Including employees, stakeholders is a crucial step in strategic planning
Last month, I introduced the importance of strategic planning for nonprofit organizations and focused on the role of the board of directors in that process.
The next important step in the process is to gather evidenced-based information that can help the board of directors and management team determine its strategic directions, its “preferred future.”
The necessary information comes from both internal and external sources.
Internal information should begin with financial, programmatic and fundraising data.
Financial data should include a five year history of revenue and expense to determine profit/loss trends and/or problems.
A five-year cash flow analysis will help board members understand how revenue flows in and expenses flow out (this is especially important for organizations that rely on seasonal fundraising that needs to be expended over a long period of time).
A five-year history of total assets will show financial growth or decline.
Another important piece of information is the sources and percentages of revenue, such as membership dues, program fees, reimbursements for services with a contracted public agency, foundations, and fundraising.
This information can be found in end of the year financial statements (including the balance sheet) and the annual audit, but should be summarized in easy to read graphs and charts.
Fundraising data is essential to analyze.
Again, using five years as the standard time horizon, the following statistics should be displayed: Sources and percentages of fundraising sources, number of donors, size of the average gift, yearly fundraising totals, and annual renewal and retention rates of individual gifts.
Gathering the thoughts of board members and staff members is extremely important in this process.
I suggest using questions that can be answered with a numerical rating (on a scale of 1 to 10) so you can quantify the collective answers of
RUSS HAYWARD
the group in question.
Questions will vary by group (board members, senior managers, line staff, etc.), but all become important to include and assess.
Recently, I worked with an organization in which communication and the trust level between the executive director and the staff had been non-existent.
Including staff in this information gathering process, in fact, improved morale and productivity within a few weeks.
External sources of information, while largely more anecdotal, are equally important. I have found that interviews with key stakeholders can reveal extremely significant insights that can help the organization make decisions about its future.
Key stakeholder are those individuals or institutions that have a critical relationship with your organization. Certainly significant individual donors are key stakeholders; their opinions matter, and listening and acknowledging their opinions helps to build that long term commitment to the organization.
Institutional funders, especially public agencies that contract with the nonprofit to deliver services to the community, must be heard.
Also consider talking with other organizations that offer similar services; to be sure, you may perceive them as competitors, but you’re likely to learn about “best practices” and opportunities for growth, or even strategies to avoid.
These external sources of information are truly invaluable, and while they may appear to be time consuming, they are critical in achieving an objective perspective about your organization.
Another external source of information, one that is too often left out, is the “endusers” of your organization, whether it is membershipbased or client-based.
The information gathering for strategic planning is the chance (or the excuse) to find out what “end-users” think about the services they receive. Think of it as assessing “customer satisfaction,” or like “how would you rate your latest purchase from Amazon?”
Unfortunately, our tendency is to only want to hear from those stakeholders, especially “users,” who have good things to say about the organization.
In leading this process for an agency that served the “intellectually disabled,” I asked the program director for names of clients (or their parents/guardians) I could interview, but with this provision — I wanted at least three clients who had left the program.
As a result, no interview I conducted with an “enduser” and/or their responsible adult was more insightful than one with a wheelchairbound and non-verbal young woman with cerebral palsy; using her iPad, she communicated a gold mine of information about the services she received.
In addition, by being receptive to the family’s thoughts and feelings, I repaired a damaged relationship with the agency. So here’s what the interviews with stakeholders should reveal. To what extent do they understand the organization and its mission?
How would they rate or grade the organization and the quality of its services? What needs are not being met that the organization could pursue? (In the case of the young woman with cerebral palsy, it was respite care for providers.) What suggestions do they make? How is the organization perceived in the community?
All of this information, from both internal and external sources, is then put in a summary “findings” report.
The report itself offers no specific recommendations or solutions, but “just the facts, ma’am.” (Some of you of a certain age will understand the reference.)
The findings themselves will identify and demonstrate strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities and opportunities that will be thoroughly discussed and debated in the next phase of the strategic planning process.
And how that part of the process plays out will be the subject of next month’s column.
Julie Giometti-Wahl, the docent coordinator with Lodi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, spoke as a guest at the Lodi Soroptimist February meeting.
Julie shared the history of Lodi Lake dating back to the time when the Miwok Indians occupied through to 1986 when the community and City of Lodi assembled a master plan incorporating Lodi Lake into the community.
She also spoke to us regarding docent opportunities at the Lodi Lake Nature Area.
Several of the current docents, some of which have been active in this program for thirty years, are ready to retire.
They hope to be able to continue providing education about the nature area and also educate others on where our water comes from.
Docents offered a mushroom walk in February and will involve the Central Valley Miwok tribe members in March to speak.
Every September the docents have their National Clean-Up Day. A summer nature day camp will be hosted as well.
In order to sign up to be a volunteer, you must be fingerprinted as required by the State of California. A binder is available to all volunteers as reference material.
The docent tour program is sought out primarily by educators for their students, so volunteer hours needed are typically between 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Monday through Friday.
Any other groups may schedule this two-mile walking tour by appointment. Julie schedules the tours.
Even if you are too busy to sign up and volunteer at this time, think about anyone else that you know that would enjoy serving as a Docent in the program.
Please see Julie for more information or additional flyers. She can be contacted at 209333-6800 ext. 3134 or by emailing
Lodi Women’s Center — 29 S. Washington St. 9 a.m. to noon, 2 to 5 p.m. Contact Paula Grech. Crisis hotline 368-3406.
Lodi Toastmasters — 7 p.m. Open to public. Ambassador room at Temple Baptist Church. Training for leadership and public speaking offered. Call Justin Trick at 916-261-2030.
LOEL Senior Center — Exercise session, 8:30-9:30 a.m.; hand and foot, 10 a.m.; duplicate bridge, 12:30 p.m.; Bingo 1 p.m.; Memoirs writing, 1 p.m.; 105 S. Washington St. 369-1591.
Narcotics Anonymous — 7 p.m. 20 S. Main St. 464-9262.
Salvation Army — Home league, 9:30-11 a.m.; Kids Klub, 5 to 7 p.m.; Overcomer’s Anonymous, 7 p.m. 525 W. Lockeford St. 369-5896.
Stepping Stones Recovery — Recovery meditations, 9 a.m., 825 S. Central Ave. Call 5708050.
Widowed Persons Association — Pinochle, 12:30 p.m. at Casa de Lodi. Call 333-0438.