STRATEGIC PLANNING

Want to create an organization that is both high impact and financially sustainable?

Our clients come to us looking for clarity around critical questions, that often include:

  • What is our organization’s purpose? Where do we fit into the community?
  • Should we expand or narrow our service options?
  • What are the next steps toward increasing our financial sustainability?
  • Should we explore opportunities to partner or merge?
  • How do we prepare for the retirement of a long-term leader?
  • How do we respond to a potential opportunity (or looming crisis)?

4-Step Strategic Planning Process

As the ED/CEO or board leader charged with a strategic conversation or planning process, it can feel overwhelming to engage your board and staff team to advance your mission. We have tackled multiple levels of strategic plans, but what they all have in common is four basic steps.

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Step 1: Aspiration and Inspiration

What is the change your organization desires to create in this world? While this will be refined through the planning process, a preliminary discussion is important to reflect on the current mission and vision, your perceived success in achieving it and the organization’s priorities around setting aggressive or more conservative goals for the future.
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Step 2: Assessment

The most effective strategic plans/discussions are driven by objective information about your current operations, the people you serve, your community, and developments/benchmarking in your field of service.
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Step 3: Planning

We work with you to reflect on what was learned through the assessment phase and contrast it to your aspirations and the work of similar organizations. This part of the process narrows and prioritizes the possibilities and begins translating it into action plans for staff and board leaders.
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Step 4: Implementation

The Charitable Advisors’ team will work with staff and board leadership to establish a routine for staff and board meetings and reporting that effectively supports the priorities of the plan or decision. If desired, quarterly follow-up sessions can be scheduled with staff and board leaders as an aid to keeping implementation on track.

About Bryan Orander

Charitable Advisors’ president Bryan Orander has 20 years of leadership and consulting experience. Bryan Orander was one of the first consultants in the country trained in the Executive Transition Management (ETM) model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Averaging 15 searches a year, Charitable Advisors has done more nonprofit searches in Central Indiana than any other firm, by far.

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