Seize the Moment: Why Now Is the Right Time to Craft Your Bold Strategic Plan

Civic engagement is at its peak. Social media is amplifying new voices and quickening grassroots movements. Images of war and stories of crises around our world have spurred both protest and humanitarian aid on a massive scale. 

People are increasingly dialed into movements and causes. They are eager to advocate, donate, and volunteer for nonprofits and mutual aid organizations.

There has never been a better time for your organization to harness this collective interest in bold social change. 

Your stakeholders are primed to roll up their sleeves to help you foster lasting impact. Seize this moment TODAY, and begin work on a strategic plan that is bolder than ever before.

Here are three extraordinary outcomes we’re watching schools and nonprofits accomplish through strategic planning.

1. Blaze a trail for greater impact

Leverage your community’s appetite for change. Use a strategic plan to set a new vision for your organization that takes you far beyond the status quo. Be bold and dream big — because the world demands it. This is your chance to unlock new ideas, innovate like never before, and unleash your creative genius. That’s how you’ll arrive at the game-changing ideas that can revolutionize your cause. Then rely on that gutsy strategic plan to be your trusty map to navigate toward the ultimate destination: profound and positive change. Here’s an example:

We Don’t Waste, an innovative Colorado-based nonprofit, redirects food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people who need it. Despite their good work, global hunger and food waste were at all-time highs. So much opportunity existed to address more than the symptoms — and get to the root causes. We Don’t Waste partnered with Mission Minded to develop a strategic plan that articulated a bold new vision and a tightly integrated strategy that moved the organization from a logistics operation to a collaborative partner addressing the big, intractable problems of food insecurity and food waste. 

2. Invite new audiences in to maximize impact

Your strategic plan will certainly cover how your nonprofit will continue to engage volunteers, existing donors, and other supporters. And using a strategic plan to collaborate with new audiences and allies can serve as a powerful catalyst to extend your nonprofit’s impact. A strategic plan is your secret weapon to ensure new audiences and resources are explored and optimized to their full potential. Whether it’s stretching your budget further, mobilizing volunteers more effectively, or forging strategic alliances with values-aligned partners, strategic planning empowers you to amplify the good and do more with what you’ve got. Imagine this scenario:

Two youth leadership development nonprofits have been covering some of the same programmatic ground. The larger organization relies on an endowment that funds administrative costs, while the smaller has struggled with fundraising. One organization boasts an extended network of mentors, the other developed an innovative curriculum that young people access for career and college readiness. As part of the strategic planning process, the larger organization reaches out to begin talks about a closer alliance between the two groups — possibly even a merger down the road. Stronger together, these two organizations now are more efficient and their programs are making a greater impact in the community.

3. Unite your community around magnetic ideas

Passionate supporters are at the heart of your organization — standing behind a shared vision of change. Savvy strategic plans serve as so much more than operational playbooks. Your strategic plan can be the visionary rallying cry that unites your community, ignites their passion, and channels their energy toward achieving a common goal. And when you involve those stakeholders in the strategic planning effort, you foster a sense of shared ownership that propels your organization forward with unstoppable momentum. Another example:

By engaging their entire school community in strategic planning discussions, Mount Tamalpais School fostered a sense of inclusivity and collaboration, bringing together teachers, students, and families together to shape the school’s future. Their strategic plan re-defined their educational goals and committed to a comprehensive framework called the “Mount Tamalpais School Habits of Excellence.” Because they participated first-hand in the process, the community quickly united around this shared vision of education focused on active learning and real-world application. Today, this student-centered strategic plan not only guides the school but also serves to attract values-aligned families, continuously strengthening the sense of community and collective purpose.

Now is the time to craft a daring strategic plan to serve as your guiding vision and road map. Your activated community will become the essential fuel you need to propel your plan forward.

If you’re ready to seize the moment, disrupt complacency, and rally your community for maximum impact, contact Mission Minded today to make a plan for your strategic plan.

Need more inspiration for focusing your board on a bold vision? Read how to help move them from micromanagement to big-thought leaders.