Strategic Planning is NOT Optional
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, life was pretty good for United Ways. United Ways were able to raise increasing amounts of money year-after-year, and many donors would support United Way until retirement without giving it a second thought.
But the times have changed. Since the early 2000’s an endless stream of new challenges has made the work of United Ways more difficult than ever. These challenges include economic recessions, COVID, growth in the number of nonprofit organizations, open campaigns, third-party processors, the ability to find and support any charity and cause on the internet, downsizing companies, organizations not disclosing donor information, companies that no longer have local leadership, online giving, Giving Tuesday, Red Nose Day, GoFundMe, increasing designations . . .
You get the idea. The challenges are there – you know them all too well.
These challenges make it clear that doing what United Ways have always done is not going to work moving forward. For United Ways to be relevant, sustainable, and impactful in the future they will need to refine and focus their mission, discover and adopt new strategies to achieve their goals, and decide how they are going to implement those strategies.
NOT OPTIONAL
In short, United Ways need to be doing strategic planning. Even if your United Way’s mission is still absolutely right for your community and its needs, the strategies your United Way will be using and how your United Way implements the strategies will need to change. Strategic planning, done well, does precisely this – articulate a clear purpose, select appropriate strategies, and plan to implement and execute the strategies successfully.
Many United Ways tell me they already have a strategic plan. Great, but does it help your United Way jump higher or leap farther? Take a moment to read my previous blog post “You Need to Leap Not Jump” for some perspectives on strategic plans that will move your United Way forward. With all the challenges facing United Ways, strategic planning is not optional.
STRATEGIC PLANNING STARTS HERE
After working with over 145 United Ways since 1989, we have a proven process for strategic planning. If you have not held a strategic planning retreat in a while, start with our New Directions Board and Staff Retreat. Over 50 United Ways have found that the open and honest conversation at this retreat was what they needed to develop a strategic direction and focus for the future of their United Way.
If it is time for your United Way to update your current strategic plan or develop a new strategic plan, take a look at our Issue Focus Transformation. We use a proven, research-informed strategic planning process and you will create your strategic plan using our playbook of transformational strategies for United Ways.
Developing a strategic plan will transform the work of your United Way making your United Way relevant, sustainable, and impactful.