Issue 54
December 12, 2006

Please Note: The offices of NEW will be closed the week of December 25 — to reopen Tuesday, January 2, 2007. We look forward to serving you in the NEW Year!

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by NEW. It covers resources available at NEW in Ann Arbor as well as items of interest to the nonprofit community in southeastern Michigan. NEWSNOTES is proud to celebrate its fifth year of publication, with delivery to over 835 subscribers every month! We welcome your feedback and suggestions!

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its Community Partners:

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY

Strategic Planning for Non-Profit Enterprises - Part I
Why Non-Profits Should Have a Strategic Plan

By Lee Gorman*

When people think of strategic plans, they usually think of big complicated documents, put together by a few people, which quickly get relegated to a bookshelf to gather dust. Unfortunately, that’s too often the case; many plans include false assumptions, unrealistic expectations, or inadequate research. Worse, too often the people who have to implement the plan are uninvolved in the planning process, and so have no equity in it.

In the nonprofit world, many organizations don’t even attempt to develop a strategic plan; leadership is generally fully occupied with current operations, resources are tight, and the skills needed for the development process may not be available. Many organizations do manage to get along without a written long-term plan, at least for a while. But the best organizations, for-profit and nonprofit, have and follow strategic plans. Here are five reasons for your nonprofit to develop—and use—a written strategic plan.

1. Competition for charitable dollars
   Donors, both corporate and individual, want to see how their contributions will be used to further the organization’s mission, and what its future plans are. Furthermore, foundations often require a strategic plan when an organization applies for grants; with greater competition for grant money, organizations that can show a solid plan have a distinct advantage. One nonprofit put its strategic plan to very good use in building its capital campaign; because it clearly articulated how it planned to grow and continue its mission, it was able to attract the funds needed to implement the plan.
   
   
2. Continuity
   Any organization can lose momentum when there is turnover of leadership, either executives or key board members. When much of an organization’s work and success is built on an internalized, yet unwritten, vision, the loss of key people can be devastating. Not only is the energy of that vision diminished, but it may be difficult to clearly identify the skills, knowledge, or values needed in replacement candidates. With a strategic planning document, vision and mission are articulated—and can be communicated—in a way that can help guide succession planning and ensure everyone is focusing on the most important priorities.
   
   
3. Decision making
   A good strategic plan serves as a ‘north star’ for guiding the organization’s decision-makers on the big issues. This, of course, is where it is imperative that a plan actually be put to use, rather than shelved. Having and using that plan can make board members, who can rarely devote more than a few hours a week to the organization, more effective in their governance of it. When addressing questions of whether to expand, contract, branch out, initiate a capital campaign, or any other major action, the board and executives can look for consistency of the action with the existing strategic plan.
   
   Too often there is a good strategy, but leadership is seduced by some opportunity, and neglects to consider whether that opportunity is actually consistent with their organization’s long-term strategy. One organization, flush with the success that came largely from compliance with its plan, strayed from some of its core values and soon encountered significant financial difficulty. Although it did recover, it was a painful lesson that could have been avoided by making sure all major decisions were consistent with the existing plan.
   
   
4. Uncovering hidden or potential problems
   One of the greatest values in developing a strategic plan is in the process itself. Because developing a good plan requires a solid assessment of the present situation as well as trends looking forward and back, it can sometimes uncover issues that either management or the board was unaware of. It can also identify potential problems with the desired strategy; one organization, in developing a strategic plan, discovered that the management structure was inadequate to oversee the desired growth and had to be reinforced before such changes were made.
   
   
5. Positioning in a world of overlapping services
   Overlap of services provided by nonprofits is adding to competitive pressures, and there is growing merger and acquisition activity in the nonprofit sector. A strategic plan clearly identifies the niche(s) in which an organization operates, and outlines its competitive strengths. It can help pinpoint areas for savings through cooperation, such as merging back office operations, and assess the potential for partnerships to increase revenues or share resources.

With the increasing business orientation of the nonprofit world, most organizations could benefit greatly from a strategic plan. One that is well developed and articulated will defy the stereotype, and be a living document that guides the organization.

*Lee Gorman is the founder of Barton Consulting Services, LLC, an Ann Arbor-based management consulting company that specializes in strategic planning for both nonprofit and for-profit businesses.

Look for Part II The Basic Elements of a Strategic Plan in January.

FEATURED ITEMS

BoardConnect Training in 2007

The new year is just around the corner – it’s a good time to plan ahead for trainings to strengthen your board. BoardConnect is a nonprofit board training and matching service that builds the leadership skills of nonprofits and community members. Check out these special offerings coming up.

Board Assessment
Thursday, February 8, 2007, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., NEW Center, Ann Arbor, $40
An unexamined life is not worth living; an unexamined board is not as effective as it could be. In this training, learn about the benefits and strategies of board assessment, and different approaches for assessing the current and desired effectiveness of your board. Special focus will be directed to an economical self-assessment program, culminating in a consolidated report and action plan.

Accountability, Best Practices and Your Board
Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., NEW Center, Ann Arbor, $40
Trying to make sense of rapidly changing expectations surrounding nonprofit accountability and fiduciary responsibilities? Learn how to incorporate board accountability best practices into an action plan for your board. Recent developments will be discussed, including the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley, codes of ethics, the Michigan Nonprofit Association's Principles and Practices, the Independent Sector Panel Report and national and state legislative activity.

Board Chair 101
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., NEW Center, Ann Arbor, $40
Join board chairs and executive directors to learn and share ideas for managing the board, strengthening the partnership of the chair and executive director, and leading the board and staff through visioning and strategic planning. Network with your peers to share common struggles and successes.

Register online and save $5. Contact BoardConnect (734-998-0160 x239) with questions.

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Grant Cycle

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation has established two grant cycles each year for organizations whose programs benefit the people of Washtenaw County. The next deadline for grant applications is February 14, 2007.

Visit the Community Foundation’s website to find the criteria for applying to these programs:

• General Grantmaking program — provides funding for education, human services, the environment, seniors, arts and culture, community development, or health and wellness.
• Youth Council — focuses on programs that serve youth ages 5 - 18.
• African American Endowment Fund — improves conditions of African Americans.
• Anna Botsford Bach Fund for Seniors — supports the needs of the elderly.

Nonprofits applying for funding are required to use Community Grants online. There will be training on the use of this system in January. Check back to the Community Grants web page for updated information.

Arts Grant Deadline February 1

The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs provides grants of up to $4,000 through its Minigrant program to support locally developed, high quality arts and cultural activities that increase community access to art and culture. In Livingston, Monroe and Washtenaw counties, this program is administered by The Arts Alliance.

A free workshop explaining the application process will take place at the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, January 11, 2007 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. To register contact Tamara Real, Arts Alliance Director, (734-214-0112)

Download an Art Grant application and get more information on the website. Applications must be postmarked by February 1, 2007 to be considered.

Junior League Offers Funding

The Junior League of Ann Arbor will award Flexifund grants next March to local organizations in the amount of $1000 or less for projects appropriate to one of the League’s four focus areas: children/youth, education, women’s health, or family issues.

The deadline for Flexifund applications is January 15, 2007. Find the application and more information online.

REGULAR FEATURES

Nonprofit Fiscal Fitness. The November 2006 issue fills us in on “Nonprofit Support by Way Of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Could your nonprofit benefit from a corporate partnership? There are many complexities involved in building a relationship with a corporation — but there are many benefits as well.

Find other newsletters offerings from Blackbaud and subscribe.

Nonprofit Bulletin Board

Visit NEW's Nonprofit Bulletin Board to post and view notices about free resources, fundraising opportunities, and other items relevant to the southeast Michigan nonprofit community.

Events Calendar

Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau calendar of events. E-mail Nick Miller to request a password to submit an event.