The number one mistake nonprofits make (that can potentially sink their organization) is poor planning. Clarity and intention are important for any business, but arguably even more so for nonprofit planning. Without a clear, strategic plan, nonprofits can’t convey their mission, carry out necessary tasks, or attract donors. And that combination can be devastating.
In today’s blog, we’ll go over this crucial mistake nonprofits make—and how to avoid it.
The Prominence of Nonprofit Planning
For this type of organization to be successful, proper nonprofit planning is essential. This means mapping out everything you can think of before officially starting your business. We’ve compiled a list of the four main items that MUST be thoroughly planned out.
Your Nonprofit’s Mission
This is a key part of planning and can be a defining factor in whether or not a nonprofit succeeds. A clear, focused mission conveys confidence to your community regarding what you seek to accomplish and lets them know what is important to you.
If your mission is unfocused, confusing, or too broad, potential donors won’t be sure of the cause they’ll be supporting—making them less likely to donate at all. Spend some time drafting your mission statement and make sure that it’s something your nonprofit can realistically carry out.
A cause of death for many nonprofits is the dreaded mission creep: where what started as a centralized goal slowly expands into endless side quests. That’s why it’s equally important to maintain your mission’s clarity as your organization grows.
Our Advice: Stand Your Ground. This might involve reminding people why your nonprofit was started in the first place. Be confident, clear, and direct—just like your mission!
Your Team Structure
Successful organizations have a clear leadership structure. You’ll need to hire people that you trust and carefully define each individual’s role. This will make all of your processes go more smoothly by default.
In establishing your organizational structure, you’ll also need to make sure that you have all of your bases covered. A few key teams and team members that your nonprofit needs to have are:
- Administration – to provide guidance and leadership to the entire team
- A board of directors – to influence many high-impact aspects of your nonprofit
- Program managers – to carry out your nonprofit’s everyday functions
It’s inevitable to have differences in opinion in any business. However, proper nonprofit planning in terms of deciding your organizational structure builds the foundation for productive, healthy cooperation.
Your Funding
Even though nonprofits aren’t focused on making a profit, ensuring that you have the startup funding you need is crucial. Work with investors and donors ahead of starting your nonprofit, and make sure you have enough money to keep you afloat in the early days.
In addition, successful nonprofits start early when it comes to planning future fundraising. In the initial stages of your organization, as well as throughout your operation, fundraising efforts need to be formulated well ahead of time.
You’ll need to decide on parameters for your nonprofit’s funding. Do you want to introduce a monthly donation program? Partner with a local company? Will you host an annual event that involves community members you want to engage with? These are all big decisions that should be considered before you start and questions that should be revisited regularly to determine if an option previously dismissed makes sense further down the road.
Whatever kind of fundraising you choose to do, set aside time to plan for it—before running out of money.
Your Strategic Plan
Forgive us for this one, but the final aspect of nonprofit work that must be planned is…YOUR PLAN. Effective strategic planning can make or break your nonprofit’s success. A strategic plan, whether to start a nonprofit or define annual goals, is a guide for everything your nonprofit does.
Strategic plans help your nonprofit determine a great number of things. Common items on the to-do list for a strategic plan include:
- Checking in with (or developing) your nonprofit’s mission
- Deciding on timelines for projects, events, goals, etc.
- Delegating tasks and responsibilities to the appropriate team members (as well as redefining roles as needed to adapt to change)
- Acknowledging or anticipating obstacles and determining how best to overcome them
- Creating goals to strive toward for a set period
As you’ve probably noticed, a strategic plan ties together many aspects of nonprofit planning work. If planning isn’t one of your nonprofit’s strengths, taking the time to research and draft a comprehensive strategic plan can help you get into the habit of making it a priority.
Learning from Nonprofit Planning Mistakes
Although we always attempt to avoid mistakes before they are made, no one is perfect, and no team is going to get it right every time. With nonprofit work especially, there are going to be roadblocks along the way. However, striving to plan each aspect of your nonprofit effectively can help prevent future pitfalls.
Aiding nonprofits in their efforts to succeed is a collective passion of ours at KSR. If you have questions about what we covered today, please reach out! We’d love to talk with you.
For more advice on nonprofit success strategies, stay updated with our blogs and follow us on social—we’re always sharing the latest tips!
