, or another “on-brand” happening.

2. Be Visual, Post Photos

It’s a tried-and-true marketing tactic that still rings true today: Words appeal to the brain, but pictures tug at your emotions.

In fact, visual social media content is more than 40 times more likely to get shared on whichever medium it’s posted. On Instagram, for example, pictures with people’s faces are included generally are nearly 40 percent more likely to not only be shared but either favorited or engaged with, as well.

Suffice to say it might be high-time to clean the grime off your smartphone’s camera lens. And, by all means, don’t be shy about showing your face.

3. Give Your Audience a Reason to Follow You

Social media’s not the place to simply regurgitate links and cross-pollinate identical postings through your various accounts. Successful social media management couldn’t be any further from that

Contrary to what many might think, each social media has a specific type of content niche it fills. (And, interestingly enough, each social media seems to have different ideal “posting schedules,” as well.) To make sure your audience is engaged and continues to follow your NPO, give them reasons why they should be doing so in the first place.

Share NPO insights, employee stories, news that’s relevant to your niche, and other specific tidbits. As a result, your followers will be more likely to donate and support your nonprofit because they’ll feel intricately connected to your efforts

4. Never Buy Followers

It’s popular nowadays for social media influences to buy followers, which, in a nutshell, just loads their accounts with “robo-accounts.” And if you’re an NPO looking to boost donations by leveraging your social media audience, this is a complete waste of time and money.

It’s also worth noting that people can smell a fake from a mile away. In fact, it’s been widely shown that social media users think less of accounts that buy followers than those that organically generate new fans.

5. Respond to Messages in a Timely Fashion

Just like you would with emails, it’s important to address your social media inquiries in a timely manner.

Making sure you’re getting back to your account’s DMs is vital to keeping a loyal following. Try responding to sent messages the same day they’re written, with a two-day follow-up being the absolute latest. Not only will this build better relationships with your followers, but make them feel interwoven to the success of your NPO. That, and you’re building loyalty with your followers, making them more likely to speak highly of your organization.

6. Encourage Sharing and Tagging

One of the most effective social media strategies to help bring awareness to your nonprofit is to encourage sharing and tagging. This creates what is called “organic exposure,” meaning that people become aware of your NGO—and its doings—through simple social interactions, be it word of mouth or checking their social feeds.

For instance: If you share a video about Earth Day, encourage your online community to tag people that mind need reminding get outside and celebrate all things nature. Examples like this not only draw more people into our online social media community, but it also helps to show you’re NPO is active and engaged in relevant day-to-day happenings.

But a word to the wise: Do these social tags in moderation. Overdoing them, i.e. posting content like this more than a few times a month, could come across as off-putting and “pushy” to some.

7. Explore Social Media Ads

Facebook, especially, has great ROI (Return Of Investment) on ads bought by business and organizations.

Now, it’s possible to buy advertisement space on popular social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and more. These “ads” act as driving forces to increase follower count and engagement by putting your ad in the feeds of, in some cases, tens of thousands, acting as either video or text-based pulls to garner attention toward your account.

To make them even more efficient, consider going into their advanced settings, where you can choose to skew your ad to demographics and geographical locations your NPO either works directly in or has some influence in.

…And Don’t Forget to Follow Us

We’re firm believers in getting the word out on Kansas City’s best and up-and-coming nonprofits—and what’s not to like about that?

KC Cares is a community-focused nonprofit radio program that helps nonprofits connect with the community. We tell the story of Kansas City nonprofits by interviewing them on our radio show and by creating free resources that help them to grow their brands, reaching more people and potential donors as a result.

Interested in keeping up with our doings? Be sure to connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  Also, check out our weekly nonprofit podcasts, where we talk with local nonprofits and industry experts.

About the Author:

BKM is our media partner, who specializes in video and website creation and development, that reflect your mission and purpose. They have helped nonprofits in the Kansas City area for the last 7 years.